Merseyside on a high with hot weather

May 8 2008 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

HOT weather in the region is set to continue today, after parts of Merseyside saw the highest temperatures in Britain.

Crosby residents enjoyed temperatures of 24.7C yesterday, the hottest in the north of the country, and on Tuesday the coastal town was the warmest in the whole of Britain.

Animals at Chester Zoo were treated to iced lollies to celebrate the change in weather conditions, after the coldest April since 2001 and a higher than average rainfall.

And race goers in Chester were blessed with glorious sunshine for the first day of the 2008 calendar at the racecourse.

Race organisers yesterday credited the weather with drawing in crowds of almost 18,000 people, which is a slight increase on last year’s figures. Officials as the Met Office said temperatures were well above the usual 15-16C, and were set to stay high over the weekend. It is predicted there will be more cloud cover tomorrow and Saturday, and there may be rain.

Forecaster John Millard said: “It’s a bit early to say it is another sign of global warming. It’s just the way it is and weather is very changeable.”