Brits set to bask as warm weather to continue into weekend
Brits are set to bask in the balmy temperatures as the warm, sunny weather is to continue into the weekend for many parts of the UK.
Listen to this article
Long spells of sunshine, light winds and very little rainfall will continue into Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday - the hottest day of the year so far - with temperatures peaking at nearly 21C.
A temperature of 20.1C was recorded in Northholt, west London, and in both Porthmadog and Gogerddan in Wales as of around 2.05pm on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 19.2C at Northholt on March 5.
The Met Office later confirmed temperatures rose to 20.9C in Gogerddan and 20.2C in Northholt at 3.35pm.
Friday - which is the spring equinox - temperatures could peak again in Scotland and Northern Ireland where it could be their warmest day of the year so far.
Read more: UK to be hotter than Athens as temperatures could reach 20C on 'hottest day of the year so far'
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said the higher temperatures are because of warm air being dragged up from further south in Europe.
He added: “The values that have been reached today will probably be a high watermark for some little time to come.”
From Saturday to Monday: the Met Office said the weekend will start mostly sunny and dry for many.
Bands of rain will move southeast from Scotland later, followed by colder, showery, windy conditions in the north into Monday, they added.