After the warmest weather of the year so far, is winter finally over?

With daffodils, crocuses and even cherry blossom flourishing, it has started to look a lot like spring.

Recent temperatures hit almost 19C in parts of the UK, giving us the warmest day of the year so far.

So, have we finally turned a corner and left the wintry weather behind?

For meteorologists, spring is the three months of March, April and May. This means we have fixed periods of time to make comparisons and record what has happened during the season.

In the astronomical calendar, spring is marked by the equinox which falls on 20 March this year. This is when the northern hemisphere starts to tilt back towards the Sun and gains more solar radiation.

So in early spring, North Africa and the Mediterranean start to warm up quicker than the rate at which the Arctic gets milder.

For the UK in the mid-latitudes, the direction of the wind becomes even more noticeable throughout March.

Winds from a southerly direction will send warm air our way and can boost temperatures into the low or even the mid-twenties. The highest March temperature was 25.9C, recorded in Cambridgeshire in 1968.

If the weather patterns bring wind from the north or east, we tap into that cold Arctic air and could see a spell of wintry weather. The lowest daytime temperature in the UK in March, was minus 4.7C, in Tredegar, south-east Wales back in 2018.

And, it was early March 2018 when the infamous 'Beast from the East' hit the UK. A strong east to north-easterly wind brought particularly cold air from Siberia and the Arctic leading to widespread snowfall.

'In like a lion and out like a lamb' is a weather proverb often used to describe the weather in March.

It suggests that March can often start on quite a stormy note with wet and windy weather continuing from winter, before turning quieter and warmer at the end of the month.

However, over the the next week or so, the weather patterns are looking a little quieter and milder than recent weeks.

Low pressure systems bringing wet and windy weather should be confined to north-western parts of the UK, so for many it will be mostly dry and bright.

As we approach the middle of March, occasional spells of rain and brisk winds are possible with milder than average conditions and no significant cold weather likely at this stage.

You can stay up to date with our monthly outlook and daily forecasts on the BBC Weather website or on our app.