Weather today: Met Office predicts today's spring equinox will be hottest day of the year

Thursday marks the spring equinox - when the sun passes equator and so day and night are roughly the same length. And after a warmer week it appears that today may be the warmest - although it is likely to be shortlived as wetter weather moves in.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said Thursday will be generally dry and fine with plenty of sunny spells. Wednesday’s highest recorded temperature was 18.7C in Northolt, west London.

Speaking about Thursday, Mr Partridge said: “It will be a little warmer too. The highest temperatures are expected in an area from London, the home counties to southern Midlands. Here we are likely to see 19C or 20C widely with one or two spots likely to reach 21C.”

The expected rise in temperatures coincides with the spring equinox which is the first day of astronomical spring.

Parts of the country may be hotter than Barcelona in Spain and Athens in Greece, where highs of 15C and 12C are forecast respectively.

The highest recorded UK spring equinox temperature was 21.5C in 1972, and Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said 2025’s highest temperature is unlikely to top that. This year has so far peaked at 19.7C in Crosby, Merseyside, on March 9.

Wetter weather will move in on Friday and the weekend will be more unsettled.

Mr Dixon said: “It’s going to be a widely dry, fine and sunny day for many, with temperatures well above average at the time of year. Temperatures are going to peak on the Thursday and they’ll decline into the weekend, heading closer towards average but still relatively warm for this time of year.”

Higher pressure to the east of the UK is currently helping to draw warmer air north across the country, he said. The sunshine will be only broken by some fair-weather cloud in central parts of England on Thursday, he said.

Friday will remain warm for many but some rain is expected to move in from the south west.

Showers are forecast to start in Cornwall and gradually travel north-east during that day into parts of Wales and central and southern England.

Rain is then expected for much of the country through the weekend, and Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: “This heralds the move to something more unsettled for the UK’s weather on Saturday, with more rain or showers developing for much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland through the day, and some heavier bursts likely in places.

“Western parts of Scotland are also likely to see rain on Saturday, with this gradually moving eastwards across the rest of Scotland through the weekend. Unsettled weather, with occasional rain or showers for many, will continue on Sunday, with plenty of cloud around as well.”

Meteorological spring always starts on March 1 while astronomical spring, or the equinox, begins around March 20 each year.

The other equinox is in September and both mark the sun crossing the equator, rather than being at an angle.