A stream of tropical air from the Canary Islands will leave large parts of Britain basking in the warmth and sunshine on Friday.

The unusually mild spell meant the UK was hotter than Spain on Valentine’s Day, as the 16.1C temperature recorded in north Wales made it the warmest day of the winter so far.

The Met Office predicted the balmy conditions will continue for another 24 hours. Temperatures are again set to reach around 16C in Wales and northern parts of the country before falling at the weekend.

“It will be another good day on Friday – dry, fine and plenty of sunshine,” said Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge.

The south of England and Wales are expected experience frost and fog early in the morning, but it will slowly clear by the afternoon to leave another spring-like day.

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The pleasant weather is not expected to last much longer, however.

The Met Office is forecasting rain showers up and down Britain’s west coast at the weekend, and maximum temperatures are set to fall to 11C or 12C.

It will also be cloudier and windy at times, particularly in the north-west.

“The temperatures still above normal for the time of year, but it’s not going to be quite as mild as it has been over recent days,” said the Met Office forecaster.

Scotland was expected to see its hottest ever Valentine’s Day on Thursday but widespread cloud cover meant temperatures only reached 12.4C, still well above the mid-February average.

“The high recorded in Wales means it was the warmest day of the winter season,” said Mr Partridge. “Although we didn’t get the temperatures expected in Scotland, much of the country has seen a lot of sunshine.”

The warm winter weather meant Britain was hotter than Spain, where the maximum temperature reached only 15C.