The super El Niño should mean a very weak / non-existent hurricane season, so less likelihood of interference than most years. 

Interesting to note that strong hurricane seasons tend to correlate with warm settled early Autumns, as the low pressure in the Atlantic acts as a pump for the AH. A couple of years ago I ran a correlation between the two (ACE and Sept rainfall) for a vineyard blog, and the pattern was quite clear. So that might imply a more unsettled September this year, all being equal. I hope not. Need a good Sept for the grapes. 

It might seem like an exceptional month at the moment but with ongoing climate change, that is increasingly becoming more of the norm and so, there has to come a point eventually when a month like this one is then just seen as just being a typical normal month, rather than one which is great or exceptional.

I'm certain there will become that point as you mention and I know down here in the South has been exceptional, however I would hope and think it will be a good few decades before this comes the norm.

Our 2018 July was what I considered exceptional with an average daily max of 26.5c, that was well above anything except the well-known record anomalous years. This year will undoubtedly top that, and probably easily.

Will this year be beaten? Yes I'm sure it will but to become the norm I think will take time... just my view.

A exceptional run of temperatures.

Yes, that’s probably right enough.

However, we’re already at the stage where we just don’t get changeable weather any more like what we used to and that in itself is already quite a massive change in what is climatically a very short period of time.

Our summers used to be predominantly cool and unsettled. In those days, we would get the odd decent one with 1976 being just one example of that, but those types of summers were very rare back then. Nowadays though, that is no longer the case.

 Even today, I still can’t say that we never get any changeable weather but more often than not now, we keep on getting stuck under high pressure which then brings the same weather pattern for weeks to even months on end, and that never used to be the case.

Sept 1995 was very wet so might be a repeat then very dry October that semi parched appear again until early November gone back to green. It was the shortest Autumn ever recorded with first winter snowfall came late November and summery weather ended end of October. 

A slight update on this, Westonzoyland actually reached 27.6C on the 18th.

https://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/observations/details/20260719k4ph67cd9ce9dcu6xusa4hpdme 

27.0C reached today at Bramham - not a regular "warmest place" so still just one day has failed to reach 27 this month.

Interesting to see Bramham hit 27c. On Sunday evening I complained to the Met Office about their regional forecast for Monday asking what they were playing at with ' Largely dry and cloudy Maximum temperature 19c'.  

My family read that forecast and were thinking of not going to the outdoor Lido. I managed to convince them it would be wrong and as it happens I was correct,  long sunny spells and very warm.  The Automated even showed warm temps so no idea what the forecaster was thinking, 8c out ! . But it's a regular occurrence, I think they might sometimes not know Yorkshire isn't in NW Scotland. 

My main point to the Met Office is you can't have the automated showing 25c and text forecast showing 19c max! 

Yeah London is quite a grim place

Taking of low temperatures, I recorded 4.8C at the vineyard on the 20th. Coldest July night in my record. 

Add half a degree to that: Westonzoyland reported 28.7C max for yesterday on today's 9am update.

So does that mean it’s time for “school holidays heatwave thread”, or is this just a continuation?

In the old days the cool spell between heatwaves would see a few days in the low 20s or even the teens. Now we have a couple of days scarcely hitting 27 or 28 and that’s our interregnum. 

28.2 at Kew the highest for today that I have seen so far. Only one day this month has failed to reach 27C (or 80F+ in old money) and all but 4 have been 28C+.

Friday and Saturday this week could both scrape a 30C. Sunday is looking like the potential spoiler with only 25C on GFS and Arpege, 26C on UKV. Although as far as I am aware we have never had a calendar month with every day hitting 25C, so that would still be something of note.

Yes hope this weekend breakdown to clear the clouds out first to order those higher temps in full wall to wall sunshine.  Should see up to 33 to 34 here next week if sunny.

Some rain for the grass would be nice first!  Its like a sandpit.  There is no hosepipe ban here, but nearly everyone has a water meter now, so that seems to dramatically stop sprinkler use.

I don't expect any rain here but the cloud break down I am totally expecting to clear this out.  In Chicago when I stayed there they use sprinklers every day even rain or storm forecasts, I think is done by a timer so to turn on regardless the weather,.  I been told that they must keep the grass green or get fine and in winter to keep snow clear of paths.  Unlike in here you don't own the paths and grass verges but there you do own it right to the road boundary so you are responsible for this to clear snow, cut grass and water them.  Some household put nice flowers or rocky display at the corner junctions.