Yahoo News England set to hit 24C this week in warmest April since records began
England is set to see the warmest April since records began, and the driest.
Met Office forecasters have told Yahoo News UK that apart from a few isolated showers on Tuesday, the current dry spell is expected to last until the end of the month.
With people being asked to stay at home to maintain social distancing measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, experts are predicting the UK will be warmer than islands like Crete (15C) and Ibiza (20C) on Thursday, with highs of 24C.
Forecasters also believe this month's overall average will beat the 10.7C (51.3F) seen in 2011, becoming the warmest April in England since records began in 1659.
Meteorologist Bonnie Diamond from the Met Office told Yahoo News UK: “We still have ten days left of the month but already rainfall is just 17% of the average rainfall for April, so with no rain forecase we could be looking at just one fifth of a usual April.
“The current average temperature for this month is 13.9C which is 2.4 degrees higher than expected for April, so with the next five days expected to be particularly warm we expect to see this rise higher.”
The warm weather follows the record-breaking Easter weekend temperature of 26C – thought to be Britain's hottest Easter for 70 years.
Two years ago on 19 April, 2018, temperatures rose to 29C in London, making it the warmest April day for nearly 70 years. But this year’s predicted record is based on the average temperature throughout the month.
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Diamond added: “The warmest days this week will be Thursday and Friday with temperatures up to around 24C on both days, but there will be plenty of warm weather before then.
"We expect it to be clear, sunny and increasingly warm for most by day, and clear but chilly by night.”
The Met Office website warns of occasional isolated thunderstorms, and warns of more unsettled weather at May begins.
