Minimum at Heathrow last night was 18.9C and at St James Park 19.8C.

At 2200 Heathrow is at 26.2C which is exactly 1C warmer than the same time last night.

At 2200 St James Park is at 26.9C which is 2.1C above the figure this time last night.

So I think we could see some minimums above 20C tonight but I doubt we will stay above 22.3C. 

St James Park is probably the one to watch.

So not only can the date record fall tomorrow but the July record as well. One to watch!

Ok cheers for that GW, I was thinking some of the stations in Norfolk & suffolk would be higher.

You could be right. Wittering is at 27.8C which is a whopping 9C higher than this time last night. So keep an eye on this one as well.

Most of the stations in East Anglia are on sandy soil so will drop quite quickly. Many already down at 24-25C.

Lets look at the maximums shown by the high res models for tomorrow

AROME 36C

http://modeles7.meteociel.fr/modeles/arome_uk1/runs/2018072612/aromehd-31-30-1.png?26-18

WRF 35C

http://modeles.meteociel.fr/modeles/wrfnmm/runs/2018072612/nmm_uk1-31-30-1.png?26-19

FMI-HIRLAM 33C

http://modeles7.meteociel.fr/modeles/fmi/runs/2018072612/fmiuk-41-26-0.png?26-20

ICON 33C

http://modeles.meteociel.fr/modeles/icon/runs/2018072615/iconeu_uk1-31-27-0.png?26-20

ARPEGE 35C

http://modeles7.meteociel.fr/modeles/arpege/runs/2018072612/arpegeuk-31-30-0.png?26-18

HARMONIE 35C

http://modeles7.meteociel.fr/modeles/harmonie/runs/2018072618/harmonie-41-19-0.png?26-23

EURO4 31C

https://expert-images.images-weatheronline.com/daten/proficharts/web/en/euro4/2018/07/26/basis12/ukuk/tmax/18072718_2_2612.gif

COSMO 35C

https://expert-images.images-weatheronline.com/daten/proficharts/web/en/cosmo/2018/07/26/basis18/dldl/tmp2/18072714_2618.gif

Lot's of uncertainty it's like during the winter with an easterly - with bitterly cold air to the east of us. The same scenario here with very hot weather just to the east of us! It could be 29c in London or 36c - I guess in between 32c. - yet again it depends how much progress this weather front out west makes and how these thunderstorms build up - in terms of their longevity and strength etc - Because the longer they last the cooler it will get! If not there is always next week and it's never too late to hit the all time record in Kent set back in Summer 2003 when it was 38.5c - This was on 10th August.

See below Mett off chart for 5th August 2003:

Now compare it to 26th July 2018: -Some similarities in the set up eh!?

Thanks GW, very useful summary.  The warmest temperature every recorded for a Norwich based station (or near to it) is 35.8C in 1932 (closely followed by 35.7 in 2003) - maybe we have a chance of beating that tomorrow.  But to get really high temps we need a strongish SW wind direction....  not sure how likely that is tomorrow.

www.norwichweather.co.uk

AROME 18Z actually has the 37C contour just NW of Norwich

UK heatwave: Thunderstorms dampen record heat predictions

Record heat forecast for Friday has been halted by thunderstorms arriving earlier than expected.

The Met Office had said the UK's all-time temperature record of 38.5C (101F) - set in Kent in 2003 - may be beaten.

But storms broke out overnight in the North East of England and the east of Scotland, dampening chances, the BBC Weather Centre said.

More storms are expected from 14:00 BST, with a yellow weather warning issued for the east of England.

Temperatures will still be high though - around 30C for many, but it could be as high as 34C in East Anglia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44976591

(As I write this, there's been a line of storms runing south > north across East Anglia, London and Sussex, with the line slowly moving east. In theory the surface water from those will mean there's less chance of a record as the sun's energy will initially be spent evaporating the water).

Update: Looks like those storms are really struggling to move east. If that remains the case, the record could still be at risk in areas to the east of the storms.

Im at 19.6c,  a record overnight minima,  following my station all time high of 33.6 c yesterday.  There has been no significant rain for weeks here and elsewhere.  Im going to plump for something in the region of 37-38c in the Norfolk area, however, I would not discount Brogdale and Gravesend either on that score.  IMBY its all about wind direction and if it can be anywhere between S and E up til 3pm then Id say the record (IMBY) will be broken again today.  Im starting from a base 2c higher than the jaw dropping events of yesterday, as will most locations be.  Fascinating weather.

As expected not many places remained above 20C overnight. We need to wait for the SYNOP reports for a clearer picture but St James Park will probably be the warmest place. 21.1C at 0600.

Langdon Bay recorded an hourly low of 20.8C.

GFS high res has us at 31C before cooling off. I guess it’s down to how quickly they rise this morning.

Eastern East Anglia still has a shout of at least the July record. But that’s a push.

0z has backed off and only has 34C

Up to 21.0 here @ 0735

Satelitte picture show clear skies from the south and clouds to the far west, saw the image from other site so that would allow us to get another very hot day chances. 

Already 22.7 here but there are puffs of cloud floating about.

I think that one could be near the record, if its an official station used by the met office.