Weekend heatwave forecast as April weather breaks records

(@Kirsty_Heenan @channel4news Don’t wanna make you guys jealous but… #sunnypics)

Almost the whole of Britain will see more sunshine and high temperatures this weekend as the warmest start to April since 1892 continues.

Forecasters say the mini-heatwave in London and the south will spread across the whole of the UK, bringing with it highs of 20 degrees celsius.

The spring sun is then expected to last into Sunday with temperatures peaking at 21 degrees.

(@fromepudding @channel4news here you go. Small cove in Torbay.)

Brendan Jones, from MeteoGroup UK, said: “On Saturday just about the whole of the country is going to have a good day with lots of sunshine and a light wind.

“All in all it will be pretty warm almost everywhere with temperatures in the high teens and getting towards 20 degrees.”

London and surrounding areas saw the hottest spells on Friday, after mid-afternoon temperatures the day before reached a record 22 degrees. This equalled the highest recorded temperature on 7 April since 1974.

High pressure for Grand National weekend

A large area of high pressure is expected to cover virtually all of the UK on Saturday, bringing sunshine and further warm weather.

Temperatures of 17 to 18 degrees should be fairly widespread with 19-20 degrees celsius in the south.

(Little_George @channel4news http://plixi.com/p/90513608 #sunnypics)

Some coastal areas around the south west of England, Wales and the Merseyside area could have a cooler start with some low cloud and sea fog possible in the morning.

This should give way to sunshine and temperatures of 16-17 degrees at Aintree for the Grand National.

On Sunday a band of cloud is expected to move in from the west over parts of Wales, Scotland and north west England.

“There could be a few pockets of rain but eastern areas are going to remain sunny and warm,” added Brendan Jones.

The warm weather is expected to become more unsettled towards the middle of next week.