Cambridge the hottest place in the UK as April temperatures soar

Cambridge was the hottest place in the UK on Sunday 9 April 2017. Credit: ITV News Anglia / David Hughes

Cambridge was the hottest place in the UK on a sizzling Sunday in April as the temperature soared above 25°C.

It was the hottest day of the year so far in Britain.

The city saw the thermometer rise to 25.5°C on Sunday 9 April which is about 13°C higher than normal for the time of year.

The highest temperature ever recorded in April in Cambridge was 28.9°C on 20 April 1893.

Although temperatures were well above normal for the time of year, it was only the hottest April day in the Anglia region since 2011. April 2011 went on to be the warmest April in East Anglia since records began in 1910.

On 23 April 2011 it reached 28.2°C at Diss in Norfolk, 27.6°C in Ely in Cambridgeshire and 27.1°C in Royston in Hertfordshire.

The maximum on 25.5°C in Cambridge on 9 April 2017 is however likely to be the highest temperature recorded on 9 April itself in the UK.

The previous highs on this day were around 23°C and recorded back in 1969.

The crowds flocked to the beach at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex on the warmest day of 2017 so far. Credit: Roger Carder 

Temperatures in some parts of the UK are expected to drop by as much as 10°C on Monday as the weather returns to normal for this time of year.

The south-east corner of England will again see the best of the weather but, incontrast, highs will struggle to get past the mid-teens.

Met Office forecaster Emma Boorman said: "Temperatures will return to normal for this time of year but because we have been spoiled with such good weather it will be a lot more noticeable and feel cooler."

While she said it is too early to give an accurate forecast for Easter theweather is not expected to reach the sunny highs of this weekend.

Garden flowers in full spring bloom in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Credit: Alan Smith

There has also been barely any rain in the Anglia region so far during April and it has been mainly dry for 12 consecutive days.

The last significant widespread rainfall in the region was on 28 March.

It has also been very sunny with an average of 7¼ hours of sunshine per day since the start of the month. An average April day usually produces 5½ hours of bright sunshine.

Trees in blossom at the Lee Valley Park, Waltham Abbey in Essex. Credit: Ann Boorman

Maximum temperatures in the Anglia region on Sunday 9 April 2017

  • 25.5°C in Cambridge

  • 25.1°C in Holbeach, Lincolnshire

  • 25.0°C in Santon Downham, Suffolk

  • 24.6°C in Marham, Norfolk

  • 24.4°C in Woburn, Bedfordshire

  • 24.2°C in Bedford

  • 24.2°C IN Cavendish, Suffolk

  • 24.2°C in Writtle, Essex

  • 24.0°C in Harpenden, Hertfordshire

  • 24.0°C in Weybourne, Norfolk

  • 23.6°C in Northampton

  • 22.6°C in Wattisham, Suffolk

  • 22.5°C in Stowe, Buckinghamshire