THE UK looks set for record breaking weather for the end of February.

Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid to high teens by the end of this week, the Met Office has said.

Chief meteorologist Steve Willington said: “By the weekend we could see temperatures almost 10 degrees higher than what we might normally expect at this time of year, so there will certainly be a spring-like feel in the air across the country.

“North-western parts of the UK will be wet and windy at times this week, but settled conditions will spread to all parts of the country by the weekend, bringing plenty of sunshine and unseasonably mild temperatures that could well compete with current February temperature records.”

The current record maximum temperature for February is 19.7 °C, set in London on 13 February 1998.

The highest February temperature on record for Wales is 18.6 °C recorded in Powys in 1990, 17.9 °C in Aberdeen, Scotland recorded in 1897 and 17.8 °C in Bryansford, Northern Ireland, recorded in 1998.

Looking beyond next week, deputy chief meteorologist Chris Tubbs said: “Although temperatures next week may not be as high as what we’re expecting this weekend, it looks like temperatures will stay on the mild side for the rest of February.”

Temperatures in Mold are expected to reach up to 13 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, with Wrexham expecting up to 13 degrees on Saturday and 12 degrees on Sunday.

According to the Met Office, while this winter is on track for fairly average temperatures and rainfall, it could also be among the sunniest in the UK record dating back to 1929.

If we have average sunshine for the rest of February, it’s likely to be in the top few sunniest winters and could potentially beat the 2001 record of 189 hours.

A Met Office spokesman added: "Between December 1 and February 16 many areas have already received more than their long-term average winter sunshine for the full season (December 1 - February 28), especially parts of the Midlands, eastern Scotland and north-east England.

"December and January were both sunny across much of the country – especially eastern areas, while northern England and eastern Scotland have had a sunny February so far.

"As we near the end of winter it looks as though temperatures will be close to the long-term average with December warmer than average, January near average and February so far being just below."