The warmest ever February day in Scotland has been recorded with unseasonably mild temperatures across the UK, according to the Met Office.
Aboyne in Aberdeenshire hit the maximum temperature of 18.3C (64.94F) on Thursday afternoon.
It beats the previous high of 17.9C (64.22F) recorded in Aberdeen on February 22, 1897.
The maximum temperature of that day nearly 122 years ago was matched at 12.23pm and by 1.39pm the mercury had risen another 0.4C (0.72F).
The current record maximum temperature measured in the UK in February is 19.7C (67.5F), which was set in London on February 13, 1998.
The Welsh record temperature for February was set at 18.6C (65.5F) in Powys in 1990, and the highest in Northern Ireland was 17.8C (64.0F) in Bryansford in 1998.
A further update: We have now reached a new February record maximum temperature in Scotland!.. Aboyne reached 18.3C at 13:39!
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 21, 2019
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the mild weather is set to continue, but it is unlikely to reach such a high in Scotland again this month.
He said: “Aboyne at just before 1.40pm this afternoon hit 18.3C – that beat the previous record of 17.9C way back in 1897.
“A few stations don’t report every hour so it may or may not go up, but we can say it’s the warmest February day in Scotland on record.
“It could be early next week until it’s as mild again, though whether we’ll see 18.3C is unlikely.
“So the mild theme is set to continue and it will be pleasantly spring-like through early next week.”
It’s going to feel much more like #spring over the next few days as temperatures are going to be well above average for this time in February ?️??? pic.twitter.com/iPIsGoqsC7
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 20, 2019
Fellow Met Office spokesman Richard Miles said “a lot would have to align” for the UK-wide record to be broken.
He added: “It is unlikely from what we are seeing at the moment.”
