Does the fact the ground is still wet surpress the temperatures by a degree or two? 10 days ago parts of the south were bone dry...that has now changed markedly.

Yes this will make a difference as more of the sun's heat is being used to evaporate the moisture instead of heating up the air.

Does the fact the ground is still wet surpress the temperatures by a degree or two? 10 days ago parts of the south were bone dry...that has now changed markedly.

Good point - that may well be the difference between us getting 30C this weekend rather than 33C which would be a new May record.

soil moisture levels.

Does the fact the ground is still wet surpress the temperatures by a degree or two? 10 days ago parts of the south were bone dry...that has now changed markedly.

Now don't quote me as hydrographers will be better at this I'm sure, but the deeper ground is quite dry and it will only take a few days of this strong solar heating and a bit of a breeze to dry the very surface out, which is what has been altered by recent rains. By the weekend, we're effectively looking at dry soils. Local pools, quags and dew ponds are barely damp. One I know in a dank wood near Romsey has always seemed to have standing water even in July and August, even in 2013, but this year the recent rains have muddied the surface enough to let the yellow irises bloom, but no more.

It will all depend on a perpetuation of those warm uppers, I reckon, with high insolation levels and a pressure alignment to scupper the sea-breeze.

 

Now don't quote me as hydrographers will be better at this I'm sure, but the deeper ground is quite dry and it will only take a few days of this strong solar heating and a bit of a breeze to dry the very surface out, which is what has been altered by recent rains. By the weekend, we're effectively looking at dry soils. Local pools, quags and dew ponds are barely damp. One I know in a dank wood near Romsey has always seemed to have standing water even in July and August, even in 2013, but this year the recent rains have muddied the surface enough to let the yellow irises bloom, but no more.

It will all depend on a perpetuation of those warm uppers, I reckon, with high insolation levels and a pressure alignment to scupper the sea-breeze.

Absolutely. We have a few dry and increasingly warm days before the temperatures peak for the weekend. I think we'll hit the magic 90f in one of the favoured spots 

Not the UK, but it looks like Biscarrosse in SW France has broken its May temperature record. According to Wikipedia the record for May is 33.5C but according to Meteociel the temperature today peaked at >34C:

http://www.meteociel.fr/temps-reel/obs_villes.php?code2=7503

Very interesting. This may have repercussions for the weather here if this trend continues. It would be good if the UK joined in this time.

Not the UK, but it looks like Biscarrosse in SW France has broken its May temperature record. According to Wikipedia the record for May is 33.5C but according to Meteociel the temperature today peaked at >34C:

http://www.meteociel.fr/temps-reel/obs_villes.php?code2=7503

Very interesting. This may have repercussions for the weather here if this trend continues. It would be good if the UK joined in this time.

It seemingly peaked at 35.1°C.

The 25th maxed out at 27.0c

Max today so far  at 26.9c.

Scotland doing well today Lossiemouth highest so far 29c not bad for May.

25.4c here . May top the 26.2c of yesterday .
Off to east coast now where it is just 15c. Wish I had chosen the west. 28c at Black pool. ...

It's amazing what the combination of topography and wind direction gets you in terms of temperatures on the coast under these conditions. Bridlington reporting 15c at 14.00, whereas less than 20 miles up the cost Scarborough it was 22c.

Max yesterday and again today 28.7C

Thought it may get hotter this afternoon but no such luck ,,,,,26.9c my highest today.