Yesterday: Hottest day of the year as temperatures reached 34 degrees C

A temperature of 34.4 degrees Celsius was recorded at 5pm in Gibraltar yesterday, making it the hottest day of the year so far, although the final Maxima was still to be confirmed at the time of writing.
According to Chief Meteorologist Stephanie Ball, the previous hottest day this year was as recent as Friday August 4, when temperatures reached 33.4C.
However, this new high temperature recorded at the Gibraltar Airport (Met Office, North Front site), she said, does not come close to setting any new August record which, for Gibraltar, stands at 40.2C in 1986.
“Tuesday was always signalled to be the hottest day of this week,” Ms Ball said yesterday.
“After a spell of levanter which saw us escaping the more record breaking heat across inland Spain over recent days, a return to poniente today saw temperatures cranking up along Mediterranean coasts.”
“A temporary drop in the sea breeze allowed temperatures in Gibraltar to rocket late this afternoon to give us the hottest day of the year so far.”
Meanwhile, by late afternoon nearby San Roque had already recorded a sizzling 37.6C and, further up along the coast, 40.5C was recorded in Estepona.
“For the rest of the week, however, cooler air will move in across the area, and with blustery levanter conditions expected by Friday across Gibraltar, this heat may soon seem like a distant memory.”