A DOUBLE dose of high pressure will keep Scotland warm and sunny this week as the nation’s kids quit their desks for the start to the Easter Holidays.
The weather phenomenon which protects us from incoming Atlantic weather has been sitting to the east of the country over Scandinavia and the North Sea.
Helensburgh restaurants made use of their outdoor seating as the sun shone this afternoon.[/caption]
Over the next 24 hours, a separate ridge of high pressure will develop over the north of Scotland, dominating our climate to create outstanding conditions again tomorrow.
Today two locations equalled Scotland’s top temperature of 2025, at Altnaharra in the north west and at Kinloss in Moray, where the mercury reached 19.7C (67F).
Looking ahead to today, meteorologist Clare Nasir of the Met Office said: ”Tomorrow, there will be a lot of sunshine around.
“The warmest will be in the west, where we will see the highest temperatures.
“It will be a lovely day for most people, with gorgeous sunshine coming through.
“On Friday, yet again, we will be bathed in that lovely April sunshine. Inland, it could reach 20C or 21C (68-70F).”
While the tinder-dry conditions are welcomed by many, they present a growing danger to Scotland’s countryside and wildlife.
Firefighters have warned of an “extreme” risk of wildfires across all areas of Scotland over the next week.
The warnings come as crews tackled a second large blaze in the Kilpatrick Hills near Glasgow, while gorse was set alight in a deliberate fire in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
It is the third wildfire warning issued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service this year as the weather becomes unseasonably warm and dry.
The public has been urged to avoid lighting any fires outdoors until next week.
Fire crews were previously called to a wildfire in the Kilpatrick Hills less than two weeks ago on March 20.
Group Commander Garry Douglas told BBC Radio‘s Good Morning Scotland programme that the area was particularly vulnerable.
He said: “Hills are prone to wildfires because the fire can spread far quicker uphill than on flatter ground.
“In these valleys, you can get areas of micro-climates, where the sun’s drying out the fuel and that allows the fire to spread.”
In Banchory, fire crews were called out to the gorse fire on Tuesday afternoon. There were no injuries and the fire was extinguished.
Mr Douglas warned that there was typically a large volume of “dead, bone-dry vegetation across large areas of countryside” at this time of year, which acts as a fuel for fire.
A massive wildfire has erupted at Cochno Reservoir in West Dunbartonshire.[/caption]
