Record breaking May temperature recorded by Lancaster University

Lancaster University’s Hazelrigg weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 29.3°C on Bank Holiday Monday, exceeding the previous May record (set in 1992) by 3.2°C.

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 at the University 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. This also supresses cloud formation, so at this time of the year, strong solar heating of the surface further warms the air from below.”

Lancaster University staff and students have been taking daily measurements at the station since 1976 (and for 10-years previously at a site on the Bailrigg campus). The data are sent to the Met Office as they contribute to UK’s long-term climate record.