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Yesterday was the hottest day on record in Greater Manchester
Temperatures are set to creep up again today…
Areas of Greater Manchester sweltered in new record high temperatures yesterday, the Met Office has confirmed.
Two Met Office weather stations in Rochdale and Rostherne – near Knutsford – both recorded record high temperatures yesterday (July 18th).
Rochdale’s station recorded a temperature high of 34.3C, beating the previous record of 33.9C from July 25th, 2019.
And over in Rostherne the temperature was even hotter, with a record high of 35C being recorded.
The University of Manchester also recorded temperatures slightly above 35C at the Whitworth Observatory yesterday.
Mario Sanchez Prada / Flickr
This extreme heat caused major travel disruption across the region, with a number of Metrolink services being impacted.
Danny Vaughan, Head of Metrolink at TfGM, warned this disruption will continue today, saying in a statement yesterday: “A number of Metrolink services were impacted across the network by the extreme heat over the course of Monday.
“This impact will continue into tomorrow when temperatures are expected to rise even further.
“Following the damage caused to the overhead line from excessive temperatures on Monday, there will be no tram service operating between Bury and Victoria on Tuesday. There is too great a risk of passengers becoming stranded on trams in what are expected to be even
hotter temperatures.”
Last week, the Met Office issued the UK’s first ever Red Extreme heat warning, with temperatures still poised to climb to record highs of over 40C today across the country.
The weather warning covers today and yesterday (July 18th and 19th) for parts of central, northern, eastern and southeastern England.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week, quite widely across the red warning area on Monday, and focussed a little more east and north on Tuesday.
“Currently there is a 50% chance we could see temperatures top 40C and 80% we will see a new maximum temperature reached.
“Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas. This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure. Therefore, it is important people plan for the heat and consider changing their routines. This level of heat can have adverse health effects.”