Weather forecasts have suggested UK temperatures will heat up over the next two weeks as a plume extends north from Africa.
The Met Office has recently forecast that the remaining two weeks of March will be dominated by rain, with thunder crashing across the country as Britons are pelted by heavy showers.
The agency has also predicted the country will feel largely mild as these showers fall, with colder conditions isolated to areas with “fresh” winds on ground level.
The weather looks much different higher up in the atmosphere, where temperature shifts could push the mercury well above the March average.
While most Britons won’t feel much more than the springtime average, the upper atmosphere could reach 17C in some parts of Europe.
Recent maps posted by WXCharts exploring conditions at 1,500 metres above the UK’s boundary layer have shown that temperatures will steadily rise over the next two weeks.
Between now and March 20, charts from the organisation, which uses data from MetDesk, show “temperature anomalies” oscillating between 2C and 8C.
By the 20th, the atmosphere in Europe – namely in the Nordics around Finland and Sweden – could reach highs of 17C.
In the UK, the upper atmospheric highs will trend slightly lower, down to 8C, and ground temperatures could rise to nearly double that total.
Maps from the service suggest temperatures could hit between 14C and 16C in London and the southeast, and between 8C and 11C in northern England and Scotland.
Charts from Netweather show similar highs, with London reaching a maximum of 17C, temperatures comparable to France, where the mercury has been tipped to surge towards 20C.
The dark red maps predict conditions more than a week away, and these are likely subject to change as the country approaches March 20.
The Met Office has not forecast significantly high temperatures over the period covered by some maps.
But the agency’s long-range weather forecast has warned that, with the risk of thunderstorms, comes slightly above average temperatures.
The forecast for next week states: “Into the new week, temperatures trend down toward just above average for the time of year as the broadly unsettled pattern continues with some brighter breaks interspersed with periods of rain, heaviest in western areas, driest in the south and east, pushing across the country to be followed by occasional showers, with a risk of thunderstorms mainly in the south.”