Britain Experiences Summer Temperatures on Hottest Winter Day

Two days of unseasonable sunshine in Britain this week have resulted in more than the shedding of hats, scarves and winter coats: They have also brought the highest temperatures ever recorded in the country in winter.

Temperatures peaked on Tuesday at 21.2 degrees Celsius (70.16 Fahrenheit) in Kew Gardens, London, the hottest February day in Britain since records began in 1910, according to the Met Office, the national meteorological service.

Warmer than an average summer day in Britain, the record set on Tuesday ended a short-lived run for Porthmadog, Wales, which had laid claim earlier in the day with a high of 20.8 degrees Celsius (69.44 Fahrenheit).

February’s new maximum temperature record was also snatched from the rural community of Trawsgoed, Wales, which had set a record on Monday with a high of 20.6 degrees Celsius (69.08 Fahrenheit).

The run of unusually hot days smashed the previous record of 19.7 degrees Celsius (67.46 Fahrenheit), set in the Greenwich area of London in February 1998.

“To get more than 20 degrees Celsius in May would be a very pleasant day. So to get that in February is obviously very significant,” said Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office.