UK weather forecast – Dense fog to spark travel chaos before sunshine breaks through

BRITS are braced for travel chaos this morning as a dense fog engulfs huge swathes of the UK – before sunshine breaks through later on.

The Met Office has issued a ‘severe’ Yellow warning for fog covering the south-west England, southern Wales and the border areas between Wales and England.

“Dense fog patches may cause some travel disruption at first on Saturday morning,” a Met Office spokesman said.

Forecasters warning there could be flight delays or cancellations and slower journey times on the roads.

After the fog clears, there will be decent sunny spells in southern parts of England and Wales as well as northern Scotland.

But central areas will be mostly cloudy with a few spots of rain possible at times.

A Meteogroup forecaster added: “The evening will be dry with clear spells for most, although there will be cloud and the odd spot of rain across parts of northern England, Wales and the north and east Midlands.

“Through the night, it will become cloudy for many central and eastern areas but southern and northern areas will remain clear, with a widespread frost developing for Scotland.”

Enjoy the sunshine while you can, as snow could be arriving in time for Mother’s Day – thanks to a “polar plume” from Greenland.
A Met Office forecaster said: “Sunday will feel colder, with a frosty Monday with wet and windy weather in the North.

“Tuesday’s showers have some sleet and snow over hills in the North.

“The period is most likely to remain unsettled, with showers heaviest in the North and wintry over hills, with overnight frosts likely.

“It will also become generally windy, with gales possible, especially towards the North-West.”

Today Sheffield’s temperature soared to a whopping 19C, with other parts of England reaching 18C.

APRIL SHOWERS

Sadly, the recent spring sunshine won’t last for long – as the jet stream pushes southwards over the coming days, bringing some rain over the weekend.

Tomorrow will be “largely fine and warm” in the South with some outbreaks of rain possible, while the North is expected to be “cold and bright with a few showers”.

On Mothering Sunday it will begin to feel colder, with temperatures dropping to around 11C in the Southwest.

A Met Office forecast said: “Next week will be off to a chilly but mainly fine start on Monday, though it will gradually become more changeable through the week.

“There will be rain and strong winds at times, mainly in the northwest of the UK, where gales are likely.

“Some rain is possible in the south too, but there will be more in the way of dry weather.

“The unsettled weather is likely to continue into mid April.”

Colder air will also feed in, with high temperatures dropping to around the 10C mark.

‘HEATWAVE’ ON THE HORIZON

But things could get hotter in the second half of April – with temperatures hitting 26C as plumes of warm air travel northwards from Africa.

The Weather Outlook’s Brian Gaze added: “With computer models strongly favouring a warm spring, there is potential for the record for the hottest spring to be challenged.

“Highs of 26C are likely in April. Plumes of warm air from Africa are expected.

“And there is an increased chance of a hot and settled summer due to the trend for more high pressure, which brings hot conditions in summer.”

The three-month outlook from the Met Office says: “For March-April-May as a whole, above-average temperatures are more likely than below-average temperatures.”

The average temperature for April is 11.5C although the highest-ever April temperature in the UK hit 29.4C on April 16, 1949, in London’s Camden Square.

Bookies have already dropped the odds on it being the hottest spring ever.

Coral has slashed its odds from 4/1 to 5/1.

It has also given odds of 2/1 for next month being the warmest April ever.

The bookmaker also thinks this summer will also be the hottest since records began.