RECORD BREAKING HOLIDAY
SOME sizzled in record-breaking Bank Holiday temperatures, while others fumed in traffic tailbacks.
Bala in Snowdonia National Park was the warmest place in Wales yesterday, with a top temperature of 25.5˚C (77.9˚F).
But hopes the heatwave will last have been dashed by the Met Office.
On the roads, there was plenty of Bank Holiday traffic misery.
Crashes were reported on the M4 motorway east of Swansea and a car fire caused problems on the A40 between Carmarthen and St Clears.
There were no reports of any serious injuries.
The outside lane of the M4 eastbound, at J45, A4067 (Ynysforgan), was closed for a time after an incident at around noon.
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said they were called at 12.06pm to the incident.
There were no reports of casualties.
There was slow traffic on the M4 Briton Ferry Bridge eastbound from J42 A483 (Swansea East / Briton Ferry) to J41 A48 Pentyla-Baglan Road (Baglan / Pentyla) following a “multi-vehicle crash”.
For a short time, the accident blocked both lanes.
But the vehicles were moved to the hard shoulder and all lanes reopened.
During the afternoon, there was a further problem on the M4 eastbound, just past J45 in Swansea
towards J44, where a crash closed one lane.
The lane was later reopened but there were tailbacks back to J47 (Penllergaer / Swansea West Services).
Traffic was gridlocked heading into Barry Island down Harbour Road.
One lane of the A40 eastbound in Carmarthenshire was closed following the car fire.
The road was temporarily shut between the junction with the A477 (St Clears Roundabout, St Clears) to A4242 (Pont Lesneven Roundabout, Carmarthen).
The fire service attended and the vehicle was later removed.
There was disruption on Anglesey, where the A55 was closed westbound following a crash between junctions seven and eight.
A helicopter was used to take one casualty to hospital. There are no details on the condition of the casualty.
Motorists on the A5 near Oswestry faced delays due to an accident.
The incident took place between the A495 Whittington roundabout and the B5069 (South Gobowen / Hospital) roundabout.
The Met Office said highs of 33.2˚C (91.6˚F) made it the hottest lateAugust Bank Holiday of all time.
Heathrow Airport was the hottest place in England, slightly ahead of Northolt in west London, which registered temperatures of 33˚C.
Bala’s 25.5˚C (77.9˚F) followed a recorded temperature of 28.6˚C in Hawarden on Sunday.
The previous best late-August Bank Holiday temperatures before this weekend were 31.5˚C (88.7˚F) at Heathrow in 2001 and 27.3˚C in Velindre, Powys.
The late summer sunshine, as a result of warm air being dragged up over the UK from France, came at the end of a wet and chilly August.
The extreme weather prompted vets to issue a warning to dog-owners about over-exercising their pets in high temperatures.
Pet emergency firm Vets Now said flat-faced breeds, such as French bulldogs and pugs, were particularly susceptible to overheating.
Explaining why the weekend was so hot, Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said that high pressure and south-easterly winds brought much warmer air from France.
Temperatures reached 30.7˚C in London on Saturday, while the hottest place in Wales was Gogerddan, Ceredigion, at 29˚C.
The Met Office forecast explains: “Over the weekend, and into the start of September, it will probably be fairly unsettled nationwide.”