UK weather forecast: Parts of the UK warmer than Spain as Easter holiday begins

Parts of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Linconshire could reach 20C

Britain is set for thunderstorms and heavy rain after enjoying temperatures of up to 20C at the start of the Easter holidays.

Parts of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire could even be hotter than Barcelona and Madrid in Spain as the warm weather continues.

However temperatures are expected to fall back to the seasonal average of around 12C from Tuesday as Arctic air sweeps over the country.

“The best of the sunshine will be in the southeast, with temperatures of between 17C to 19C, possiby 20C at a push,” said Met Office forecaster Bonnie Diamond.

“That is most likely in the western parts of Norfolk, south Linconshire and Cambridgeshire.”

The higher temperatures are expected to trigger thunderstorms in the southeast, with the greatest risk over Kent and Essex.

“We would need to see temperatures of around 15C to 17C to trigger that,” added Ms Diamond.

On Sunday temperatures were well above the 12C UK average for April, with a peak of 16.8C in Porthmadog, Wales.

By contrast, Barcelona peaked at 17C while Madrid only hit 13C on Sunday, with expected highs of 18C and 15C respectively on Monday.

The UK is expected to remain mostly dry on Tuesday although it will start to feel colder, according to the Met Office.

“It won’t be as warm tomorrow and the temperature for the rest of the week will be more like 12C to 13C, which is about average,” said Ms Diamond.

“The air is coming from the Arctic region so it is going to be noticeably colder.”

Scotland could experience some snow flurries and the rest of the country is likely to experience overnight frosts.

Warmer weather is expected to return towards Good Friday, according to the Met Office long-range forecast.