UK weather forecast: Easter weekend to be hotter than Canary Islands with highs of 24C

Britain set to boast higher temperatures than popular Mediterranean holiday spots over bank holiday

Britain is set to bask in sweltering temperatures over the Easter weekend, with parts of the country likely to be warmer than the Canary Islands.

The mercury could soar as high as 24C in southeastern England on Saturday, hotter than popular holiday spots such as Tenerife, Agadir and Rhodes.

Although the southeast is expected to receive the warmest of the bank holiday weather, conditions are also expected to hot up in almost every other corner of the country.

Britain can usually experiences heat of around 10 to 13C over the Easter weekend.

But widespread temperatures of around 21C are forecast on Friday and Saturday, while many will see highs of 23C by Easter Sunday.

Some areas of Northern Ireland and the far northwest of Scotland may have to wait until Monday for clouds to clear, but will still enjoy higher than average temperatures.

“It’s looking fine and dry and things will be warming up considerably over the next few days,” Met Office spokesman Richard Miles told The Independent.

“We are going to see a general pattern of warming and everyone is going to see some sunshine at some point over the weekend.”

A survey of 1,258 people by tourist board VisitEngland indicates more than seven million people are planning take advantage of the weather with an overnight trip in the UK this weekend.

This is up from almost five million last year and is the most since the annual survey was launched in 2013.

Research by the RAC and Inrix suggests 4.4 million car journeys for leisure trips will be made on Good Friday.

This is expected to cause many major routes to be clogged, with the worst delays between 11am and 4.30pm.

Meanwhile, travel trade association Abta expects 2.1 million British holidaymakers to head overseas this weekend, with Spain, Turkey and Egypt all reported as popular destinations.

This exodus means airports, ferry terminals and the Channel Tunnel are likely to be busier than usual.

“Easter is always one of the most popular times of year for travel and over the long weekend millions of holidaymakers will be taking either an overseas or a domestic break,” said Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer.

“As always on a busy bank holiday, leave plenty of time to get to your departure port and check for engineering work and line closures if using public transport.”

Additional reporting by PA