Lancaster University weather station records highest ever May temperature

Wednesday, 27 May 2026 13:40

By Beyond Radio News

The Hazelrigg weather station at Lancaster University has recorded its highest ever temperature for May.

29.3°C was recorded on Bank Holiday Monday, exceeding the previous May record (by 3.2°C, which was set in 1992.

Monday also saw 14.6 hours of sunshine, and the following night was the warmest May night on record at the site. with a minimum temperature of 16.5°C.

James Heath from Lancaster Environment Centre said: ”The most remarkable thing, as was the case with the record-breaking heatwave of July 2022, is that the record was broken by such a large margin – previous highest May temperature records are all clustered fairly close together, whereas this one stands out way above the rest.

“And while there may only be a few days left until June which is the start of Meteorological Summer, Hazelrigg has only ever recorded one June day hotter than last Monday, 30.1°C in 2023.

“The primary cause is a large area of high pressure situated over the UK and much of Europe. Air in a high pressure system is converging at height, from where it descends towards the surface, warming and drying as it does so.’’

Lancaster University started taking daily measurements at the station in 1976, which are sent to the Met Office.

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