Scotland set for hottest day of the year so far

Scotland is expecting its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 22C in some places.

Wildfire warnings have been issued at the highest level after the long dry spell with people enjoying the sun urged to be extremely cautious.

Inland areas in the north east are predicted to see some of the highest temperatures, before damper weather returns to Scotland at the weekend.

Recent analysis suggests that spring is the fastest-warming season in the United Kingdom, largely down to climate change.

The average spring temperature in the UK has increased by 1.8C since 1970.

The dry spell has been caused by the jet stream – a river of fast flowing air high up in the atmosphere – which has recently been flowing far to the north of Scotland.

That has led to something called an Omega blocking pattern – where a high pressure system becomes stuck over the UK, keeping out the cloud and rain.

Sunny and dry conditions have continued into April with many areas hitting temperatures in the high teens or even the low 20s.

The highest temperature so far this year in Scotland was 20.9C recorded at Tyndrum on 8 April.

Forecasters said that was likely to be surpassed, particularly in inland Aberdeenshire.

Aboyne was seeing some of the fastest climbing temperatures on Thursday – rising from a frosty minus 3.2C overnight to 14.6C by mid-morning.

After a dry March which only delivered 64% of the normal rainfall for the month, firefighters have warned of very dry dead vegetation providing ample fuel for fires.

A number of serious wildfires have broken out including one in Dumfries and Galloway where campers had to be evacuated by the emergency services.

A “very high” risk of wildfires warning has been force for a week – but the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has upgraded this to “extreme” in the southwest, eastern, central, and north of Scotland for Thursday.

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Kenny Barbour said: “Wildfires have the potential to burn for days, as we’ve seen this week in Dumfries and Galloway, and they spread through vast areas of land in our countryside, which is devastating for those who live nearby.”

He said the public was being asked to “exercise extreme caution and think twice before using anything involving a naked flame”.

Firefighters were called to about 90 outdoor fires over the weekend including large fires in the Galloway Forest Park and Inverpolly Forest in the Highlands.

A large fire on a hillside in Inverclyde led to a smoke over Greenock and the Clyde, prompting ships to sound their foghorns.

Another large grass fire was extinguished on Skye in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

BBC Scotland weather forecaster Kirsteen MacDonald said the high pressure area that prompted the warm, settled conditions was gradually sinking southwards.

She said temperatures would reach the high teens in many areas, with inland Aberdeenshire likely to see the warmest weather, at around 22C.

By the end of Friday some rain is forecast to reach the far north of the country.

For most places it will be Saturday night before wetter weather returns and Sunday will see a marked drop in temperatures, heralding a period of more unsettled weather in the week to come.

While the cooler temperatures may come as a shock to some after the recent warm spell, they will actually be close to the seasonal average.