UK Weather: spring set to be third hottest on record

The Met Office has predicted that this year’s spring will be the third warmest on record in the UK.

Scotland could also see its warmest spring since records began in 1910, with the UK experiencing six months of above average temperatures.

The predictions are supported by an average March-May temperature which is third only to 2007 and 2011.

Whilst England has seen the warmest average temperatures of 9.76C, Wales is not too far behind at 9.04C and Scotland at 7.63C. The UK overall has seen average temperatures of 8.97C.

The Met Office also said that this winter, temperatures have been at least 1C above the normal average.

Despite warmer temperatures however, May has been much duller and wetter than average, with only 76% of the usual sunshine expected for the time of year and 97.7mm of rainfall – around 140% of the long-term average.

This past week, some parts of the country have seen torrential downpours, despite warmer conditions, with tornadoes reported in some areas of the country.

Earlier this week, flood warnings were issued by the Met Office for some parts of the Midlands and Yorkshire. These areas suffered major flooding back in June 2007.

The change in weather conditions is expected to put further pressure on calls for measures against climate change, after the winter floods in the UK caused chaos among parts of the south-west, with train lines and homes being completely destroyed by the Christmas storms.

Further reading:

UK weather: floods expected in Midlands and Yorkshire as heavy rain forecast

Climate change increasing flood risk in the UK

Limiting global warming to 2C not enough to avoid dramatic changes in Europe

Federation of Small Businesses: £831m losses in small firms due to floods

UK weather will ‘change rapidly’ because of climate change, experts say