Top of the hot spots: Tyndrum hits highest temperatures in UK
A VILLAGE in Perthshire has officially experienced a “very localised” heatwave this week, forecasters have confirmed.
Tyndrum recorded temperatures over 25C for three consecutive days, meeting the official definition of a heatwave, the Met Office said.
Temperatures reached 25.6C on Tuesday, 27.2C on Wednesday and 25.2C on Thursday.
A location meets the British heatwave threshold when it records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold, which for Scotland is 25C.
Tyndrum, which lies in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park about 60 miles north of Glasgow, recorded the UK’S highest temperature this month on Wednesday, while it was also the hottest place in the UK on Thursday.
The Met Office tweeted: “Having recorded temperatures over 25C for three consecutive days, Tyndrum has had a heatwave, albeit a very localised one.”
Edward Robertson, a partner at the Green Welly Stop shop and restaurant in Tyndrum, said: “August is always our busiest month and this year is no different.
“Lots of customers to look after, and ensure we have the right products to help them enjoy their holiday.”
Andrew Riley, a partner at the Tyndrum Inn, said: “It’s been good, lots of people moving about. People have been coming in for drinks, lots of hikers and people about.
“We’ve got big patios out at the front, so it’s nice to see them getting used.”
Warm weather is expected to continue over the next couple of days.
Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge said: “Over the next couple of days we are likely to see temperatures reach close to or similar values in western Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“Elsewhere, temperatures will range from 18 to low twenties Celsius, but these values will be clipped close to North Sea coasts where cloud will keep some areas relatively cooler.”
The heatwave temperature threshold varies in different areas of the UK to reflect differences in climate across the country.
The Met Office said: “Heatwaves are most common in summer when high pressure develops across an area. High pressure systems are slow moving and can persist over an area for a prolonged period of time, such as days or weeks.
“They can occur in the UK due to the location of the jet stream, which is usually to the north of the UK in the summer.
“This can allow high pressure to develop over the UK resulting in persistent dry and settled weather.”
News of Tyndrum’s heatwave status came as it was revealed the summer has so far been around one degree warmer than average, potentially putting it in the top 10 warmest UK summers on record.
The Met Office says although it may surprise those who have endured a far wetter and “duller” season than usual in London and south-east England, relatively high temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland have helped elevate this summer towards the top 10 on mean temperature.
The Met Office says while it is still a few days off announcing a definitive ranking at the start of September, the UK’S mean temperature for summer was around one degree centigrade higher than average at 15.4C. Northern Ireland has so far had one of its warmer summers with a mean temperature of 15C.
And the Met Office said Scotland’s figure was 13.8C, which qualified as “notably warm”.
Amid last month’s heatwave, Northern Ireland broke its all-time record with a top temperature of 31.3C.
It could still be close as to whether this summer hits the top 10.
Western areas, especially western Scotland, had also had far less rain than average, with Scotland so far recording just 62 per cent of its average rainfall for the season at 188.1mm, and Wales 66% with 189.5mm.
By contrast, there has been an average across all areas of Greater London of 220.2mm of rain – 48% more than the long-term summer average, though still short of records.