Exact date Scotland will see sunshine and warmer weather after 'Sahara blast'

Scotland will see the return of warmer weather and sunny skies this weekend as weather maps show milder temperatures for the UK.

According to the latest Met Office forecast, temperatures will reach up to 15C in the west of Scotland on Sunday, April 21 by 4pm - which has been noted as significantly above average for this time of year.

While the Met Office has said that a heatwave is unlikely to hit the UK in the coming days, the warmer weather and blue skies of spring are set to return by this weekend. The sunny skies and warmer temperatures is mirroring the wonderful weather that France and Spain are currently enjoying thanks to a warm air gust from Africa.

Netweather forecaster Jo Farrow said: "Warm air from the Sahara was transported over Iberia towards southern France around an area of high pressure. This proved exceptional for the beginning of April with an average temperature in France (average of temperatures over 30 reference stations) reaching 17.9C, which had never happened before April 15 in France.

"Last week, warm air from Africa flowed up through Spain and France reaching parts of Britain. North London saw 21.5C on Friday 12th. Saturday 13th saw the highest UK temperature of the year, so far, near Chelmsford in Essex with 21.8C."

The latest weather map from the forecasters show temperatures ranging between 13C and 15C by April 21 as they creep up to double digits by the weekend, reports the Mirror.

The west of Scotland, including Glasgow, will see highs of 15C, with the central belt slightly more mild at 14C by Sunday. Areas such as Stirling and Pitlochry will also see highs of 15C with the chilliest areas most notably being towards both the north east and west coast - including Aberdeen, Ayr and Oban.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "Over the weekend and into the new week a build of high pressure will likely occur, meaning more in the way of dry and calm weather across the UK as a whole."

The Met Office's long-range forecast on their website notes that forecasters have predicted the high pressure to last well into May, adding: "Around the turn of the month high pressure will probably remain close to the UK, with a good deal of dry and calm weather continuing for many areas.

"Into early May, these settled conditions will probably move northwards, with the driest weather perhaps across the northwest of the UK. If any more unsettled conditions develop these are more likely to affect south with a risk of some heavy rain or showers."

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