BANK holiday sun-seekers flocked to Scotland’s parks and coasts as temperatures soared yesterday. Forecasters said the best of the warm weather was on the west coast and in the Highlands.
The highest temperature recorded was in the village of Kinlochewe in Wester Ross, where forecasters said the mercury reached 26C. It was cooler on the east coast, with temperatures dipping in Edinburgh, Moray and Aberdeenshire.
Greg Dewhurst, a forecaster for the Met Office, said yesterday afternoon: “Achnagart was the warmest place on Sunday with 26.8C, but temperatures were still up at 26C in Kinlochewe today.
“There’s a little bit of fair-weather cloud that’s bubbled up in places and there have been light winds, but everywhere has seen some sunshine.
“It was colder towards Edinburgh, but that was 21.1C today and yesterday it was only 12C there. Aberdeen and Morayshire have been a bit chillier.”
The sunny weather resulted in big crowds flocking to coastal locations such as the Isle of Cumbrae, Bute and Troon and to public parks in Glasgow.
Ferry operator CalMac issued warnings of delayed sailings because of the volume of visitors it was experiencing on Largs-Millport and Wemyss Bay-Rothesay services.
A spokesman said on Twitter: “Due to the exceptional volume of traffic shipped over the weekend, we advise customers to depart Cumbrae at their earliest convenience to avoid extensive queues. There is a delay of approximately one hour from Cumbrae, however this is expected to increase.”
Traditional tourist haunts such as Aviemore attracted the crowds as temperatures reached 25C.
Teenagers also flocked to Troon Beach to enjoy the sunshine, prompting a response from Police Scotland and the coastguard. A coastguard spokesman estimated there were “thousands” of youngsters on the beach where they were providing assistance. Chief Inspector Gary I’Anson, Police Scotland’s area commander for South Ayrshire, said: “I would appeal to everyone, particularly young people, to be considerate and make safe and positive choices so that you can have a great day out with your friends on the beach and get back home safely.”
Forecasters said they expected temperatures to remain in the mid-20s until Friday. A Met Office spokesman added: “It’s going to be about 24C on Tuesday in the west and temperatures will continue to be high, with 24C on Wednesday and 23C on Thursday and Friday.”
Meanwhile, thunderstorms were set to hit southern parts of the UK overnight. Southern England and much of Wales was covered by a yellow weather warning, with the thunderstorms looking likely to continue into today.
One elderly man lost his life in the early hours of yesterday when his vehicle became submerged in Walsall in the West Midlands.
While further thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Wales and England, the rainfall was not expected to be as intense as Sunday’s, the Met Office said.
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