Delightfully sunny over parts of CS England today; Reading the UV lead with 1.7.

Here the heated car roofs rippled summerishly.

Reading 1.8 today and Weybourne 1.9 yesterday. 2 is imminent. I'll be interested to see what atmospheric O3 is like from late Feb to early May and how it affects the UV maxes this spring. There were some high earlies last spring but I wonder how repeated lockdowns will affect the values coming.

Weybourne snatched a 2 yesterday (Reading and Chilton made 1.9). The jump to 2 in March has shifted over the last few years to February.

I'm trying to make thoughts as to why.

Okay, great peaks from Reading (2.6) and Chilton (2.5): both quite a jump there today. Camborne 2.1 reflective of the encroaching cloud from the SW. But Weybourne has a dodgy 3.9 registered so I think that needs a good look before we consider it with any degree of credibility. Would equate to a 10+ in late June I suspect!

2 reached quite widely now in the S and I expect this to be maintained with the upcoming forecast weather. The usual consistency-with-variation from the key stations but Weybourne's a joke with 5.2.

Sort yer stuff out or stop reporting!

Reading 2.4 (2.5 yesterday). Beautiful weather for a Saturday.

Seems a bit early to me, but TheWeatherOnline is forecasting UVIs of 3 quite widely across the UK tomorrow.

Does seem a bit aspirational, Scott. Reading and Chilton just fell shy of a 3 today on what was expected to be the highest UV this week- and it was, truly, a glorious day here; might have just scraped 3 in southernmost locations.

Absolutely dazzling sunshine out there now that the cold, clearer air has arrived, and it's been like that across the midday period, but the stations are failing to reach 3; I see clouds building frequently to the N, W and E, but we appear to be in a brighter pocket with only fleeting showers, these very light. Must be a 3 in this area.

I had 2.7 on 13th, highest so far this year.

Thanks Roger. That does at least confirm what the stations are showing. I think the warmth of the sun tricked me into thinking the air was clearer. But it's still respectable for mid March- I wonder if there will be a low O3 situation this spring.

Chilton & Reading managed a 3.1 yesterday.

Last 2 days, Chilton 3.8, 3.3

Reading 3.8 (so good consistency), no data yet today.

Successive 4s forecast for here most of next working week, with St Helier offered a 5 on Monday (MetO)

With the unusually warm air thickening the troposphere and thinning the ozone layer today, were the UV levels especially high today or was it too hazy out there?

Since & including 27/3 Reading 3.7/2.0/4.1/4.0/2.2

Chilton 4.0/ 2.5/ 4.4/ 4.0/ 3.0

Disappointing today in the south. Although the air was warmer & thicker, proximity to that boundary meant a lot of cloud in CSEngland with no real heat from the sun directly, although a gentle background radiative hum was apparent.

Some consistency between stations. 

Southern stations consistently offered a 4 James- with some good bright sunshine here S of Winchester. Never took a look at the satellite images to check the cloud cover however.

Chilton 4.6, reading 4.2

As PAM says, must be at least the high 4s on the South Coast.

Chilton 4.7

Cheers 

Some impressively strong-feeling sunshine for the time of year yesterday and today, able to counteract an increasingly cold wind to a surprising degree. Around 4 pm, I set out while the sun was in and was battling for warmth in a heavy jacket even as I walked briskly. Yet once the sun came out and stuck around for a bit, I warmed up so much that I had to take the jacket off for a few minutes to vent some heat!

Admittedly, it was a dark jacket - low albedo - but still, it impressed me and that's what counts .

Indeed, with Chilton and Reading both passing 4(Reading data missing for 5th). Good compatibility between stations with both registering a 5 on 8th. Full results from both stations to 13th:

            Reading       Chilton

4th          4.2              4.4

5th          ?                 4.7

6th          3.8              4.5

7th          2.8              2.7

8th          5.0              5.0

9th          4.3              4.8

10th        1.7              2.1

11th        3.9              3.8

12th        3.9              3.9

13th          ?               4.2

Chilton 4.8

Reading 4.4