2 days Ago By Chris Riches
Racegoers flocking to the Grand National Festival at Aintree on Thursday will enjoy sweltering temperatures hotter than Athens, the Met Office has revealed. The UK is set for an April mini-heatwave this week with the mercury soaring as high as 21C (69.8F) in the south of England, compared to Athens and Barcelona where the temperature will only reach 17C and 16C respectively.
And even in the North-West of England and Aintree in Merseyside, where the three day Randox Grand National Festival begins on Thursday 3rd April, visitors to the track are set to enjoy 19C (66.2F). On Friday at Aintree it's expected to peak at 17C (62.
6F) and on the day of the 'World's Greatest Steeplechase' itself on Saturday 5th April, the mercury could peat at 15C (59F). Each of the three days of the jump racing festival are set to avoid any major chance of rain showers and instead will see days of blue sky - a joy for racegoers but a nightmare for the hardworking ground staff. They will need to make sure the track is well watered, especially around the big races 16 fences - two jumped once while 14 are jumped twice in the 30-fence race - to ensure the safety of the horses taking off and landing.
Elsewhere across the UK later this week, South Wales and Somerset could reach 20C, with the weather is generally expected to remain dry and sunny across the country and into the weekend. The Met Office 's Stephen Dixon said: "Temperatures are well above average for the time of year and that theme is set to continue for much of the week. "There will be a settled period for the UK’s weather and temperatures will possibly get as high as 21C on Thursday.
" Mr Dixon said high pressure is set to be near or over the UK in the coming week and into the weekend, leading to warm and dry conditions. He said: "On Tuesday morning there will be the start of some low cloud in some parts of the Midlands and central England but will clear up quite quickly. "Through the middle of the week it will be a touch breezier in the South West, but it will still feel much warmer than average.
"On Friday and Saturday we are likely to see a touch of fog in eastern Scotland and north-east England which will subdue temperatures in these areas." Although temperatures are likely to gradually drop on Saturday, they will still hover around the mid-teens and are likely to be higher than the average maximum temperature of 12C for the UK in April, forecasters said. The warm weather still falls some way short of the record high in April of 29.
4C, which was recorded Camden Square, London, in 1949, Met Office records show. Beachgoers were out in their droves last weekend on the south coast, providing a boost for seasonal businesses. Katy Alston, who has been in the ice cream trade for more than 20 years and runs Pinks Parlour near the beach in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, said business was booming last the weekend.
"It’s been absolutely wonderful,” 57-year-old Ms Alston said. Everything has been so tough and this weekend it’s like we have seen light again." She said the mild weather was "perfect timing" with Mother’s Day last Sunday.
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