Brits are set to bask in sunshine and temperatures higher than Monaco in the hottest day of the year over the Easter weekend.
After a cold and wet March, finally the mercury is starting to rise and people are set for a rare Bank Holiday treat with fine weather.
A high pressure system means that temperatures could rise as high as 18C on Sunday making it as warm as Barcelona and hotter than Monaco in the south of France where it will be just 16C.
People will be able to head out into the sunshine with parts of the south of England likely to be dry throughout the weekend.
There is, though, a warning of “very high levels” of pollen as temperatures could rise above the warmest day so far this year which was March 30 when the mercury reached 17.8C in Santon Downham, Suffolk.
"It could possibly be the warmest day of the year and beat the 17.8C that we have had so far. There is a possibility of 18C although it is not 100%. There will be three very fine days," Grahame Madge told The Mirror.
"For people planning anything over the weekend then Monday is probably going to be the most unsettled of the days but overall it is going to be sunny and fine."
Dan Suri, Met Office chief forecaster, said that mixed weather conditions will become more settled over the coming days.
He said: “Ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend, unsettled conditions will see bands of rain – with some heavy bursts in places – moving eastwards through the rest of Wednesday and early Thursday.
"As this clears a mixture of sunshine and showers will prevail for much of Thursday before a more settled pattern establishes for Good Friday and Easter Saturday as high pressure begins to build.”
But BBC weather’s Carol Kirkwood warned of very high pollen that comes along with the sunshine.
“If you are our and about over the next few days and you have an allergy to tree pollen, over the southern part of England and all of Wales the levels are going to be high and on Saturday very high,” she said.
While looking at the weather for today she continued: “Today we have got this ridge of high pressure building in behind this weather front. The weather front has produced a fair amount of cloud and rain in the early part of today, it is continuing to move into the North Sea, clearing all but the north east of Scotland and Shetland, where in Shetland it will also be windy.
"Behind it we have sunshine, bright spells and showers. Some of the showers will be heavy down this east coast, from Lincolnshire down towards Kent and of course they are showers and we won’t all see one. Top temperatures today between 7C and 14C."
