Scotland records warmest November night at Kinloss and Prestwick

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Daisy
Image caption,

This daisy was flourishing in Aberdeen this week

Scotland has provisionally recorded its highest overnight November temperature since records began.

The Met Office confirmed a high of 14.6C at both Kinloss in Moray and at Prestwick, Ayrshire, on Thursday night into Friday morning.

The previous record was set in 2007 when the mercury reached 14.5C at Dyce in Aberdeen.

Forecasters said the warm airflow had been coming from west of Spain and heading up to Scotland.

The Met Office also said the UK had seen the warmest Armistice Day on record, with 19.1C in Lossiemouth in Moray, provisionally breaking a previous record of 17.8C.

Northern Ireland also saw its warmest November night on record, with 14.5C recorded at Magilligan in County Londonderry, beating a previous record that was set in 1947.

At the Met Office at Dyce, Gillean Keith, a senior operation meteorologist, said: "We are certainly seeing quite a mild spell for November."

She told BBC Scotland the wind also warmed as it went over Scotland's mountains.

"We are seeing a warming trend, although we can never attribute one particular event to climate change," she added.

The Scottish SPCA believes warmer weather may be helping wildlife such hedgehogs and bats.

The charity's senior wildlife assistant Nicole Molloy said: "Last October we had 114 hedgehogs, skinny, weak, unwell, and this year we've had 42 hedgehogs, not as bad as last year.

"They're not as unwell as they usually are."

Media caption,

BBC forecaster Ben Rich looks at why it's so mild for November

She said hedgehogs would usually go into hibernation in October when it gets to 5C and below, and would be about 600g (21oz).

"We are not really seeing that," she said, adding it has been an emerging pattern in the last couple of years.