Wednesday 27th May
Tuesday was a scorcher! The thermometer climbed relentlessly to eventually reach a maximum of 32.9C at 16.10. The rise was slowed after around 13.00 as broken cloud began to drift across, which restricted the rise in temperature any further. It was another very warm night with a minimum of 14.6C at 04.57. The high was a significant 15.6C above my long-term average whilst the low was 7.6C above average. Another very significant fact was that the high not only broke my previous record of 28.3C by a small increment, set in 2018, but was almost 5C above my previous record for a May maximum.
During the afternoon the rain radar indicated a thunderstorm building from Swindon northwards, that lasted an hour or more, edging northeastwards. An hour later a rash of thunderstorms developed in a line from Swindon to Bristol, the nearest was around Chippenham and westwards, but sadly no rain over Marlborough again to quench dry gardens.
Wednesday arrived with strong sunshine again after sunrise, however there is a significant change in wind direction. The centre of the anticyclone has now moved from west of Scotland and is now off the east coast of Scotland, which has seen the wind back into the east rather than from the south. This change in direction has seen a cooler air stream arrive thus a lower temperature at 08.00, a whole 5C below that set on Tuesday. The North Sea currently has a temperature of around 12C, which will mean a cooler air flow and probably a lower maximum this afternoon.
The forecast surface charts indicate that a trough will form and cross the UK this evening, which is likely to produce cloud and possibly some precipitation.
Thursday will see the wind change in direction again, to come from the south, so another warm day due to the high pressure relocating further east, over eastern Europe, dragging warm air from the Continent again, but not as high as earlier this week. There will be a significant change by Friday as the high gives way to approaching Atlantic depressions with a possible cold front crossing the UK during daylight hours.
I thought the attached first part of an article from the Met Office might be interesting as we endure the extreme heat.
How the land surface observations network enhances understanding of weather and climate
Author: Met Office
Tue, 26 May 2026
Weather observations are on everyone’s mind at the moment, with provisional May daily maximum and minimum air temperature records already reported and further warmth on the way.
New national records undergo a rigorous validation process before a decision is made on officially inducting the figure into the meteorological record books.
This process will include a site inspection and a verification check of the equipment used to measure the temperature.
In order for a value to be treated as an official national record, the Met Office follows national and international best practice and guidance. If the equipment and set-up doesn’t meet the required standards, it will be rejected as an official national record.
But how does the UK land surface observation network actually operate? How do we know the figures are reliable? Here, we explore the UK’s land surface observations network to get you behind the scenes on just one of the ways we monitor the UK’s weather.
Observing the weather
First, it’s important to understand the land-based observations are just one part of the data collection that is undertaken at the Met Office. Satellites, ocean buoys, airplanes and weather balloons all contribute to a rich tapestry of data that observes the UK’s weather and helps inform the complex calculations undertaken on the Met Office supercomputer to help develop the weather forecast.