Met Office UK weather forecast: Lancashire to be hotter than Ibiza on first day of spring

The forecast predicts 18C for Wigan, Preston, Blackpool and Lancaster at 3 pm on Thursday.

In contrast, Ibiza is forecast to reach a high of 17C on Thursday.

The latest forecast for Lancashire shows a colder start to the week, with highs of 11C today and 12C on Tuesday.

Temperatures will then climb to 15C on Wednesday before reaching 18°C on Thursday and Friday.

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Becky Mitchell, a Met Office meteorologist, said: "We’re expecting quite a lot of dry weather, with increasing amounts of sunshine as we head through the next few days.

"By Wednesday, we’re looking at highs of about 17C in the south. And then on Thursday, we could get as high as 19C."

Unfortunately, the warm weather is not expected to last into the weekend, with a high of 14C on Saturday and just 11C on Sunday.

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What is the spring equinox?

The hotter weather will coincide with the spring equinox.

At the equinox, the Earth's axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun, meaning day and night are nearly equal in length. The equinox happens twice a year, in March and in September.

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The spring equinox marks the start of astronomical spring.

Beyond the equinox, until the summer solstice on June 21, days will be longer than nights.

When is the spring equinox?

This year, the spring equinox is on March 20.

Despite it being the start of astronomical spring, the clocks don’t go forward until the last Sunday of the month - March 30. The clocks will go forward 1 hour at 1am.