Easter Sunday could be the “warmest day of the year so far”, with highs of up to 18C expected in parts of the UK.

The Met Office said the weather is widely set to be “fine and relatively nice” over the long weekend with “some sunshine” before “rain for most places” on Bank Holiday Monday.

Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said there will be “plenty of fine weather as we start off Good Friday”, with a “frosty start in places” but “sunny skies for the vast majority”.

On Good Friday afternoon he said “warm sunshine” could bring highs of “15C or 16C in the south, 12C to 14C further north”, with 16C expected in London and 15C in Cardiff.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

But low cloud and mist could bring cooler temperatures of 10C to 11C to areas on the North Sea coast.

On Saturday, “the vast majority” of the UK can expect “spells of sunshine” after a “frosty start”, with highs of 14C to 16C and conditions “feeling very pleasant indeed”, Mr McGivern said.

He said Easter Sunday will also start off with “plenty of fine weather” despite “a bit more cloud in the sky”.

Mr McGivern added: “Bright or sunny spells will make it feel very pleasant indeed, with temperatures potentially reaching 18C across parts of the Midlands into Wales and the South East, mid-teens fairly widely elsewhere away from the North Sea coast, although parts of Norfolk into Yorkshire could feel a bit warmer.”

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan told the PA news agency that this could make Sunday the UK’s hottest day of 2023 so far.

He said: “It’s probably going to be Sunday if we see the warmest day of the year so far, so currently the highest temperature recorded in 2023 is 17.8C and that was on March 30 in (Santon Downham) Suffolk, so we’ll probably see temperatures peaking at around 18C or so on Easter Sunday.

“It will turn much more unsettled for Bank Holiday Monday, unfortunately, as is quite typical in the UK – a bit of a British love affair, isn’t it, with rain on Bank Holiday Mondays.

“And this Monday will see rain for most places but in the form of showers, primarily, so there will still be a few sunny intervals on Monday, it won’t be a washout for most places.”

Mr Morgan said Monday will “be a slightly fresher day but nonetheless still relatively warm”.

He added: “So a bit of a changeable end to the long weekend but some fine weather for most through Good Friday, Saturday and much of Easter Sunday as well.

“Temperatures gradually rising for the first part of the weekend before a slight dip for most on Monday.

“Most places will have some sunshine, it won’t be blue skies for everyone everyday, I think the best of the sunshine will probably be on Good Friday for the most part of the UK, a bit of high level cloud at times on Easter Day, but it will still feel fairly pleasant in that sunshine given that the winds will be not too strong.”