Manchester poised for the hottest day of the year so far
Temperatures will get into the early 20s
Last updated 18th Apr 2018
Greater Manchester will bask in the sunshine as the UK experiences its first taste of spring.
Just weeks after snow ground our transport networks to a halt, the mercury could rise to up to 10C above the average for April, according to the Met Office.
Meteorologist Alex Burkill said the weather will be "turning warmer for a little time'' as hotter air is dragged up from the south, causing temperatures to rise as high as 24C by Thursday.
"But for many parts of the UK it is going to be a dry and very sunny day and, with that, temperatures creeping up as well.''
"Apart from a bit of showery rain across parts of Scotland perhaps, Thursday is looking like a dry and sunny day ... with temperatures quite widely getting above 20C.''
Thursday's warm blast will see parts of the country be hotter than some European destinations, including Malaga in Spain at 21C and Athens in Greece at 23C.
Mr Burkill said it is "not especially'' unusual to see such temperatures, adding: "Quite often we would have already gone above 20C by this time in the year.
"It is quite normal for spring to be like this and to bring some colder spells and some temperatures like this.''
He revealed that the warm and sunny weather looks set to continue into the weekend, but that it may be a little cooler, and said there could be some rain pushing in from the west by Sunday