Cloud? None at Hurn.

https://en.allmetsat.com/metar-taf/united-kingdom-ireland.php?icao=EGHH 

Yes, it's back to 28.6 now. Another hour or so left but I think you'll be right - so close!

Looks like plenty of cloud there for the last hour or so. Poole harbour webcam looks fairly overcast now.

 https://zoom.earth/maps/satellite/#view=50.7388,-2.72065,8z

Where did you see 29.3? Highest I can see there is 28.7C.

Frustratingly close. 

Probably have another week of 30s after today.

Netweather have it on their max temps page. It was achieved at 2.46pm 

I hadn't seen that page before, useful.

So, 6 consecutive 30s in May, 7 in June and now 8 in July.

It would be interesting to know where they get that data from, as I have never seen the live maxima available, only the SYNOPs either on the hour or every 10/20 mins depending on the site.

There's a near-enough live feed that the BBC et al have access to, as we've seen them announce the highest temperatures well in advance of the 18z SYNOP report that would confirm it. Perhaps NetWeather have access to that feed too? Certainly some of the timestamps of the daily maxima would suggest at the very least they get them every minute.

A different source then.

https://www.sat24.com/en-gb/country/gb 

You can play it back.

Poole harbour is south and west from Hurn, and certainly not indicative of it, especially when there is a disturbance in the western Channel.

Cloud moved in, thinly, after 3pm but not persistently enough to stop the temperature rising again.

The 12z GFS shows this in its summer guise. The 850s aren't anything to write home about, but there are areas of 30 or more every day from tomorrow out to day 9 (as far as the high-res charts currently go). The boundary layer heats enough to generate small areas of 14 or 15C 850s during the late afternoon over the warmest areas, but 850s are generally lower aside from that. As a rule of thumb, at this time of year under clear skies and low winds, and for inland locations, you would add 16C to the 850s to get a rough estimate of surface temperatures, so 14C for 30, 24C for 40 and so on. 

The dryness of the land is doubtless involved with this, as dry land heats up that much faster. 

Is that an official report of 30C?

Netweather I think. If correct, that’s skin of teeth.

Yup, from their highest temperature feed... 3:20 PM, to be exact.

If the ground are more drier as time go perhaps the 850's and surface temperatures can go wide enough up to 18C or more? This year is a repeat of 2018 version or 1995 type so far.  Was surprised the clouds came and stay to midday to clear off when the sea temps already higher in the North Sea still generated clouds. 

https://x.com/metoffice/status/2076724701770989914 

Score now 35.5

And confirmed on the 1800Z SYNOP with a max of 30.1C.

I think someone must have got the hairdryer out to keep the streak going TBH.... 😉

Excellent post there Darren and very well presented and described there. Well done.  🙂🙂🙂🙂

Tomorrow could be another date record, it's a relatively low 32.3C to beat, from 1983.

100 Per cent Darren

In wet soil the air temperature is less because of the evaporation process acting like a cooling process with combined increased thermal conductance of the soil also taking reflective  energy away from the air.

In dry soil there is a much less cooling process and much less conductance of the soil resulting in increased thermal reflective energy into the air hence the heat air waves you see more from a distance in hot conditions on dry land rather than a wet one.

What we have now with low DP and excellent dry properties of the air can only mean it is relatively easy to reach those dizzy temperatures when compared to relatively low uppers.