The UK is set to bask in glorious highs of up to 64F (18C) on the first weekend of fine weather since the the dreary third lockdown began.
Saturday is set to be Britain’s warmest day in three months with the mercury hitting 63F (17C).
The last time temperatures got this high was on November 9 when Gogerddan in West Wales enjoyed a balmy 64F (18C).
It will also be the hottest 24 hours in 2021, exceeding the 57.6F (14.2C) recorded on February 2 in Cardiff, Wales, and January 28 in Pershore, Worcestershire.
Soaring temperatures will be a welcome break for those still recovering from the ‘dangerous’ blizzards and sub-zero temperatures brought by the ‘Baltic Beast’ – or Beast from the East II – earlier this month.
The brutally cold weather came hand-in-hand with England’s third national lockdown which forced Britons to remain shut inside as a deadly and fast-spreading new Covid variant wreaked havoc.
Rising temperatures and melting snow are already causing issues, as a stranded motorist was pictured being rescued from his car after it got stuck in deep flood water in Buttsbury Wash, near Ingatestone in Essex.
And flooding concerns are unlikely to ease, as the upcoming warm weather will bring three days of ‘intense rainfall’ – with five flood warnings covering swathes of Scotland and England.
The UK is set for glorious 64F (18C) highs on Saturday as Britons bask in the warmest weekend in more than three months – just days after the country’s record-breaking’Big Freeze’. Pictured: The melting snow in Greenwich Park on Sunday
Rising temperatures and melting snow are already causing issues, as a stranded motorist was pictured being rescued from his car after it got stuck in deep flood water in Buttsbury Wash, near Ingatestone in Essex today (pictured)
On Tuesday, a band of rain is set to move eastwards across Britain, with the south-east of the country seeing particularly persistent showers.
The rain will continue through to Wednesday in the afternoon and evening. While parts of the country will see glorious February sunshine, the northwest will be hit with heavy downpours and persistent winds.
There are five flood warnings issued in the east of England, meaning flooding is expected and residents should take action to prevent homes and businesses from water damage. Meanwhile, there are 62 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in swathes of the south, south east and north east
Saturday will see ‘exceptionally’ mild weather, The Met Office says – but showers will persist in western regions.
A Met Office spokesperson told The Sun: ‘The latest radar shows that lines of intense rainfall known as line convection have developed within a frontal rain band this morning.
‘There will be spray and standing water on the roads, so take care if you’re out on an essential journey in this heavy rain.’
Spokesman Grahame Madge said: ‘We have this flow of increasing mild air moving across the UK.
‘This will be bringing some wetter conditions with it.
‘Warmer air can hold more moisture therefore warmer air can bring higher rainfall.
‘The ground is already quite saturated given the rain and snowfall. The ability to hold moisture is lower because of that.’
There are five flood warnings issued in the east of England, meaning flooding is expected and residents should take action to prevent homes and businesses from water damage.
Meanwhile, there are 62 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in swathes of the south, south east and north east.
Scotland has issued four flood warnings and ten flood alerts.
The coming weather will be a stark contrast to the snow and sub-zero temperatures recorded just days ago.
Britain had its last round of Arctic blasts on Saturday before temperatures began to rise into the sixties on Sunday.
In a strange-looking scene which looks more like a dusty desert than a snowy Scotland, one vehicle was left buried so deep in a pile of discoloured snow that only its roof was still visible.
The sandy-coloured snow was blown from a nearby field before covering parked vehicles on the A98 in Buckie, near Moray.
It follows days of bitter-cold 80mph winds, freezing rain and dangerous icy conditions as the UK faced the tail-end of the recent cold snap.
