Blue skies will lead to double-digit temperatures across the UK until Friday forecasters have predicted, but don’t ditch your winter coat just yet – they’ve also warned the balmy weather might not last long.

The Met Office said Thursday and Friday would be clear and sunny for most parts of the country, with possible highs of 16C in the south-east on Friday. 

In a jubilant tweet it told Brits to “consider sun cream if you’re heading out today”. 

The warm patch follows a wetter than average March in places such as Devon, the Severn Vale and Tyneside in the North East, with widespread snow and heavy rainfall causing disruption.

It also follows heavy rain and snow that led to hundreds of weather warnings being issued over the long weekend.  

Forecaster Graeme Madge said: “After a cold start, any residual cold in the east and South East will quite rapidly move away.

“Most places across the UK will be clear. It will be bright and sunny and not much in the way of wind.”

Madge said “pretty much everywhere” in England would hit the double figures today, with parts of the South East possibly reaching 13C.

“Somewhere like Manchester will still be in double figures and only really in the north of England will we struggle to see double figures temperatures today,” he added. 

In Edinburgh and Scotland temperatures are likely to be around 8C-9C, the Met said. 

Madge said an area of low pressure threatened to bring some rain to western parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland and Wales, on Friday.

“There’s a front associated with that low pressure that’s going to be trying to make progress across the UK in western areas,” he said. 

“As far as England is concerned it’s not going to make much progress.

“Tomorrow temperatures, pretty much everywhere apart from really north of Scotland, look like they can get into double figures.”

Madge said average temperatures for early April in the South East, where he suggested the mercury could reach up to 16C, were around 12C to 13C.

“So the fact that this is early April, it will feel nice,” he said.

The warmer weather might not last long though, with the weekend looking “certainly unsettled”.

The brief warmth will be welcome respite from what Madge called a “very wet” March.

“Devon had its fourth wettest March since 1910, although that was not necessarily replicated everywhere,” he said.

“Pretty much everywhere apart from places like the North West and west of Scotland saw pretty much above average rainfall.

“Some areas, particularly Devon, the Severn Vales and parts of the North East, saw levels approaching double the amount expected for March.

“Not record-breaking necessarily but a particularly wet month.”