Winter is set to return for the rest of the week around Aylesbury - weather column by Alice Fowle, forecaster at MetDesk

Between Monday and Saturday temperatures reached 16C–19C widely across the Aylesbury Vale, with an average of 9.7 hours of sunshine each day.

Despite the early taste of summer, these temperatures aren’t quite as high as the maximum March temperature ever recorded, which was 25.6C and recorded in 1968 in Cambridgeshire.

While the daytime temperatures were consistently high during this period, temperatures overnight often plummeted close to or just below zero in the coldest spots.

During this time of year, the difference between the daily maximum and minimum temperatures (also known as the diurnal range) can be large. As the nights remain long at this time of year under lengthy clear skies, any heat stored during the daytime is lost quickly to space through outgoing radiation.

During the daytime, solar radiation heats the ground and, in turn, heats the surrounding air, with temperatures typically peaking later in the afternoon when the amount of incoming solar radiation equals the amount of outgoing radiation. Last week saw ideal conditions, with diurnal ranges regularly exceeding 15C.

The start of this week has seen a change to cloudier conditions with a few showers. The remainder of the week will see winter bite back. Northerly winds will introduce cold Arctic air from the north and east tonight.

A band of rain will move southwards, with the potential this could fall as sleet and snow as colder air starts to undercut. It will remain cold over the coming days, with a mixture of sunny spells and wintry showers by day, and cold and frosty nights. Gardeners take note!