A man was seen helping a young girl our of a car after it got stuck in deep flood water in Buttsbury Wash, near Ingatestone in Essex
Emergency services were seen assisting a man after he got stuck in deep flood water in Essex today. He appears to have missed the ‘flood and deep water’ signs on the road
A lorry drove through a flooded road at Welney on the border between Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, after floodwater from the River Great Ouse had closed it
Soaring temperatures will be a welcome break for those still recovering from the ‘dangerous’ blizzards and sub-zero temperatures brought by the ‘Baltic Beast’ earlier this month. Pictured: Maximum temperatures last Saturday (left) were vastly different to the numbers predicted for this Saturday (right)
Soaring temperatures follow days of freezing weather across the UK. Pictured: A much-milder Greenwich park on Sunday
On Tuesday, a band of rain is set to move eastwards across Britain, with the south-east of the country seeing particularly persistent showers. Pictured: The melting snow in Greenwich park this weekend
The last time temperatures got above 64F (18C) was on November 9, 2020, when Gogerddan in West Wales enjoyed the balmy 64F (18C) sunshine. Pictured: A child stands near a frozen pond in Greenwich on Sunday
It will also be the hottest 24 hours in 2021, exceeding the 57.6F (14.2C) recorded on February 2 in Cardiff, Wales, and January 28 in Pershore, Worcestershire. Pictured: A couple in Greenwich Park on Sunday
But sun-seeking revellers shouldn’t whip out the sun-cream just yet, as the warm weather will bring with it three days of ‘intense rainfall’ – with five flood warnings covering swathes of Scotland and England due to melting snow and sporadic showers. Pictured: Walkers in Greenwich park on Sunday
After a week of cold weather – including a record-breaking -23C in Scotland – the mercury level begin to increase from Sunday.
Temperatures are expected to reach 61F (16C) across England, the Met Office forecasts.
However, the Met Office warned that weather will be ‘quite wet and windy’ for most of the week with forecaster Luke Met warning: ‘We will be hovering between 7C to 12C, I suspect, through Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday.
‘Most of the snow will start melting early in the week, with the exception being Scotland because they have had so much of it.
‘Weather-wise, it’s not too bad a day for many tomorrow. It does start wet across south-east England with some outbreaks of rain.
‘But from mid to late morning they should clear, and then for many we are looking at dry interludes with some sunny spells. There may be one or two showers in Scotland.’
The coldest UK temperature for 65 years was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire on Wednesday night, when the mercury dropped down to -23C.
People ice skated on frozen flooded fields near Ely in Cambridgeshire on Sunday, as the cold snap continued to grip much of the nation
Lucy Ashdown-Parkes, 45, is a swimming teacher and coach from Caterham in Surrey, who has been passionate about open water swimming for several years. Pictured: Ms Ashdown-Parkes in a bin full of ice water last week
Members of the public gathered next to Rushmere Pond on Wimbledon Common in South West London on Saturday which had frozen over as freezing temperatures once again hit the South East
Heavy gusts, some up to 80mph, are expected to continue until midnight tonight, according to the Met Office. Pictured: A Surfer rides the waves in Newquay, Cornwall, on Sunday
People ice skated on frozen, flooded fields near Ely in Cambridgeshire, on Sunday after the cold snap froze it over
A record low temperature for February was also recorded in England and Wales when temperatures in Ravensworth, North Yorkshire, dropped to -15.3C overnight on Thursday.
The chilly conditions froze Trafalgar Square’s fountains and brought large amounts of snowfall to regions across the country.
In Derbyshire’s High Peak area, the impressive Kinder Downfall also froze, turning the 98ft waterfall into a slippery climbing wall.
On Saturday morning, ice-skaters flocked to the frozen Cambridgeshire Fens after the recent cold snap gave them the rare chance to enjoy the ancient sport for the first time in three years.
Shallow waters in the Fens near Ely have been turned into an enormous natural ice rink and skaters were out early yesterday on the frozen flooded fields to make the most of the outdoor rink.
It takes three nights of temperatures of minus six or below to form ice strong enough to skate on.
Cars were buried in a massive snow drift in Scotland on Saturday, as Britain faced one last Arctic blast before temperatures began to rise into double figures
Two dog walkers were forced to climb over a mound of snow to make way for a snow plough clearing the roads of snow on Sunday in Whitton, Northumberland
The last time the Fens froze was three years ago in 2018 when the Beast from the East hit the UK and the skaters managed to get a day on the ice.
The Cambridgeshire Fens were the birthplace of British speed skating and when farm hands were unable to work on the frozen land they welcomed the chance to skate for prizes.
The first properly organised skating race was held in the Fens in 1814 and during the harsh Victorian winters people travelled from America and the continent to compete for a leg of mutton or a bag of flour.
Seagulls were also seen perched on the surface of the River Thames at Teddington, south west London, on Friday when it iced over for the first time since Britain’s Big Freeze in 1963.
However, amid people flocking to the newly formed ice patches, police yesterday put out a warning about the potential dangers.
Nottinghamshire Police released drone footage of two 11-year-old girls having a lucky escape after running into difficulties while walking over a frozen river.
One of the girls fell through the ice into the freezing water before the alarm was raised by a passer-by.