2/3 hours maybe but temps at most locations seem to have stalled or are even dipping now with all the cloud around. I would expect the max to be somewhere in the high 34s or low 35s.

Over the last hour we've touched 33.7C but it's since dropped back to 33.2C with an increase in wind.

Big downgrade in temps on the lunchtime forecast for Friday - 36c in East Anglia now just a distant memory replaced with 32c max. So if that July record is to go it needs to happen this afternoon.

Officially hottest day of the year 33.9c Charlwood Surrey 

Wasn't expecting that location to be in the front runners TBH

Ensembles say no and will drop later tomorrow evening as they are desperate to get rid of the heatwave from their forecast, they are not interested with it at all.

36C here now and the link I was given for Chelmsford was 36.1C the highest now 34.2C

It was 32.3c at 1pm, big jump to 33.9c in an hour!!

I think this happens quite a bit on these hot days. Seen small fluctuations both ways early afternoon before a peak around 4-5pm

I'm not sure what the met office were smoking when they forecast 37c for Friday it never looked likely in the set up. Today is the peak heat day.

yes I was wondering the same thing. Even their own automated output has always had lower temps for Friday than today. They seem to have been hyping up a record that was never realistically on the cards. Next week, of course, it's nailed on! 

We do however have a new date record, beating 33.3C (or 92F as it was back then) set in Southampton in 1885.

Hello Jires real struggle to get solar radiation under control but that the best we can do at the moment Stanstead is just down the road

 https://www.cm2weather.co.uk/gauges

Ensembles say no and will drop later tomorrow evening as they are desperate to get rid of the heatwave from their forecast, they are not interested with it at all.

36C here now and the link I was given for Chelmsford was 36.1C the highest now 34.2C