Flaming start to June as temperatures soar on hottest day of the year

Saturday 1 June 2019 was the hottest day of the year so far in the UK. Credit: Julie Smith

Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far in the UK and it could get hotter still in East Anglia on Sunday.

The temperature reached 27.6°C (81.7°F) at Heathrow airport in west London on what is the meteorological first day of summer.

It's the highest temperature in Britain since August last year. The highest temperature recorded in East Anglia was 26.7°C (80.1°C) in Cambridge.

Met Office forecasters are expecting the East of England to be even hotter on Sunday with temperatures reaching 27-29°C with a small chance that 30°C (86°C) will be achieved in east Norfolk or north east Suffolk.

On Sunday, East Anglia could be even hotter than Saturday. Credit: Taken in Braintree, Essex by Amber (aged 9)

Maximum temperatures in the Anglia region on Saturday 1 June 2019

  • 26.7°C in Cambridge

  • 25.6°C in Santon Downham, Suffolk

  • 25.5°C in Woburn, Bedfordshire

  • 25.3°C in Marham, Norfolk

  • 25.2°C in Stowe, Buckinghamshire

  • 25.1°C in Monks Wood near Sawtry, Cambridgeshire

  • 24.9°C in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire

  • 24.8°C in Harpenden, Hertfordshire

  • 24.7°C in Wittering, Cambridgeshire

  • 24.7°C in Writtle, Essex

  • 24.5°C in Holbeach, Lincolnshire

  • 24.3°C in Andrewsfield near Braintree, Essex

  • 24.1°C at Houghton Hall in Norfolk

  • 23.8°C in Tibenham, Norfolk

  • 23.7°C in Cavendish, Suffolk

  • 23.5°C in Weybourne, Norfolk

The hot start to June follows a slightly cooler than average May in East Anglia. Credit: Rosemarie Jessop

The mini heatwave is due to end after the weekend as temperatures fall back to nearer normal for early June.

It comes after May was slightly cooler than average in East Anglia.

There was also less rain in May than normal making it the tenth drier than average month in the Anglia region since May 2018.

The 12 months to April 2019 were the fourth driest in East Anglia since records began in 1910. There has been only 71% of the normal rainfall in that period.

The highest temperature in East Anglia on Saturday was 26.7°C in Cambridge. Credit: Joanne Joyce

Met Office meteorologist Emma Smith said the hot weather is the result of the jet stream moving north and high pressure and heat coming from the continent in the south.

She said on Saturday: "For this time of the year it should be 19 or 20C in London and in East Anglia it should be 18 or 19C, where we could see the hottest temperatures tomorrow.

"The last time we had 28C was August last year. It's hot for the time of year."