Britain is set to enjoy the hottest day of the year today with 18C (64F) highs, making it warmer than European holiday hotspots Santorini, Mykonos and Crete.
But Britons ought to enjoy basking in the warmth while it lasts as the bank holiday will end in a washout with wind and rain on the way tomorrow.
Forecasters expect glorious sunshine due to a high pressure system moving across the country that has ‘timed itself nicely’ for Easter Sunday.
At 18C, the UK would beat the highest temperature recorded so far this year – 17.8C on March 30 in the village of Santon Downham in Suffolk.
Most of the country will enjoy the good weather except for Northern Ireland, where cloudy skies are expected.
Britain is set to enjoy the hottest day of the year today with 18C (64F) highs, making it warmer than European holiday hotspots Santorini, Mykonos and Crete (Bournemouth Beach pictured on Saturday)
But Britons ought to enjoy basking in the warmth while it lasts as the bank holiday will end in a washout with wind and rain on the way tomorrow (Bournemouth Beach pictured on Saturday)
Forecasters expect glorious sunshine due to a high pressure system moving across the country that has ‘timed itself nicely’ for Easter Sunday (people are pictured along the Long Walk in Windsor on Saturday)
Sunday night is a mostly dry evening, however the washout will slowly begin with outbreaks of rain across Northern Ireland which will spread into the western areas of Britain.
Overnight will be mostly cloudy and rain will track eastwards but will turn increasingly light and patchy by dawn, with breezy to moderate to then brisk southerly winds.
Easter Monday will see early outbreaks of rain which will soon clear eastwards. It will then be bright during the day with spells of sunshine.
But the sunshine tomorrow is short-lived as variable amounts of patchy cloud cover and scattered showers which will track eastwards will be locally heavy and thundery.
It will be a breezy day with moderate south-westerly winds.
After the Easter weekend wraps up, Tuesday will see some sunny spells and showers, with clouds from the south bringing rain across the south-west during the afternoon and evening.
It is expected to be bright on Wednesday with spells of sunshine, and outbreaks of rain should clear to reveal scattered showers. Some of these will be locally heavy.
It comes as an estimated two million British holidaymakers head overseas this weekend, according to travel trade organisation ABTA.
Holidaymakers returning from France in coaches yesterday suffered waits of up to three hours. Thousands of the ferry passengers stuck in the chaos at Dover last weekend – with delays of 12 hours – were suffering a double whammy on their return, with hold-ups at border control.
At 18C, the UK would beat the highest temperature recorded so far this year – 17.8C on March 30 in the village of Santon Downham in Suffolk (pictured, Bournemouth beachgoers on Saturday)
Most of the country will enjoy the good weather except for Northern Ireland, where cloudy skies are expected (a man pictured jogging along the promenade on Bournemouth Beach on Saturday)
Sunday night is a mostly dry evening, however the washout will slowly begin with outbreaks of rain across Northern Ireland which will spread into the western areas of Britain (Wolverhampton Wanderers fans pictured enjoying the warm weather outside the Molineux Stadium on Saturday afternoon)
Overnight will be mostly cloudy and rain will track eastwards but will turn increasingly light and patchy by dawn, with breezy to moderate to then brisk southerly winds (pictured, paddleboarders off Bournemouth Beach on Saturday)
Easter Monday will see early outbreaks of rain which will soon clear eastwards. It will then be bright during the day with spells of sunshine (people pictured taking photographs at St James’s Park in central London on Good Friday)
It comes as an estimated two million British holidaymakers head overseas this weekend, according to travel trade organisation ABTA (pictured, people enjoying the warm weather on Bournemouth Beach on Saturday)
Traffic out of Dover, though, was ‘free-flowing’ yesterday and should be the same today.
The sun is not expected to stay long, with rain sweeping across the country tomorrow.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: ‘On Easter Sunday, for the most part, it will be fairly sunny and temperatures may peak at around 18C.
The only place we’ll probably see a change is Northern Ireland where it’ll turn increasingly breezy, cloudy and eventually damp.
‘For a good chunk of the UK, it’s going to be fairly reasonable.’ But he added: ‘It’s not going to last too long. Monday is certainly going to be that day of change, as low pressure starts to dominate the scene. With blustery showers, it’s the day to do anything you want indoors.’
