It’s likely to be the warmest February since records began, but get ready to kiss goodbye to the sunshine as we wind down for a wet and windy weekend.
The recent warm spell has in part been due to winds coming from the African continent for the past fortnight. As well as bringing warmer temperatures with it, dust from the desert is also present in the air, meaning some places could see “blood rain”.
Scattered, thundery showers are due to fall on Thursday across western parts of the country, including south-west England, the north-west and Wales.
Less macabre than it sounds, so-called blood rain is a phenomenon caused when red dust and sand from the Sahara desert mixes and falls with rain, creating a rusty red colour.
In hotter times of the year when evaporation occurs much faster, blood rain can leave a film of dust on cars and furniture.
With just one day to go before the beginning of March, this year’s maximum daily average has already reached 9.9C, the Met Office said. The previous warmest February was in 1998, when the average maximum daily temperature was 9.8C.
Forecaster Becky Mitchell said it was “exceptional” to beat the 1998 record given the chilly start to the month.
She said: “At the moment, the current average is 9.9C and of course we have got just one more day of February to go, so it looks like we are on track to be the warmest February on record.”
Mitchell added: “It was really quite cold at the start of the month – it’s pretty exceptional to have caught up with the 1998 one.”
Experts said climate change is heating up the whole weather system and making extremes more likely.
February’s exceptional conditions have seen fires at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, on Saddleworth Moor in West Yorkshire and in North Wales, Sussex and Lancashire.
Thursday is predicted to stay mild, with cloudy skies and highs of 14C forecast in London.
Friday will see some heavy rain in western parts of the UK, and the unsettled weather is to continue “right through the weekend”, Mitchell said.
The conditions will be a “big contrast” to the sunny start to the week, she said, adding: “It will be wet and windy for the whole of the UK, and very strong winds across many places, and we could even have gales in the west.”