Temperatures in Tayside and Fife will rise to an unseasonable 16°C this week as the region enjoys its warmest days of the year so far.
The mercury will rise to the mid-teens from Wednesday, with highs of 16°C for some areas including Dunfermline and Perth.
That is well above the average of about 9°C for this time of year.
Daytime temperatures will remain in double figures for the weekend.
It comes as the UK looks set to enjoy an early spring heatwave.
The warmer conditions will be joined by clear skies for many, giving locals a chance to enjoy the outdoors in the week that most of Scotland’s remaining Covid restrictions are dropped.
It comes after a weekend of sunshine saw temperatures in some parts of Scotland passing 20°C.
Why is the weather warmer than usual?
Met Office expert Richard Miles told The Courier: “The high pressure in charge of the UK right now is keeping the weather settled and the skies quite clear.
“Nowhere is going to see anything around the 20°C that we had in Scotland on Saturday but it will be pleasant.
“The jet stream is a lot further north than it usually is, which means we’re getting a lot more of that continental influence that we had before.
“That also means we don’t have all the instability which causes rain and showers.
“It’s a bit of fair spring weather.”
