UK temperatures hit 26C on Saturday, wrapping up the sunniest spring on record before the country officially goes into the summer season.
Heathrow in west London enjoyed the hottest weather at 26.7C, about 8C hotter than the average for the time of year, while levels of grass pollen were very high in the South East.
A balmy end to spring for many comes as provisional figures from the Met Office show 630 hours of sunshine were clocked up across the country between March 1 and May 27.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “It’s the last day of meteorological spring today but it’ll actually feel more like midsummer for some southern and eastern areas.
“It’s fairly warm in that sunshine, particularly across more eastern and south-eastern parts of the UK, with temperatures in the mid 20s.”
He said it has been a “different story” in the North West where people have seen cooler and more showery weather, which is expected to spread on Sunday.
“Further showers and longer spells of rain across the north of the UK and feeling much fresher for all of us by tomorrow,” Mr Morgan continued.
“Generally a fine start for many parts of England and Wales, a mixture of clouds and sunny spells overall though it will be a breezier day tomorrow and generally a bit cloudier too.
“So the cloud bubbling up through the morning, further showers and longer spells of rain pushing eastwards across Northern Ireland and Scotland, the odd rumble of thunder here and there.
“Showers breaking out quite widely across northern England, Wales, the Midlands and the South West as well, but some places will stay dry, particularly across the South East of England.”
