Yellow, the colour of spring
The calendar says we're only half way through April. The fields full of brilliant blooming oilseed rape, the cracked earth and the panting dogs tell a different story.
While golden yellow crops bloomed in Wimborne, Dorset, the warm weather was bringing cafe society to town and city centres.
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Yellow fever in Wimborne
Diners spilled out of cafes and restaurants to eat and drink at pavement tables late into the night.
The South again saw the highest temperatures yesterday, with Southampton touching 77f (25c). This contrasts with the monthly average of 57f (14c).
Off the Cornish coast, the warm weather almost spelt disaster for a 12ft basking shark after it entered the shallows weeks earlier than usual and became snared in fishing nets.
A bright field of rape, blooming unseasonably early
The harmless creature, which feeds on plankton, was close to death when divers found it 100 yards off Newlyn. They spent 30 minutes cutting it free and it swam away suffering minor rope cuts to its nose, tail and fins.
The Met Office said the weather will drop to a more seasonable 59 to 61f ( 15 to 16c), as a cold front heads south down the country.
Despite the cracked earth, water companies are not yet thinking of repeating last year's widespread hosepipe bans.
Thirsty work: Beside the River Arun in West Sussex
A spokesman for Water UK, an umbrella body for the country's water companies, said a winter of above average rainfall meant a repeat of last year's chronic shortages was unlikely.
"The current situation is we are pretty good, far better than this time last year. We have had seven months of above average rainfall and we haven't had that for two winters."
