UK records two warmest days of the year this weekend as temperatures soar to 20C - hotter than Italy and Spain
9 March 2025, 16:29
The UK recorded the warmest day of the year twice this weekend, with temperatures reaching almost 20C in parts of the country, beating temperatures in Italy and Spain.
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The Met Office confirmed a record 19.7C was hit in Crosby, Merseyside, on Sunday, beating Saturday's peak of 19.1C in Cumbria.
Parts of the UK have been warmer than holiday hotspots including the Balearic islands and Costa del Sol.
Craig Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "It's been widely warm across the east and west, and it's been pleasant in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
"It's been fairly decent and Sunday was the warmest day of 2025 so far."
The warm weather spell won’t last long though, as forecasters warn the UK is set for severe cold weather due to ‘polar vortex collapse’.
A polar vortex collapse occurs when the layer between 10km and 50km above Earth's surface warms up to 50 degrees in just two days. The area of low pressure and cold air that surrounds the North and South poles weakens, allowing the freezing Arctic air to move south, leading to extreme weather conditions and unpredictable weather patterns.
Mr Snell said: "It'll be turning colder across all parts.
"The south will hang on to milder conditions on Monday, probably around 17C or 18C, but it will be cloudier.
"In the north, it'll be much cooler and bands of patchy rain will move in, and gradually move southwards."
Most of the country will feel the cooler conditions on Tuesday and this will continue through most of the week.
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Scattered showers are expected in northern and eastern parts, with temperatures in the north reaching between 6C and 8C, and the south seeing between 8C and 9C.
Mr Snell said: "Conditions will stay in single figures and it'll be a cold midweek, particularly when compared with this weekend.
"It won't be a washout and there will be plenty of dry spells. But it'll be the breeze that keeps those temperatures down."
Friday into Saturday will be more of the same until temperatures start to rise again slightly moving into the weekend.
