Gogerddan in west Wales was the warmest place in the UK today with temperatures hitting 18.1C.
Weekend daytrippers are set to jam coastal roads including the A23 to Brighton, A31 to Dorset, A30 to Cornwall and M55 to Blackpool.
The Met Office forecast a sunny, warm weekend with temperatures staying around the 16-17C mark climbing to the "high teens" by mid-week.
Today broke the 17.9C February 22 date record.
Monday due to beat the 16.6C February 25 record, with Met Office records stretching back to 1841.
February’s temperature record is 19.7C, set on February 13, 1998, at Greenwich, London.
The peak temperatures treble the normal average temperatures of 6-7C in February and hotter than 10C Corfu, Greece, and 16C Alexandria, Egypt.
Tropical air has been blown 4,000 miles from the Caribbean to Britain, BBC Weather said.
Scotland's warm weather already broke records yesterday with temperatures in Aboyne reaching 18.3C – overtaking the previous 17.9C high set in Aberdeen in 1897.
Tropical air has been blown 4,000 miles from the Caribbean to Scotland, with the highs hotter than 16C Alexandria, Egypt, and Athens' forecast of 17C today and 10C for tomorrow.
Met Office meteorologist Emma Smith though told The Sun Online that some coastal areas could feel distinctly colder this weekend due to some low-lying cloud and fog.
She said: "Coastal areas could feel much colder over the weekend if the high pressure doesn't clear away the foggy patches.
"Murky conditions could continue in those areas due to the low cloud."
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “It will be warm enough for some to break out the BBQs this weekend, with incredible winter temperatures and sunshine.
“Highs could challenge the 19.7C record in coming days.”
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Leading bookmaker Coral has cut the odds on 20C or higher being recorded in the UK this weekend into 5-4 (from 5-2) as temperatures continue to rise across the nation.
The firm is odds-on at 4-5 for this month to end as the hottest February ever in the UK, while they are 1-2 for 2019 to be the hottest year on record.
Coral's spokesperson John Hill said: "Temperatures have been in the high teens throughout the week and they could rise even further over the next couple of days therefore the odds have been cut on 20C or higher being recorded this weekend.
"We still remain on course for the hottest ever February, while it is odds-on for 2019 to end as the warmest year on record in the UK."
But more unsettled weather is due to arrive in early March with gales in the north and the higher parts of the country, particularly Scotland could see the return of some snow.
A FOGGY START
Dense mist and fog patches will still be seen across Central and Eastern England tomorrow morning – with sunshine eventually breaking through.
The heat comes after fog descended across much of the UK this morning, causing travel chaos on the roads and in the sky.
Airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City all warned travellers to check their flight details due to the thick cloud.
The UK's busiest airport, Heathrow, had 41 departures delayed by at least 15 minutes between 6am and 9am.
Gatwick Airport also confirmed one flight had already been cancelled due to fog, with a total of 35 departures delayed over the same period.
But some lucky Brits were this morning treated to a stunning sight when the fog turned pink.
One excited local snapped a photo showing the pink fog in Shropshire while others spotted the rare phenomenon in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset.
Met Office spokesperson Graham Madge explained the stunning sight was similar to that of a sunset or a sunrise but filtered through the fog.
He said: "When the sunlight comes through lots of layers, it filters out the blue and scatters it, leaving the red light to come through.
"It's effectively a sunrise filtered through the atmosphere and through the fog, giving it that pinkish hue."
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