East Anglia region records joint-hottest day of the year with further highs possible this weekend

  • Anglia
A sunny day in Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast. Credit: Sally Essau

Thursday was the joint-hottest day of the year in the Anglia region so far, as temperatures in Cambridge reached 31.9C.

That mark equalled the record set on 25 June in Marham in Norfolk and Santon Downham in Suffolk.

The exceptional nature of the current heatwave is underlined by the fact that the warmest day has only occurred twice in autumn in the Anglia region in the last 100 years.

  • 1954 - 1 September - 29.4C at Mildenhall, Suffolk

  • 1949 - 12 September - 32.2C at Shoeburyness in Essex, Cromer in Norfolk, and Mildenhall.

The time before that was in 1919 when 31.1C was reached at Cambridge Botanic Garden.

It has been an exceptional week of weather as the children head back to school. Warm spells of weather are not unusual at this time of year but this type of hot weather certainly is.

Where has the warm weather come from?

The warm air has come from north Africa.

This air mass has been responsible for not only the heatwave but also for the enhanced sunrises and sunsets this week as Saharan dust has been suspended in the atmosphere.

Sunrise over Winterton on 7 September Credit: Richard Lay
Sunrise over Felixstowe on 4 September Credit: Mr Blue Sky

The reason this air mass was able to travel so far is down to a weather pattern called an Omega block.

This is when the weather pattern becomes fixed and like cogs in a wheel, the warm feed of air is maintained, meaning that day-on-day it becomes hotter.

In this case the omega block produced high pressure across the UK with low pressure either side - the perfect set up for a hot spell of weather.

Pressure pattern known as an Omega Block Credit: ITV Weather Graphics

Where is the warmest places in the UK?

The UK set a new warmest day record on 7 September when 32.6C was reached.

The Anglia region equalled its warmest day of 2023 with 31.9C reached in Cambridgeshire - the same which was also recorded on 25 June in Marham and Santon Downham.

How is the weather going to break down?

Slowly is the short answer. The weather breakdown will happen in two stages.

Initially there will be the possibility of thundery downpours, starting over the weekend, before fresher Atlantic air sweeps in from the west from Tuesday or Wednesday.

The change will be slow but will be most notable overnight.

Temperatures should go back to around 20C - still warm, but more typical for the time of year.

The high temperatures will break over the weekend, giving way to fresher conditions. Credit: ITV News Anglia

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