After Week of Record Warmth, Europe Temperatures to Nosedive

After a week or more of temperatures from Britain to eastern Europe running as much as 20 degrees above average, forecasters are saying the region will be plunged into record cold next week with a likelihood of snow in some areas. 

Meteorologists say a strong high pressure system remained over much of Europe the last half of March, trapping heat below it. Monthly high temperature records have fallen in at least three countries.  Germany and the Netherlands Wednesday set all-time March records, reporting highs of 27.2 degrees Celsius and 26.1 degrees Celsius, respectively. In Britain Tuesday, Kew Gardens, about 15 kilometers west of London on the River Thames, hit 24.5 degrees Celsius, the highest March temperature in Britain since 1968.  French meteorologists also recorded warmth Tuesday as the nation’s average temperature was higher than on any other March day in recorded history. More than 220 weather stations, or roughly 37% of France’s network, observed new maximum March temperatures.