Met Office confirms the weather records Wales broke in…

Met Office confirms the weather records Wales broke in July's heatwave

The Met Office has confirmed the weather records broken in Wales during the baking July. Several records were broken as extreme temperatures were witnessed across the nation.

As well as the new record-high temperature for Wales of 37.1C at Hawarden on July 18 being confirmed, Wales also set a new record for the hottest temperature witnessed at what should be the coldest point of the night. On one day, temperatures never fell below 24.5C at Aberporth on the west Wales coast as the nation struggled to sleep.

While England saw the driest July ever seen, with just 23.1mm of rain, Wales had slightly more rainfall. However the 52mm of average rainfall was still the driest July since 2006 and only 53% of the rain that would be expected in July.

Weather records were also broken across the UK. The UK’s new record-high temperature of 40.3°C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, was confirmed by the Met Office, following a rigorous process of analysis and quality control. A new record high temperature for Scotland of 34.8°C at Charterhall on 19 July was also confirmed.

The previous UK temperature record of 38.7°C was provisionally met or exceeded at 46 stations, from Kent to North Yorkshire and from Suffolk to Warwickshire. Provisionally, seven stations recorded maximum temperatures in excess 40°C.

Regions in the south and east of England were especially dry, according to the national weather service, with southern England reporting its driest July on record in a series that goes back to 1836, with 10.5mm of rain, which is just 17% of its average rainfall. Meanwhile, northern Scotland received 98% (99.4mm) of its July rainfall, with this being the only place you could find rainfall totalling modestly above their long-term averages for a few regions.

While being a dry month, July 2022 went down in UK climate history as the first time the UK exceeded temperatures of 40°C during an intense heatwave. On July 19, parts of Wales were seeing rainfall while London and the south-east of England were baking in the highest temperatures ever recorded in the UK. Thunderstorms hit several parts of Wales in the afternoon.

In response to the records, Dr Mark McCarthy of the National Climate Information Centre said: "July 2022 has been a significantly dry month for Southern England, only 10.5mm of rain has been provisionally recorded on average, less than the previous record of 10.9mm set in 1911.

Wales had 53% (52mm) of its average rainfall for the month, while England had just 35% (23.1mm), Northern Ireland had 51% (45.8mm) and Scotland topped the billing with 81% (83.6mm) (Met Office [Google])

"The dominant weather pattern for the month has only allowed interludes of rain into northern areas of the UK, with areas further south largely getting any rainfall from isolated and fleeting showers in a month that will ultimately be remembered for extreme heat."

According to the Environment Agency, the impacts from dry weather are expected to continue. People across the UK have been urged to use water wisely to protect water supplies and the environment during the current period of prolonged dry weather.

Meanwhile, for the rest of Europe, the Met Office has warned holidaymakers that they should be aware of "some very hot weather" as a heatwave builds across parts of the Continent. Temperatures could reach 38°C in Madrid, 36°C in Rome and 29°C in Lisbon by Saturday, and the weather pattern is set to influence in Wales and the rest of the UK next week as another heatwave here is forecast. You can read more about this story here.