Forecasters announced that the Baltic eastern winds responsible for the harsh winter had finally given way to the warmer Atlantic Jet stream today, although people from parts of Scotland and the North East would have found this hard to believe.
Fierce sandstorms left Inverness Airport looking more like Dubai as a fine red haze descended and disrupted flights, while walkers were caught out in South Tyneside as strong gusts tore through the coastal towns.
The rest of the country enjoyed temperatures rising to 6C higher than the average for April, making today one of the warmest days of the year.
Flights were disrupted today at Inverness Airport in Scotland after the Highlands were hit by a sandstorm
Sandstorm: A walker in South Shields, south Tyneside shields her face from the wind today as heavy gusts catch the sand
Blowy: Heavy winds have shifted some of the sand onto the path in front of these two walkers in South Shields
Temperatures hit a relatively balmy 17.6C on the Lincolnshire coast.
The best of the weather for the rest of the week will be seen in central and southern England with the area to enjoy temperatures of up to 18C tomorrow.
But temperatures will be cooler towards the end of the week, according to Met Office forecaster Charlie Powell.
He said: 'Tuesday has been one of the warmest days of the year. As well as the 17.6C recorded in Lincolnshire we've had 17.5C in Norfolk and 17.4C in Humberside.
Like a desert: The temperature might be getting warmer but these two dog walkers still donned heavy jackets today as high winds battered parts of the North East
Strong gusts: While this woman shields her face from high winds her dog appears to be relatively unfazed by the weather
'That's around five to six degrees warmer than the average UK temperature for this time of year.'
And he said there was more good news for sun-starved Brits, with most of the country forecast to enjoy bright, sunny weather well into the weekend.
Mr Powell said: 'We have got some good weather to come this week, although there will also be some unsettled patches too.
Sandy: The coastal path in South Shields is barely visible after sand is whipped up onto the path by strong winds
'On Friday and Saturday we'll have good weather. By and large a lot of the UK will be dry and sunny.'
He added: 'The temperature on Saturday will probably not reach above 12C or 14C, but that is still 2C above average for the time of year. It's not going to feel cold.
'For most of the winter we've had a battle between cold eastern winds and the Jetstream, which brings warmer Atlantic weather.
'Now it finally looks as if we are seeing our weather coming from this Atlantic system.'
The warmest temperature recorded in Britain so far this year was 22C on March 6.
Fierce sandstorms left Inverness Airport looking more like Dubai as a fine red haze descended and disrupted flights, while walkers were caught out in South Tyneside as strong gusts tore through the coastal towns.
The rest of the country enjoyed temperatures rising to 6C higher than the average for April, making today one of the warmest days of the year.
Flights were disrupted today at Inverness Airport in Scotland after the Highlands were hit by a sandstorm
Sandstorm: A walker in South Shields, south Tyneside shields her face from the wind today as heavy gusts catch the sand
Blowy: Heavy winds have shifted some of the sand onto the path in front of these two walkers in South Shields
Temperatures hit a relatively balmy 17.6C on the Lincolnshire coast.
The best of the weather for the rest of the week will be seen in central and southern England with the area to enjoy temperatures of up to 18C tomorrow.
But temperatures will be cooler towards the end of the week, according to Met Office forecaster Charlie Powell.
He said: 'Tuesday has been one of the warmest days of the year. As well as the 17.6C recorded in Lincolnshire we've had 17.5C in Norfolk and 17.4C in Humberside.
Like a desert: The temperature might be getting warmer but these two dog walkers still donned heavy jackets today as high winds battered parts of the North East
Strong gusts: While this woman shields her face from high winds her dog appears to be relatively unfazed by the weather
'That's around five to six degrees warmer than the average UK temperature for this time of year.'
And he said there was more good news for sun-starved Brits, with most of the country forecast to enjoy bright, sunny weather well into the weekend.
Mr Powell said: 'We have got some good weather to come this week, although there will also be some unsettled patches too.
Sandy: The coastal path in South Shields is barely visible after sand is whipped up onto the path by strong winds
'On Friday and Saturday we'll have good weather. By and large a lot of the UK will be dry and sunny.'
He added: 'The temperature on Saturday will probably not reach above 12C or 14C, but that is still 2C above average for the time of year. It's not going to feel cold.
'For most of the winter we've had a battle between cold eastern winds and the Jetstream, which brings warmer Atlantic weather.
'Now it finally looks as if we are seeing our weather coming from this Atlantic system.'
The warmest temperature recorded in Britain so far this year was 22C on March 6.