The UK’s Hottest Day on Record – Tue 19/Jul/22
On Friday 15th July 2022, for the first ever in the UK, the Met Office issued a RED WARNING for extreme for a large part of Englannd and parts of Wales. A larger AMBER warning was issued for most of England and Wales and southern Scotland.
The models had been forecasting temperatures of 40c+ for sometime in advance but as time grew nearer, the forecast grew in confidence. Until now, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK was on the 25th July 2019 at Cambridge Botanic Garden with 38.7c.
Monday 18th July 2022
The heat began to build just after midnight on Monday 18th July 2022. At 1am the temperature at both Jersey Airport and Guernsey Airport was 25c. In Keswick in Cumbria it was 23.3c also at 1am.
These were the temperatures in the Meopham area at 10.05 from my amateur stations
in the afternoon, both Luton Airport and RAF Brize Norton had to close due to the tarmac on the runway melting.
Also, Hawarden in Flintshire set a new Welsh record with a temperature of 37.1c
Santon Downham was the hottest place in the UK with 38.1c, Hawarden was the hottest place in Wales 37.1c with both Aboyne in Scotland and Derrylin in Northern Ireland reaching 31.1c.
Jersey also recorded its hottest day ever at the Maison St Louis oberservatory with 37.9c
Tuesday 19th July 2022
At 4am the temperature at Langdon Bay, near Dover in Kent was 27.1c. At 7.30am the temperature at Biggin Hill airport was an incredible 28.7c. Locally my weather station in Luddesdown was showing a temperature of 28.9c By 10am Southen on sea was recording 31c
UK records hottest night ever
Between 9pm on Monday up to 9am on Tuesday (19th), the temperature at Emley Moor No2 in West Yorkshire did not fall below 25.9c but this did not constitute a record, as the previos 24 hours is taken into consideration (9am to 9am) and Emley Moor fell below the current record set at Brighton on the 3rd August 1990 which was 23.9c.
Later on the MEt Office confirmed that officially Kenley Airfield in Surrey had broken the record with a minimum temperature of 25.8c, Aberport in Wales al;so beat the previous record with 24.5c. Meanwhile in Scotland, Nunraw Abbey broke the Scottish record with 21.3c
By midday, a new UK maximum temperature record was reached at Charlwood in Surrey with 39.1c. Kew Gardens was not far behind with 38.8c and so was Haethrow Airport. London St James’s was at 38.1c
An historic moment as Heathrow Airport reaches 40.2c
At approx. 12.50, for the first time ever in the UK, the temperature reached 40c. Haethrow Airport was now reading 40.2c
Current temperatures locally
During the afternoon, wild fires started to break out all over England. One of the first to be reported was on the A2 at Dartford Heath in Kent. Later on it emerged one of the worst areas affected was Wennington, near Rainham in Essex.
My weather station at my home in Meopham was reading 41.2c but being located in a sun trap, it tends to overa read on very hot days.
Later on it was Confirmed that officially Conningsby in Lincolnshire had reached 40.3c and therefore had broke the all, time UK record.
39.0Image credit – The Met Office
| Met Office Maximum Temperatures 19/Jul/22 | |
| Conningsby (Lincolnshire) | 40.3 |
| Heathrow Airport (Greater London) | 40.2 |
| St James’s Park (Greater London) | 40.2 |
| Pitsford (Northamptonshire) | 40.2 |
| Gringley on the Hill (Nottinghamshire) | 40.1 |
| Kew Gardens (Surrrey) | 40.1 |
| Northolt (Greater London) | 40.0 |
| Charlwood (Surrey) | 39.9 |
| Cranwell (Lincolnshire) | 39.9 |
| Scampton (Lincolnshire) | 39.9 |
| Wittering (Northamptonshire) | 39.9 |
| Cambridge NIAB (Cambridgeshire) | 39.9 |
| Cambridge Botanic Garden (Cambridgeshire) | 39.9 |
| Bramham (West Yorkshire) | 39.8 |
| Nottingham Watnall (Nottinghamshire) | 39.8 |
| Topcliffe (North Yorkshire) | 39.6 |
| Woburn (Bedfordshire) | 39.6 |
| Tddington Bushey Park (Greater London) | 39.6 |
| Bedford (Bedfordshire) | 39.5 |
| Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) | 39.5 |
| Sheffield (South Yorkshire) | 39.4 |
| Sutton Bonnington (Nottinghamshire) | 39.4 |
| Wisley (Surrey) | 39.3 |
| Marham (Norfolk) | 39.2 |
| Buntingford (Hertfordshire) | 39.2 |
| Writtle (Essex) | 39.1 |
| Holbeach (Lincolnshire) | 39.1 |
| Faversham Brogdale (Kent) | 39.0 |
| Felsham (Suffolk) | 39.0 |
| Santon Downham (Suffolk) | 39.0 |
All Kent Met Office stations recorded their hottest day on Tuesday 19th July 2022
Faversham Brogdale 39.0c
East Malling 38.4c
Goudhurst 38.0c
Frittenden 37.9c
Langdon Bay 37.4c
Manston 36.2c
Suddenly during the early evening, it became breezy with light rain showers here in Meopham.
Around 10pm lightning could be seen to our East
This was the scence at 11.30pm with thunderstorms all over East Kent, in particular the Isle of Thanet. Wst Kent was all quiet.
A truely remarkable day !!