THE ‘magic of the mountains’ has helped Scotland replace the dark days of winter with glorious summer-like temperatures.
This week, the north of the country has defied the calendar by producing blue skies and the warmest weather of any part of the UK.
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Gardeners north of Inverness are saying they can’t remember a November like it, with ‘confused’ spring bulbs beginning to poke through five months early.
The Met Office say credit goes to the ‘Foehn Effect’, where the air is forced to rise over the mountains, causing cooling and drying as it descends and warms over the other side.
With the help of a southerly air flow, Kinloss in Moray hit 18C on Wednesday and Altnaharra in Sutherland 17.5C.
Forecaster Kathryn Chalk of the Met Office said: “It’s possible we could see 17C again on Thursday in a similar area and into the mid-teens through into the weekend, again likely to the lee of high ground.”
Tommy Anderson a semi-retired professional gardener was still working on blooms in the appropriately-named Ross-shire village of Rosemarkie.
The 69-year-old said: “I can’t ever remember working in November but the weather has been very mild of late and today feels more like a spring day.
“We have had better days recently than we got in the summer months of July and August.
“It’s been so mild that some of the spring bulbs in my own garden in Fortrose have started to poke through as they are being confused by the warm days.
“There are plenty of flowers still blooming including Dahlias and Fuchsias as there has not been any frost to kill them off.
“I have seen years where we would have had a dusting of snow by this time of year but this year there has been nothing and it doesn’t look as though there is any cold weather forecast for the next week.”
The Met Office say the area’s fine weather is expected to continue into mid-November.
And there are just 47 days to Christmas.
Met Office five day weather forecast
Today:
Most areas will have another rather cloudy day with some hill fog and the odd patch of drizzle. Some sunshine across northern Scotland and locally elsewhere in the north and west, where also breezy. Mild where the sun breaks through
Tonight:
Staying mostly cloudy and mild, with hill fog and some drizzle in places. Cloud breaking locally in the north and west to give clear intervals, and here turning rather chilly.
Friday:
Another mostly dry, though rather cloudy day. The best chance of any brightness will be towards the north and west. A little breezy, and a slightly cooler day for many.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Little change on Saturday, with most places cloudy. Patchy drizzle, though a few brighter breaks. Light rain moving southeastwards during Sunday, introducing some clearer weather for Sunday night and Monday.
