article_snippet: The average temperature in England for December, January and February this year was 4.4C – well below this year
article_snippet: Thermometers could nudge past 17C (63F) on Saturday as a tropical mass of air arrives from the Caribbean.
article_snippet: Meanwhile, England is set to be hotter than Athens, Corfu and Istanbul this weekend as temperatures are expected to soar as high as 16C in a bumper start to spring.
article_snippet: Temperatures are set to increase as the week goes on and eventually peak on Saturday, where parts of the country are forecast to be warmer than many Mediterranean holiday spots.
article_snippet: Much of the country has today seen a bright and sunny day as spring finally arrived, with tomorrow expected to be a dry, but cloudier day, with temperatures rising to 12C.
article_snippet: The temperatures will get warmer as the week goes on,' said Dan Williams, of the Met Office.
article_snippet: By Saturday we could see temperatures of 14C or 15C and maybe even 16C in a sheltered location in London or the South East.'
article_snippet: The warm weather will coincide with breezes of 20 - 30mph but temperatures will significantly exceed the average 10C for this time of year.
highlights_snippet: Parts of Britain expected to be warmer than Athens and Istanbul this weekend with temperatures soaring to 16C .
  
highlights_snippet: Today was the start of a stretch of increasingly warm spring weather that is expected to peak on Saturday .
  
highlights_snippet: The warm temperatures will be six degrees higher than average and have been bettered only once so far this year .
  