EuroWire, EXETER: Parts of the UK are forecast to be warmer than Barcelona this week, with the Met Office predicting temperatures climbing into the high teens and reaching up to 19C in the warmest areas on Thursday, March 5. The expected peak comes as drier conditions and brighter spells develop for many areas after a generally unsettled winter. In Spain, the state weather agency AEMET’s outlook for Barcelona shows maximum temperatures around the mid-teens, including 17C, setting up a rare early-March comparison.
Forecasters said high pressure building over the UK is driving the midweek lift in temperatures, especially across England and Wales. In the London and South East region, the Met Office forecast a maximum of 15C on Tuesday, March 3, with fog patches clearing and some sunny spells developing later in the day. Overnight, low cloud and fog were expected to redevelop in parts of the region, with minimum temperatures staying above freezing in many areas.
Conditions are forecast to turn warmer again on Wednesday, March 4, with the Met Office expecting low cloud and fog to lift during the morning and brighter spells to develop later, taking the London and South East maximum to about 16C. Nationally, the Met Office forecast sunny spells for many, with thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain edging into the far northwest. The Met Office said Thursday is expected to bring the highest temperatures of the week, with a band of rain also forecast to cross parts of the country later.
Southeast leads the warm spell
The Met Office said the warmest conditions are expected in the south and southeast of England on Thursday, where sunshine is forecast to be most persistent before rain arrives later in the day. The London and South East outlook calls for sunny spells through Thursday followed by evening rain, with the rain clearing on Friday morning. Elsewhere in England and Wales, the Met Office forecast a mix of sunshine and variable cloud, with temperatures widely in the mid to high teens where breaks in the cloud are longest.
Across Scotland and Northern Ireland, forecasters said the week will remain more changeable, with cloudier skies and rain at times even as temperatures rise in parts of the UK. The Met Office’s national outlook for Thursday to Saturday said Scotland and Northern Ireland are more likely to see persistent cloud and outbreaks of rain on Thursday, while conditions turn cooler into the weekend. For Saturday, March 7, the London and South East forecast turns cloudier with areas of rain and drizzle, reflecting a broader shift toward a less settled pattern.
Wet winter provides context
The midweek warmth follows a winter that the Met Office said was wetter than average overall, with marked regional differences. Provisional figures released by the Met Office for Winter 2025/26 show the UK recorded 13% more rainfall than the long-term seasonal average, with England at 42% above its winter average and Scotland at 14% below. The Met Office said the West Midlands, Cornwall and Leicestershire had their wettest winter on record, based on series beginning in 1836, and noted that February continued to be notably dull across all four nations.
The Met Office has also pointed to recent late-winter warmth as temperatures climb again in early March. In a late-February analysis, the Met Office said daytime highs of 15 to 18C were recorded widely across parts of England, with 18.7C measured at Kew Gardens in London on February 25. Meteorological spring began on March 1, and the Met Office forecast the opening week of the season to bring a milder midweek peak before cooler and wetter spells return in some areas into the weekend.