As Britain freezes this weekend with cold winds from the north and sub zero temperatures at night some may wonder if winter is ever coming to an end. However, bookies are giving those shivering with hot water bottles hope – as they’ve slashed the odds of a heatwave from the start of next month.
It might be a bit less than an ‘official’ heatwave – which the Met Office says is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold. The threshold varies by UK county with the South East being about 27C and most of the Uk around 25C.
However most people would settle for something above freezing with a wind chill – and according to the latest odds from Betway, the chances of weather around 21C is at odds of 5/6 in April.
Betway, warmer days are on the horizon, with April temperatures of 21.8C at odds of 5/6. It seems like mildly hot weather is the best we can hope for though, with chances of the temperature reaching above last year’s high of 24.9 C at 25/1.
And we’re even less likely to see the heat smash any records, with the odds of the weather going over the 1949 high of 29.4 C record at 100/1. Above 24.9C is 25/1.
And what does the Met Office say? The forecaster’s long range prediction only goes from Monday 31 March – Monday 14 April. However it doesn;t offer much hope, suggesting the prevailing weather conditions could lead to ‘below average temperatures’.
The forecast said: “Confidence is low, but blocked patterns are most probable for the first half of April. This can lead to slow-moving areas of low and high pressure and, depending on their location, can result in extended periods of either dry conditions or, perhaps more likely, wetter episodes in the form of rain or showers. Either way, whilst temperatures overall may be near average, given the time of year this type of regime tends to increase the chance of periods of below average temperatures at times.”