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.…