20 March - National weather forecast presented by Aidan McGivern
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00:00Hi there. At 9.01am this morning, the Spring Equinox occurred. That means the Northern
00:05Hemisphere is now tilted towards the Sun and it will certainly feel spring-like as warmer
00:10air is dredged up from the south around this area of low pressure. But as that low pressure
00:17starts to move towards the UK, the winds will pick up, the cloud will build and we'll see
00:21a change to more showery weather over the next few days. Before all that happens though,
00:27it is going to be a dry and bright day for the vast majority. Not entirely blue skies,
00:32some high and medium cloud here and there. But with that wind direction coming up from
00:38the south, it is certainly going to be warmer compared with recent days. In fact, it's likely
00:42to be the warmest day of the year so far, 20-21C. If the temperature exceeds 21.5C,
00:49which is possible, it would be the warmest Spring Equinox on record. I know the date
00:53varies from the 19th to the 21st of March, but the records suggest that 21.5C is the
01:00warmest Spring Equinox on record. Into the evening, cloud will build and the breeze will
01:06pick up. That means it's generally a frost-free night. But for sheltered parts of Northern
01:11England and Scotland, there's still the potential for a touch of frost. Otherwise, it's milder
01:16compared with recent mornings, but it's wetter in places now southwestern parts of the UK.
01:21We'll see showers from the word go, perhaps even a rumble of thunder. Those showers will
01:25move into West Wales, Northern Ireland, Western Scotland through the day as well. Cloudier
01:30skies, more of a breeze, so a marked change compared with the week so far. Still bright,
01:35but fairly breezy in the east. Certainly, the breeze picking up across higher parts
01:40of Scotland and temperatures still above average, but perhaps limited a little more by the extra
01:46cloud and the breeze. So, still a warm day, but not quite as warm as Thursday. Now, the
01:53unsettled weather in the west will make its way gradually eastwards through the course
01:57of the weekend, so all areas seeing spells of rain or showers after what has been a remarkably
02:02dry March so far. The unsettled weather doesn't last particularly long into next week, a better
02:08chance of drier spells and some sunshine emerging.