Met Office weather forecast: Sheffield and Doncaster to be hotter than Corfu as spring starts with a flourish

Parts of Yorkshire are forecast to be hotter than Corfu on Thursday March 20. The Met Office is forecasting highs of 17°C for Sheffield, Doncaster and York for 15:00 on Thursday.

Leeds is forecast to be 16°C on Thursday.

What is the spring equinox?

The hotter weather will coincide with the spring equinox. At the equinox, the Earth's axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun, meaning day and night are nearly equal in length. The equinox happens twice a year, in March and in September.

The spring equinox marks the start of astronomical spring. Beyond the equinox, until the summer solstice on June 21, days will be longer than nights.

When is the spring equinox?

This year, the spring equinox is on March 20.

Despite it being the start of astronomical spring, the clocks don’t go forward until the last Sunday of the month - March 30. The clocks will go forward 1 hour at 1am.