Bookies slash odds on new temperature record for March as springs warms up

Louise Hay amongst tulips that have bloomed in the Mediterranean Biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall

The unusually mild weather has caused bookmakers to slash the odds of the March temperature record of 25.6C (78F) being broken this year.

Forecasters said the south of England would experience the best conditions this weekend, with parts of Scotland experiencing rain.

Met Office spokesman Dan Williams expected maximum temperatures to be “significantly above average”, which is 9C (48F) for the UK in March.

In Yorkshire temperatures of around 14-15C are expected for the next few days.

“It looks fairly dry tomorrow,” he said. “Temperatures should get up to the high teens in places. It will probably be warmest along the south coast and into the South East and London area. We could see 17C (62F) or 18C (64F).

“On Sunday we expect a fairly similar day. It looks mainly dry with some good, bright spells and sunny weather particularly over eastern parts, but cloudy in the West.

“The top temperature will probably be in the London area, reaching 18C or 19C (66F) at a push.”

Going into next week, Mr Williams said that Monday would be “fairly settled and dry” but with more cloud cover and a maximum temperature of 16C (60F) .

Conditions will become “more unsettled” from Tuesday onwards, he added.