UK weather: Britain to be hotter than Madrid as mild air brings weekend heatwave

Temperatures in the south will be almost twice as warm as the seasonal average, but it will be cold and wet in the north

A cold snap will make way for temperatures as high as 14C (PA)

The south of England will be hotter than Madrid this weekend, as a mini heatwave doubles the average annual temperature.

London and the south will see temperatures reach highs of 14C on Sunday and 13C today, although the warm weather is expected to come with some rain

That compares to an average temperature of just over 7C for this time of year in England, while weather in the Spanish capital will reach only 12C.

The warm weather follows a cold snap which saw thick frost, ice and snow in parts of the country last week.

However, the weather will be split across the country with most of the north and Scotland facing temperatures of around 6C and heavy rain.

The Met Office said a band of heavy rain around the Midlands was separating the cold air in the north from the much milder air reaching the south.

The rain is expected to be heavy enough to trigger yellow warnings – meaning to take care - for north Wales, north west England and much of central Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “There is a three-way split for this weekend, with a band of localised heavy rain pushing across the central slice of the country through today.

“We have a warning for persistent rain in Wales and the north-west of England valid through today and tomorrow, with some parts looking at potentially three inches of rainfall through the weekend.

“The average rainfall for the month of February in Wales is around 3.5in (80mm), so it's almost a month of rain over two days.

“In Scotland it will be cold and we could see significant snowfall across the hills up to 20cm on the highest ground and there is another warning in place valid through until 11am on Sunday.

“The weather front is going be a big divide, with scope for brighter breaks in the south and temperatures into the low teens, as high as 14C in the South East on Sunday, but it's quite a blustery picture.”