Heathrow registers 33.2C as high temperatures continue but storms could be on way

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Britain has experienced the hottest late August bank holiday on record as sunny weather continues across the country.

Heathrow recorded a temperature of 33.2C (91.6F) on Monday, beating the previous high of 28.2C for the day, set at Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in 2017.

An August bank holiday overall record of 33.3C was also set at Heathrow on Sunday, while hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed what is predicted to be the hottest Notting Hill carnival on record in west London.

But the Met Office warned there could be thunderstorms in parts of the country later this week.

Greg Dewhurst, a senior meteorologist, said: “The temperatures will likely rise further, close to what we had [on Sunday]. But we will see changes as we go through the week, with the chance of some thunder and showers across the country from Tuesday. The south-east of England will hold on to the sun for an extra day and we could see temperatures in the low 30s.”

Bala in Snowdonia National Park was the warmest place in Wales on Monday, with a top temperature of 25.5C, while Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, saw highs of 25.0C. In Northern Ireland, thermometers peaked at 21.9C in Helen’s Bay.

The previous late August bank holiday highs before this weekend were 31.5C at Heathrow in 2001, 27.3C in Velindre, south Wales, and 27C at Knockaraven, Northern Ireland, both in 2003, and 26.7C in Aviemore, Scotland, in 1984. The last Monday in August is not a bank holiday in Scotland.

The high temperatures are a result of warm air being dragged up over the UK from France and come after a wet and chilly August so far.

Vets warned dog owners not to overexercise their pets, saying flat-faced breeds such as French bulldogs and pugs were particularly susceptible to overheating.