Spring weather has arrived, but is it here to stay?

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, spring warmth finally arrived on our shores at the weekend as an area of low pressure pushed a plume of tropical maritime air over us.

Thanks to the sunshine across eastern parts of England, we experienced the warmest day of the year so far, with Gravesend and Manston, both in Kent, reaching 22C (72F). The rest of eastern England was pleasantly warm as well, at 17-20C.

Another remarkable fact is that yesterday was the first time a temperature above 20C has been recorded in the UK since 17 September 2012 – seven months ago!

However, the tropical maritime air hasn’t only brought warmth, it has also brought moisture, so not all of us had sunshine yesterday.

Northern and western areas were very windy, with cloud and outbreaks of heavy rain. Despite this, temperatures still managed to reach a more spring-like 12-17C.

Is spring weather here to stay?

Whilst its position will vary over the next seven to ten days, the jet stream will be much closer to where it should be at this time of year.

As a result, the weather will be much more spring-like, with the usual variation of wind, rain and showers, interspersed with drier, sunnier interludes.

The wettest and windiest weather will tend to be across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England, with the best of any drier and brighter weather further south.

In terms of temperature, the latest information suggests that any notable warm spells are unlikely. However, temperatures should be much closer to average than of late, with a return to anything colder probably temporary.

London marathon weather

The London marathon is taking place next Sunday and the weather is always of great interest to those taking part.

The weather will be of particular importance this year because most people taking part will have only trained in cold weather, so very warm weather on the big day would be unwelcome.

My latest thoughts are that weather at the start line in the morning will be dry and cool with sunshine and a temperature of around 7C.

By early afternoon, the breeze is likely to pick up a bit, but it should stay bright and dry with further sunny spells and a temperature of around 14C.

I will of course keep you updated on the forecast for the London marathon and the rest of the UK throughout this week here on my blog and on Twitter – @liamdutton