Tomintoul's 27C swing leads Scotland's Weather Edinburgh extremes

weather edinburgh swung sharply on Thursday as Tomintoul in Moray rose from -7C to 20C in about nine hours, a 27C increase. Christopher Blanchett, a Weather presenter, said: "We often see large temperature swings in spring but the numbers from Tomintoul are impressive,".

He said the 27C diurnal range was higher than a typical spring range. The diurnal temperature range is the difference between the highest and lowest temperature of the day, and spring nights still allow heat to escape quickly once the sun sets.

Tomintoul and Aviemore

Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands reached 21.4C on Thursday after starting the night at -2.1C. Aboyne in Aberdeenshire peaked at 19.4C after an overnight minimum of -4.7C.

High pressure lying over Scotland has scared off April showers and led to above average temperatures and spring sunshine. Clear skies and light winds combined with spring sunshine can push temperatures up, while sunnier, longer days are often warmer in spring than cloudy dull ones because of the strength and amount of direct sunshine available.

Lagganlia 1979

The biggest recorded range in Scotland came on 14 January 1979 at Lagganlia in Inverness-shire, where temperatures went from -23.5C to 6.6C for a 30.1C swing. Tomintoul's 27C change fell short of that mark, but it still stood out as one of the sharper day-to-night changes in the spring pattern Blanchett described.

For people across Scotland, the practical point is simple: mornings can still start below freezing while afternoons turn warm enough for spring sunshine by early evening. That kind of swing means conditions can change quickly within the same day, especially in the Highlands and other inland areas that posted the sharpest ranges on Thursday.