Atlantic air brings relief after UK’s hottest May heatwave

Atlantic air began sweeping in as the UK’s hottest May heatwave broke down, ending a blistering run that had pushed temperatures from record-breaking heat to rain, showers and a much more unsettled pattern across the country. The Met Office said fresher conditions moved southeast from Friday 29 May, leaving much of England and Wales brighter and drier for a time, while Scotland and Northern Ireland saw spells of rain and a faster return to cooler weather.

The heat that preceded the change was exceptional even by late-spring standards. Kew Gardens reached 34.8C on 25 May, provisionally setting a new UK spring and May temperature record, then went higher again the next day with 35.1C. Heathrow recorded 35.0C on 26 May, and Cardiff, Bute Park climbed to 32.9C, setting a new Wales May record. The previous UK May record was 32.8C, a mark that dated to Camden Square in 1922 and was matched again at several sites in 1944.

The Met Office said the warmth was widespread across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In total, 23 stations broke the previous UK May maximum temperature record and 163 stations set new May maximum temperature records. Oxford and Armagh, both with observational records stretching back more than 150 years, also logged new highs. The highest daily minimum temperature for May was broken for a third consecutive night, a sign that the heat was not only intense by day but persistent enough overnight to limit recovery from the daytime strain.

Chris Bulmer, the Met Office chief forecaster, said the spell was beginning to break down and that a weak cold front would become more established across most of the UK by Saturday. Dan Suri, the deputy chief forecaster, said the hot spell had been driven by exceptionally warm air building under high pressure near the UK, and stressed that any national record would still go through rigorous site and equipment validation before being added to the record books.

The agency had already warned that the Bank Holiday weekend would bring sharp contrasts, with 30C possible on Saturday 30 May, 32C on Sunday 31 May and 33C in southern England and the Midlands on Monday 1 June, while western Scotland and Northern Ireland stayed cooler, cloudier and prone to rain. The sequence offered a blunt reminder of how quickly the country can swing from heat risk to wet, changeable weather, with the far southeast still seeing peaks near 28C even as much of the UK moved back toward average conditions.