Northern Ireland Weather: First day of Spring (Thursday) to be hottest day of the year so far at 15C which is the same as Athens
After dipping to -5.1C last night in Northern Ireland, the mercury is expected to rise to 13 °C today and feel ‘somewhat warmer away from the east coast’.
Met Office spokesman Georgie Myers said that ‘during meteorological spring the weather in the UK is often a mix of calm, dry and sunny conditions or wet and windy spells, so this weather isn’t unusual’.
He added that tonight will be dry ‘with long clear periods’ but ‘another cold night with a few patches of mist and fog forming later’.
He said there will be ‘light southerly winds’ and a ‘minimum temperature 1 °C’.
And tomorrow (Thursday) – the first day of Spring – will be ‘another dry day with early mist quickly clearing, leaving a bright day with some sunshine’.
He said Thursday 20 March will be ‘a warmer day with freshening southerly winds’ and a ‘maximum temperature 15 °C’.
Meanwhile, temperatures of up to 21C could be recorded in London on Thursday, coinciding with the spring equinox, according to PA.
Parts of the UK could be hotter than Barcelona in Spain and Athens in Greece, where highs of 15C and 12C are forecast respectively.
If temperatures do climb into the twenties, it could make Thursday the hottest day of the year so far for some – after a peak of 19.7C in Crosby, Merseyside, on March 9, according to the Met Office.
The temperature is expected to begin creeping up from Wednesday, with highs of 17C in London and the South East, a marked difference from the temperatures at the beginning of the week.
Warmer temperatures are also expected to come with dry and sunny weather for most of the UK.