Weather: North East warm spell to see region get hotter than Rome later this week

A freezing January has, for the most part, continued into February with many of us across the North East wondering when the long, cold, dark winter will finally come to an end.

Luckily, the Met Office is expecting things to improve very soon and the North East is expected to see temperatures which may rival some of Europe’s warmest destinations.

Wednesday, February 19 is expected to see a slight improvement on what we have seen over the last few weeks with overcast skies and small sunny intervals with highs of 6°C.

Heading towards the end of the week, temperatures are expected to double in 24 hours with Thursday seeing the North East set to experience double figure temperatures once again. Overnight lows of 5°C from Wednesday will improve through the day into around 11°C according to the Met Office.

Friday will see temperatures rise further to 12-13°C, although this may also come alongside some wet spells through the morning.

Heading into the weekend, further temperatures in the double figures are expected alongside sunny spells on Saturday with highs of 12°C also expected on Sunday.

To compare, the Met Office’s forecast barely sees Rome reaching 13°C across much of the remainder of this week, while the 12-13°C expected this weekend is expected to match the temperatures of Madrid in Spain.

Moving into next week, the Met Office’s medium range forecast claims: “Frontal systems [are] likely to continue spreading across the UK from the Atlantic during this period. These systems will bring spells of rain to many parts of the UK.

“The heaviest and most prolonged rainfall is expected to be in west and north-western areas, particularly over higher ground, with rainfall totals much lower in the east and southeast.

“Strong winds are also likely to develop at times, especially along coasts where gales or severe gales are possible.

“Between weather systems, some drier and more settled interludes are expected, these bringing lighter winds and sunny spells, perhaps accompanied by a few showers. Temperatures are likely be above average, especially early in this period when it will be very mild.”