Tomintoul hits 27C swing as Weather Glasgow warms Scotland

Weather Glasgow readers saw Scotland swing sharply on Thursday, with Tomintoul in Moray starting at -7C and reaching 20C in about nine hours. Christopher Blanchett said the 27C diurnal range there was higher than a typical diurnal range in spring.

Tomintoul in Moray

Blanchett said, "We often see large temperature swings in spring but the numbers from Tomintoul are impressive". He also said, "The 27C diurnal range in Tomintoul was higher than a typical diurnal range in spring."

The temperature rise followed high pressure over Scotland, which brought clear skies, sunshine and above average temperatures. Clear skies and light winds can push temperatures up during the day, while a lack of cloud overnight lets heat escape quickly once the sun sets.

Aviemore and Aboyne

The same pattern showed up elsewhere in Scotland. Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands reached 21.4C on Thursday after starting at -2.1C overnight, while Aboyne in Aberdeenshire peaked at 19.4C after a minimum of -4.7C.

Those swings were large enough to put Tomintoul well above a typical spring range, but they did not set a national record. The biggest recorded range in Scotland came on 14 January 1979, when Lagganlia in Inverness-shire went from -23.5C to 6.6C, a 30.1C swing.

Lagganlia Record

For people in the affected parts of Scotland, the practical difference came in the space of one day: freezing starts, then warm afternoon conditions. Spring nights are still relatively long, giving the ground more time to lose heat after dark and helping produce the wide gap between morning and afternoon temperatures.