HOTTEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR ...EVER!
20.9C at 4am... no wonder we struggled to sleep (but a deluge is on the way)
WE have just sweltered through Scotland’s hottest night ever. Now, in a stark transformation, the country is set to be hit by a two-day deluge.
Heavy rainfall is expected over the course of today and tomorrow, with some areas due to be drenched in as much as four inches of rain.
The grim forecast comes after Edinburgh recorded 31.6C (88.8F) on Thursday, making it the capital’s hottest day ever. It also represented Scotland’s hottest day of the year.
Later that evening, Scotland set a new record for a night-time temperature, beating the previous record, which had stood for 24 years.
In an uncomfortable night for most, the mercury at Achnagart in Ross-shire didn’t drop below 20.9C (69.6F) – trumping the previous overnight high of 20.5C (68.9F), set on August 2, 1995, at Creebridge, Wigtownshire.
The turnaround means weary workers who toiled through the heat during the week will not be able to enjoy any sunshine this weekend.
Grahame Madge of the Met Office, said: ‘Significant rainfall is heading for Scotland.
‘This will make conditions pretty miserable for an extended period of time as this is a slowmoving system.
‘Everyone in Scotland will see some rain this weekend, with some of it on the heavy side.’
A Met Office yellow warning has been put in place from 9am today until 3pm tomorrow for Glasgow, Edinburgh and southern Scotland.
Homes and businesses could be flooded by up to two inches (51mm) of rain, with up to four inches (102mm) expected over higher ground.
Yesterday, the transport network slowly began to recover from disruption caused by the searing heat in South-East England on Thursday. The soaring temperature resulted in thunderstorms that saw flights cancelled on Thursday and yesterday, leading to knock-on effects in Scotland as aircraft were left out of position.
At Glasgow Airport yesterday, seven flights were cancelled to airports in London and the Midlands, while a Jersey service was also hit.
It was a similar picture at Edinburgh. An Air Canada flight to Toronto suffered a delay of at least six hours and a Delta flight from Boston was similarly hit.
Just one flight was cancelled at Aberdeen Airport, although there were delays to Birmingham, Belfast and Luton flights.
Rail passengers on LNER’s noon service from London King’s Cross to Inverness were also warned they should not board the train unless they had a seat reservation.
A temperature of 38.7C (101.7F)
‘Make conditions pretty miserable’