Put your brollies away! Britain is set for driest March ever

BRITAIN may be enjoying the driest March on record – with little chance of rain for at least the next fortnight, forecasters said last night.

A “mammoth” area of high pressure, which has brought the recent above-average temperatures, is wedged over the UK.

And it shows no signs of shifting yet, meaning the country may not see any significant rainfall until April.

Almost everywhere can look forward to at least 10 more days of it being dry and sunny.

After weeks of the wettest winter since 1910, parts of the country have so far seen less than a sixth of the average rainfall for March.

Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said this month could beat March 1927 when only 0.6ins of rain fell.

He said: “It is a similar stubborn high to that which we saw during the very hot weather last summer and it will stay very, very dry.

“It is going to bring more glorious conditions with temperatures to stay around 63F (17C) or even 64F at the weekend. The only downside is all the right  ingredients are there for some quite problematic fog.”

The prospect of a lengthy dry spell will come as a relief to the flood-ravaged South.

Although river and groundwater levels have fallen they are still “exceptionally high”.

The Environment Agency still has four flood warnings and 59 flood alerts in place across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, West Sussex, West Berkshire, Kent and Surrey.

But a spokesman said a continued dry spell would see water levels fall in the worst-hit areas.

The deluged Somerset Levels were seeing falling levels after Britain’s biggest ever pumping operation, although ground- water levels remain exceptionally high across much of the South.

But the Met Office said so far just 0.5ins of rain has fallen in London against an average of 2.2ins across the South-east.

East Anglia has seen 0.2ins, a seventh of the 1.7ins average, while parts of Wales have seen 0.8ins, a sixth of the region’s 4.6ins average.

The warm weather could bring the risk of disruptive fog and the Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for fog across most of the South today.

A spokesman said: “Where it forms it is likely to be dense at times, especially in low-lying areas. The public should be aware of the potential for some difficult driving conditions and disruption to travel, particularly during the morning rush hour.”

Spokeswoman Nicky Maxey said: “It is going to stay fairly mild with temperatures dropping slightly to more normal values though creeping up again on Sunday.

“It will feel colder at night but then start to warm up again during the day.”

Britain has so far basked in temperatures higher than Greece and the Mediterranean with the mercury touching 69F (20.5C) in Kent last weekend. Leon Brown, forecaster for The Weather Channel, predicted another glorious few days this weekend.

He said: “Sunday may turn out to be a fine and quite sunny day for southern and eastern England.” Fog today may linger till late morning, but it will get warmer by the afternoon.

He said temperatures will hit 63F where the sun breaks through earliest in the morning, while sheltered locations such as west Wales may reach 64F.

Sales of barbecues have rocketed 111 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Asda spokeswoman Mammy Kufuor said: “The nation has been raring to light the barbecues.”