Britain experiences record-breaking Bank Holiday weather
Britain is basking in record-breaking temperatures after the Met Office said highs of 28.6C (83.5F) made it the hottest late-August Bank Holiday of all time.
Tibenham Airfield in Norfolk reached the temperature at 11am on Monday, passing the 28.2C set at Holbeach in 2017.
The Met Office said the hot weather is expected to last for the rest of the day, although parts of the country could be in for storms and thunder later in the week.
Senior meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “We reached 28.6C at about 11am and it was 28.9C a short time later.
“The temperatures will likely rise further, close to what we had yesterday.
“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.”
Tibenham Airfield has just reached 28.6 Celsius, passing the previous late August #BankHolidayMonday record of 28.2 Celsius set at Holbeach in 2017
Temperatures will continue to climb through the rest of today 🌡️ pic.twitter.com/qGA2EWGvkX
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 26, 2019
Temperatures hit an August Bank Holiday high of 33.3C (92F) at Heathrow on Sunday, while hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed what is thought to be the hottest Notting Hill Carnival ever in west London.
The previous best late August Bank Holiday temperatures before this weekend were 31.5C (88.7F) at Heathrow in 2001, 27.3C in Velindre, Powys, in Wales and 27C (80.6F) in Knockareven, Co Fermanagh, both in 2003, plus the 26.7C (80.06F) that was recorded in Aviemore, Inverness-shire, in Scotland in 1984.
Wales enjoyed a record 28.6C in Hawarden on Sunday when the top temperature in Northern Ireland was 24.2C at Stormont Castle.
Scotland’s top temperature was the 28.4C recorded at Bishopton near Glasgow on Sunday.
Monday is not a bank holiday in Scotland.
The late summer sunshine, as a result of warm air being dragged up over the UK from France, comes at the end of what has been a wet and chilly month so far.
