From snow to scorchio as Scottish weather records broken by heatwave

The Beast from the East struck a year ago, blanketing Scotland in snow and ice, but this time the country is basking in an unprecedented warm spell.

On Thursday, the record was smashed for our hottest February day in 178 years as highs hit 18.3C at Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.

But that was overtaken yesterday when the mercury never fell below 14C overnight at Achnagart in north west Scotland, the kind of temperature we normally expect during the day in summer.

At Avernish, near the Kyle of Lochalsh, astonishing overnight highs of more than 18.6C were recorded.

Local man Dave Polson said: “It’s crazy for this time of year. Just noted 18.7C here at Avernish but wind gusting up to 45 mph.”

People in nearby Dornie said it was so unseasonably warm that some had slept with their windows open on Friday night.

Paul Meikle, owner of the Dornie Hotel, said: “The weather has been very weird.

“There is a nice warm breeze outside, which is insane for February.

“People have been wandering around in T-shirts and some had to open their windows at night because it was too hot.

“We have never seen anything like this before.”

A worker at Dornie Stores said the wind felt like “a warm hair dryer” yesterday morning.

“It is not quite ‘taps aff’ weather just yet but it is certainly getting there,” the shop worker said. “Everyone is hoping that this February heatwave keeps going.”

Although the mild weather is set to continue for most places today, areas of fog will linger for some, which could be dense in places. In the afternoon, many areas will be fine with a good deal of sunshine.

However, it will become largely cloudy across western Scotland as evening approaches with one or two spots of light rain possible in the far west, as a front comes in. After a chilly start across southern and central Britain, tomorrow is expected to be dry and sunny for most areas but there will be cloud and outbreaks of rain affecting parts of northern Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Becky Mitchell said: “Temperatures being in double figures in February is exceptional.

“We could see even more records being broken in Scotland over the next few days.”

On Friday, the Stirling office of the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust tweeted a picture of its first Buff-tail queen bee foraging on winter-flowering heather.

Yesterday, the Scottish Beekeepers Association confirmed the sighting of a queen Tree Bumble Bee in a garden in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire.

Julian Stanley, a volunteer with the association, said: “I am not an expert on bumble bees but this looks like a queen Tree Bumble Bee, looking for a new home.

“The other workers and drones (males) would not have made it through the winter.

“It is early to see the queen but everything is dependent upon the weather. They usually appear in March and I suppose we’re only a week away from that.”

Meanwhile, the unseasonably warm weather has led to an early warning of blood-sucking ticks for mountaineers and walkers.

Mountaineering Scotland said they had been found in locations across Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire.

Lyme disease, a bacterial infection, can be spread to humans by infected tick bites. Mountaineering Scotland, which regularly issues warnings about the pests, has sought further reports of ticks – which usually start to emerge in March – from its members.

People are most likely to find sheep ticks, which feed on mammals such as deer and also birds, in open spaces with long grass.