Friday 26th June
Once again on Thursday, the blazing sun pushed the temperature to another record to reach a high of 34.9C at 16.04, which was a significant 14.1C above my long-term average. Likewise the overnight minimum of 21.7C broke the record being 11.5C above average and again referred to as a Tropical Night, the second this week, as the minimum was in excess of 20C.
Friday arrived with the sun a little muted at first due to cloud on the eastern horizon, but by 06.00 was shining strongly that resulted in a temperature of 26.3C by 08.00, which was already 5.5C above the average June maximum. The breeze today will veer into the west before backing into the south tomorrow and by Sunday likely to come from the southwest. These are significant indications of a major change in our weather as this will mean a return to an Atlantic weather pattern with lower temperatures by day and night also more cloud.
Tonight, thankfully, will be a little more comfortable as the minimum temperature will be several degrees below those of recent nights although still humid.
There will be two more days when the temperature will exceed the heatwave threshold of 27C, however, the high today will likely be slightly lower than yesterday, although it probably won’t feel like it, and a little lower again on Saturday, however, by Sunday temperatures will have returned to near normal for June.
It is interesting to see how the past few days have seen not only a steady rise in temperatures but its effect on the land. The soil temperature measured at a depth of 5cm, read daily at 08.00, over the last five days has been 22.9C, 23.3C, 25.6C, 25.8C and 26.9C today. I noted that the ‘heat factor’ yesterday at 17.00 meant that although the temperature was 34.6C on a radiation shielded thermometer, it felt more like 42.7C outside.
The equivalent loss of rainfall, due to evaporation into the atmosphere from the ground and plant life, has been 5.1mm, 5.4mm, 5.5mm, 5.9mm and 6.1mm respectively over the last five days. The monthly rainfall total is 66.8mm, being 110% of my 42-year record, set against the monthly loss due to evaporation of 92.9mm.
Thunderstorms have arrived over the UK, to the west and east of our region also just north of Marlborough, with little precipitation locally, so I thought a recent Met Office article might be appropriate.
Warnings for thunderstorms issued, but why do we get them in warm weather?
Author: Met Office
Thu, 25 Jun 2026
Warnings for thunderstorms have been issued for many western parts of the UK in recent days, as a transition to the weather pattern is on the way.
These storms come after another very hot day, and it is this heat that plays a key role in their development. So, why do we get the most severe thunderstorms in hot weather?
Why thunderstorms develop in hot weather
Thunderstorms are most likely to occur when the atmosphere becomes unstable. This typically happens when very warm air near the surface sits beneath much cooler air higher up. During periods of hot, humid weather, especially after a few days of strong sunshine, the ingredients for this instability are often in place.
Hot conditions increase the amount of energy in the atmosphere. As the warmed air near the surface rises, it begins to cool and condense, forming large, towering clouds known as cumulonimbus. These clouds can grow rapidly and are capable of producing heavy rainfall and thunderstorms
Inside these clouds, powerful updrafts and downdrafts create a turbulent environment. Water droplets, ice crystals and hailstones collide, generating electrical charges within the cloud. Over time, this build-up of charge becomes strong enough to be released as a sudden electrical discharge – lightning.
The flash of lightning heats the surrounding air extremely quickly, causing it to expand rapidly and produce a shock wave. This is what we hear as thunder.