The hottest day in May

In an amazing turn of meteorological good fortune, at least for those of us in south and east England, a heatwave has aligned with the late May bank holiday weekend. We don't normally get temperatures of 30°C and above in May, even late May, because it's still officially spring no matter how you classify it. The last time England reached 30°C in May was 25th May 2012 and the time before that 27th May 2005. That's only twice this century and just once in the last 20 years. In the 20th century there are reports of hitting 30°C on 21st May 1922, 29th May 1944 (a week before D Day), 12th May 1945 (just after VE Day), 29th May 1947 (after a punishingly cold winter) and 25th May 1953 (a week before the Coronation). 30°C in May is rare and highly intermittent but not unheard of. The earliest that 30°C has ever been recorded in the UK is 12th May, whereas June is more likely, July is more normal and in some years it never happens at all. And if we take the modern definition that a 'heatwave'…