RECORD BREAKER
CROWDS ENJOY HOTTEST EVER MAY DAY BANK HOLIDAY
ASIZZLING bank holiday weekend drew to a close yesterday with a new temperature record as the mercury soared above 26°C.
Wales enjoyed its hottest ever early May Bank Holiday weekend, with highs more than 10°C above the May average.
The Met Office recorded Wales’ highest temperature yesterday as 26.3°C in Ross-on-Wye – soaring ahead of the previous early May Bank Holiday record of 23.4°C, which was set in Machynlleth in 1999.
But it fell short of the highest temperature recorded in Wales in May, which was 29.2°C at Towy Castle in Carmarthenshire on May 21, 1989.
Yesterday was also Britain’s hottest ever early May Bank Holiday on record, with temperatures in Northolt, west London, reaching 28.7°C – just nudging past the previous record in 1995 when temperatures peaked on the Saturday at 28.6°C.
It meant parts of the UK enjoyed temperatures hotter than holiday destinations including Madrid, Athens and Miami.
Weatherman Derek Brockway wrote on Twitter: “[Monday is] the hottest and sunniest day of the week.”
But he warned: “The taste of summer will not last long, with cooler air on the way this week.”
He explained a cold front was due to move east today, bringing cooler air from the Atlantic.
There was a foggy start to the day yesterday, with low cloud and mist in west Wales, especially around coastal areas.
In Aberystwyth the seafront was shrouded in a thick sea mist but it cleared throughout the morning before reaching 23.1°C in the afternoon.
Temperatures in Cardiff and the surrounding area reached 25°C as the warm weather brought crowds to beaches, with traffic jams around Barry Island and Porthcawl.
In Porthcawl two off-duty lifeguards came to the rescue when a child was swept out to sea at Ogmore River.
An RNLI spokesman said two lifeboats responded to a Mayday call but by the time the first crew arrived the child – and three adults who had gone in after them – were all accounted for.
“Two off-duty lifeguards had rescued the child using a rescue paddle board,” they added.
There was congestion in Llandudno due to a Victorian Extravaganza event and a horse box broke down on the Second Severn Crossing, causing delays.
The weather is expected to become cooler and more changeable as the week continues.
A Met Office forecaster said: “We are currently on the warm side of the jet but as the week progresses the jet stream will dig further south, turning our weather cooler and more changeable.”
Temperatures are expected to reach 21°C today but there will be cloud and some rain in the west.
Forecasters say tomorrow will be mostly fine and dry, but noticeably cooler and fresher, with some rain in western areas. Isolated showers are due to arrive on Thursday with rain anticipated on Friday.