After the heat... the washout

LAST Thursday was Britain’s hottest day on record, the Met Office has confirmed.

While forecasters had provisionally said the 38.7C (101.66F) measured in Cambridge was the UK’s highest temperature ever, they could not be sure.

Cautiously, they said they would have to check the recording equipment had not been compromised – and, crucially, that the thermometer was accurate.

Now Met Office experts have examined the kit and confirmed that the previous record – 38.5C (101.3F) in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003 – has been broken.

However, despite record-breaking temperatures this month, July is set to go out with a bang as thunderstorms rock the country tomorrow.

Weather experts have even warned that downpours could lead to homes and businesses being flooded.

Scotland recorded the hottest day of the year and the warmest night ever during July, but the conditions across the UK are to be followed by torrential rail.

A yellow Met Office warning for severe weather has been issued for Wednesday, from midnight to midnight.

Thunderstorms affecting the south of Britain will creep north, covering areas with the highest populations in Scotland.

This will extend to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highland, south-west Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Strathclyde.

Not everyone in the warning area will see the heaviest of the rainfall but where it does occur, 30mm (an inch) of rain could fall in an hour and up to 50mm (almost two inches) in the space of a few hours.

The Met Office warning states: ‘There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.’

July 25 was Scotland’s hottest day of the year so far, when 31.6C (88F) was recorded in Edinburgh. It also marked the hottest day ever in the city. That was followed by Scotland’s hottest ever night, after an overnight minimum of 20.9C (69F) was recorded at Achnagart, Ross-shire.