Best spring for 100 years - and there is more sun on the way, say forecasters

Parts of the UK have enjoyed one of the warmest and driest springs for over 100 years, the Met Office has said.

But while the south and east of Britain basked in balmy temperatures, places further north and east remained wet.

Across the whole of England and Wales, it was the second driest spring since 1910 and the driest spring since 1990.

It was a record-breaking spring as central England saw an average temperature of 10.3C (50.5F), the highest since monthly records began in 1659.

The temperature for the whole of Britain was 9.2C (48.6F), the highest since 1910, the Met Office said. The previous top figure was in 2007 when the average was 9.05C (48.3F).

Overall, England and Wales had only 45% of the long-term average rainfall for March, April and May.

But East Anglia had only 21% of the long-term average rainfall - giving the area the driest spring for 101 years.

It had 15.7mm of rain between the start of March and the end of May. Cambridgeshire also enjoyed a dry spring, with just 11.7mm of rain.

But Argyle in Scotland had 538.6mm of rainfall - up nearly 100mm on its 422mm average.

Forecasters are predicting the official start of the summer season will be drier and warmer than average.

The fine weather is expected to arrive today and many parts will stay sunny and dry over the weekend.

Allison Cobb, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It is going to be very pleasant across the UK over the next few days with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius (77F) which is warmer than average for the time of year.

"On Saturday it starts to turn a bit cooler and cloudier in northern parts with some drizzle as a cold front swings southwards across the UK.
"Southern areas will still be quite nice and dry and sunny with temperatures in the mid to low 20s Celsius, although northern parts will see temperatures drop down to the teens."

Sunday is expected to be cooler in the south with temperatures dropping to the upper teens Celsius, and drizzle expected in Scotland and Ireland.