Spring equinox brings milder conditions

Thursday marks the first day of astronomical spring, the spring equinox, which occurs at exactly 09:01 GMT.

This is when the centre of the sun shines directly on the equator and occurs at the same time across the world.

Day and night are almost equal in length, but not quite.

Day and night were equal on the equilux, on St Patrick’s Day, Monday 17 March.

That’s because the top of the sun rises before the centre at sunrise and sets after the centre at sunset, extending the amount of daylight.

So, the hours of daylight are already slightly longer than hours of darkness.

Accompanying the lengthening days is milder and sunnier weather.

High pressure over eastern Europe and low pressure to the west of Iberia, are inducing a southernly flow from the near continent which will lift temperatures for the rest of the week.

Some parts of Northern Ireland, especially the west, could see highs up to 15C, around 5C above average.

However, this mild spell isn’t set to last with the low pressure becoming more dominant towards the weekend.

Temperatures will start to dip a little and it will become unsettled with spells of rain, especially Friday night into Saturday.