The south easterly air flow brought heat from far south that pushed the thermometer to a maximum 32.0C at 17.35. That was the hottest day since 21st June 2018 and 9.3C above the average.
Although it was hot, with nearly 11 hours of sunshine, the solar energy peak was not as high as recent days. The UV level was recorded as high at 6.9, when recent days have been very high.
Just after midnight thunderstorms drifted in from the south producing 12.2mm of welcome rainfall. That brought the July total to 31.4mm, still well below the 35-year average of 59.9mm.
It was a very warm night with the minimum of 18.2C at 06.02 being 6.4C above the 35-year average.
Wednesday started sunny, once the sun had risen above cloud drifting to the east. However, just after 07.30 cloud and mist drifted in blocking out the sun.
Update on Wednesday at 14.05: the description of a heatwave is when the maximum daily temperature is equal to or above the Heatwave Threshold on three consecutive days. The Heatwave Threshold for Wiltshire is 27C. The thermometer reached a maximum of exactly 32C on Tuesday and 29.0C at 13.25 on Wednesday. Therefore, if as predicted, the maximum on Thursday equals or is higher than 27C, we technically have endured a heatwave.