UK weather: a sunny start to April with 20C temperatures expected this week

Temperatures will be several degrees above the average daytime highs for early April which are typically around 9-14C (48-57F).

However, spring is a transition season and tends to bring big temperature swings meaning spells of warm weather are expected – along with some colder periods.

It is very unlikely that we will challenge the UK’s highest April temperature on record: 29.4C (84.9F) at Camden Square (London) on 16 April 1949.

The settled start to April comes after what has been an unusually dry March for most of the UK.

Met Office data shows that, up until 29 March, England and Wales overall had received just 26% of the typical March rainfall.

Northern Ireland had seen 32% of its average, with Scotland receiving 64% of its normal total for the month.