1990 United Kingdom heat wave
AreasUnited Kingdom and Ireland
Start date1 August 1990
End date4 August 1990
Peak temp. 37.1 °C (98.8 °F), recorded at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire[1]

During the 1990 heat wave in the United Kingdom a weather station recorded a temperature of 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) for Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,[2] the highest temperature ever known in Britain, one full Fahrenheit degree above the previous record, set in 1911.[1]

Impact

Moorland fires were common during the height of the heat wave, occurring in North Yorkshire and the Peak District. Some 100 square miles (260 km2) of the Peak District was closed to the public to try to prevent further fires occurring from careless visitors. Roads were clogged as people flocked to the coast and to holiday resorts throughout the country. Transport was further hampered as train services around the country slowed due to concerns over anomalies in the railway network from the intense heat. Reservoir levels fell, although the Water Services Association assured the public that "most people are still getting their full supply of water without any restrictions at all."[2]

Statistics

Station County / UA August 1990 maximum temperature[1] Date Previous record Date of previous record Next record Date of next record
Bidston Merseyside 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) 2 31.7 °C (89.1 °F)[3] 22 July 1873
Bolton Greater Manchester 32.1 °C (89.8 °F) 3 31.7 °C (89.1 °F) 27 August 1930
Boscombe Down Wiltshire 34.2 °C (93.6 °F) 3 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) 2 July 1976 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) 19 July 2006
Bradford West Yorkshire 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) 3 31.1 °C (88.0 °F) 12 August 1953
Buxton Derbyshire 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) 3 30.0 °C (86.0 °F) 31 July 1943
Cambridge Botanic Gardens Cambridgeshire 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) 3 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) 19 August 1932 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) 25 July 2019
Cardiff (Weather Centre) Cardiff 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) 3 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) 13 July 1983
Cheltenham Gloucestershire 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) 3 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) 3 July 1976
Durham Observatory County Durham 32.5 °C (90.5 °F) 3 30.6 °C (87.1 °F) 31 July 1943
Eastbourne East Sussex 32.6 °C (90.7 °F) 4 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) 3 July 1976
Hampstead Greater London 34.6 °C (94.3 °F) 3 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) 19 August 1932 37.4 °C (99.3 °F) 10 August 2003
Harrogate North Yorkshire 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) 2 30.6 °C (87.1 °F) 31 July 1943
Hawarden Bridge Flintshire 35.2 °C (95.4 °F) 2 33.0 °C (91.4 °F) 3 July 1976
Hull Hull 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) 3 32.8 °C (91.0 °F) 7 July 1941
Leuchars Fife 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) 2 28.9 °C (84.0 °F) 2 July 1933
Macclesfield Cheshire East 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) 3 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) 9 August 1911[4]
Newport Telford and Wrekin 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) 3 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) 3 July 1976
Nottingham (Watnall) Nottinghamshire 34.6 °C (94.3 °F) 3 33.8 °C (92.8 °F) 8 August 1975
Prestatyn Denbighshire 34.3 °C (93.7 °F) 2 32.4 °C (90.3 °F) 3 July 1976
Reading Reading 35.5 °C (95.9 °F) 3 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) 12 July 1923 36.4 °C (97.5 °F) 10 August 2003
Rothamsted Hertfordshire 33.8 °C (92.8 °F) 3 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) 19 August 1932 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) 10 August 2003
Sandown Isle of Wight 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) 4 31.1 °C (88.0 °F) 16 August 1947
Sheffield South Yorkshire 34.3 °C (93.7 °F) 3 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) 9 August 1911
Skegness Lincolnshire 32.4 °C (90.3 °F) 3 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) 29 July 1983
South Farnborough Hampshire 36.2 °C (97.2 °F) 3 35.9 °C (96.6 °F) 3 July 1976
Southport (Greenbank) Merseyside 33.9 °C (93.0 °F) 2 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) 3 July 1976
Sutton Bonington Nottinghamshire 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) 3 32.8 °C (91.0 °F) 12 August 1953
Tynemouth Tyne and Wear 31.9 °C (89.4 °F) 3 28.1 °C (82.6 °F) 16 July 1969

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hot spell August 1990". Met Office. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 "UK temperatures reach record high". On This Day. BBC. 3 August 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.pol.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "MIDAS Open: UK daily temperature data, v202007". www.data.ceda.ac.uk.
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