Cardiff named the hottest place in Wales as nation gears up for a baking Sunday

Forecasters believe this weekend will break the hottest May temperature record

It felt like summer had truly arrived across Wales today as temperatures climbed to their highest levels of the year so far, with forecasters warning that even hotter weather could be on the way in the coming days.

The Met Office confirmed that Cardiff was the hottest place in Wales on Saturday (May 23), recording a temperature of 23.2C. Elsewhere, Usk reached 22.9C. But it wasn’t as hot everywhere with the west coast seeing cloudy weather and lower highs of just 14.8C at Aberporth and 15.4C in Porthmadog.

Across the UK, the hottest temperature of the day was recorded at Frittenden in Kent, where the mercury hit 30.5C. That surpassed Friday’s previous high of 28.4C, which had been jointly recorded at Heathrow in London, Cranwell in Lincolnshire and Cambridge.

However the current spell of warm weather is expected to intensify further into the weekend, raising the possibility of some of the highest May temperatures seen in the UK for more than a decade.

According to a study conducted by the Met Office last summer, scientists warned that climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are making extreme May temperatures increasingly likely. Researchers concluded that the long-standing UK May temperature record of 32.8C, set in 1944, could soon be broken.

On top of this, a it appears as though a heatwave will be officially declared tomorrow. This is defined as three consecutive days where temperatures meet or exceed a specific threshold. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Greg Wolverson said it is likely that parts of the UK will meet those criteria from Sunday onwards, with areas including London, the south-east of England and Cardiff expected to record their third consecutive day above heatwave thresholds.

Weather maps suggest Sunday could bring exceptionally warm conditions across much of Wales. Newport, Monmouth, Brecon and Llandovery are all forecast to reach highs of around 26C.

Cardiff, Maesteg, Newtown and Welshpool are also expected to enjoy temperatures close to 25C, making for another notably warm day across the country. It appears that temperatures will be reaching their peak at around 4pm.

The coolest conditions are likely to remain along the coast, with Cardigan, Aberystwyth and areas towards Caernarfon forecast to stay in the high teens, around 18C to 19C.

Forecasters say the sunny and dry conditions are expected to continue into next week, with many people set to enjoy an early taste of summer and Monday forecast to be hotter again than Sunday.