Towards the end of last week, parts of the UK were experiencing some very warm weather. It is now a good deal cooler than it was then, but temperatures should begin creeping up again during the week ahead.

The warmer weather that was with us moved gradually eastwards across Europe to give nearby northwestern areas some above average temperatures. For instance, Trondheim in Norway saw temperatures climb to over 16C on Sunday which is well above the seasonal average of just 7C.

Gothenburg in Sweden did even better at 19C compared to an average of 8C and Strasbourg in France managed a high of 20C - around 7C above the April average.

Staying with the warm theme, other parts of the world have been really sizzling. Southerly winds and sunshine sent the mercury in Beijing, China soaring to over 29C which is a good 10C above the seasonal average.

Anyone who either ran or watched the London Marathon on Sunday will be aware of how wet it was with rain falling on and off for much of the race. This may have made for rather dismal running conditions, but despite not being a runner myself, I am sure the cool and wet weather would be preferable to the sort of conditions expected at the Boston Marathon in the USA, taking place today (Monday).

The northeast of the USA has been experiencing very warm weather. An area of low pressure is moving towards the area, but just ahead of it the southerly winds are bringing the air all the way from the Gulf of Mexico. The heat wave may well cause problems for the runners in Boston, where they will face temperatures of over 30C and some rather humid conditions too. The average high for Boston in mid April is just 14C. So perhaps all the rain that we had in London wasn't so bad after all!

Weather News from the last five days:
18/04/2004
17/04/2004
16/04/2004
15/04/2004
14/04/2004

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