The Met Office has told Scots to prepare for “taps aff” weather this weekend with temperatures set to eclipse those of St Tropez and Athens.
Forecasters say Glasgow will hit a high of 17C (63F), far above the March average of 7.6C and twice the predicted temperature for the Greek capital.
An area of high pressure over Denmark is drawing air up from the Mediterranean around Italy and the Cote d’Azur.
It is less than three weeks since the official end of winter, when the country suffered seven named storms. Richard Miles, a Met Office meteorologist said: “I think you call it ‘taps aff’ weather, don’t you? For Scotland, it’s looking largely fine and dry for the next few days and right into a lovely weekend.
“High pressure is in charge for most of us, which might bring a slight frost on Thursday morning. There’s the possibility of a few showers in the northwest on Friday but everywhere should be fine and dry for the weekend.”
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He added that even east coast cities can expect fine weather, with 13-15C in Aberdeen and 16C in Edinburgh.
The high pressure to the east of the UK means that any inclement weather out in the Atlantic is deflected away to the north. The jetstream is also running to the north of the UK, allowing the country to benefit from the warmer, southerly, influence.
Still a month from Easter, a large diurnal range — the gap between maximum and minimum temperatures during the day — is expected. The sun is not yet too high in the sky which keeps temperatures low in the morning, but when the sun shines for hours during the day almost summer warmth can emerge.
On Saturday a large diurnal range is expected, from freezing in the morning to 17C in the afternoon.