Remember a year ago today when Northamptonshire was sizzling in record-breaking heat?

There's not much in life that isn't very different from 12 months ago — including the weather.

Today marks exactly year since a heatwave rewrote the record books as local weather-watchers saw temperatures reach a blistering 38°C in Northamptonshire.

That beat the county's 108-year-old record high of 36.7°C at Raunds in August 1911.

Forecaster Jamie of @NNWeather looked back on the remarkable spell, saying: "Weather models were hinting at some extreme heat in the county to come and eight days later they were proved correct as the UK saw it’s hottest ever recorded day.

"In the county we saw temperatures reach 38°C around 4pm on July 25 with reports of pressurised cans exploding and glass in double-glazed units shattering."

Kids in parks struggled to eat ice creams before they melted and transport systems ground to a halt when rails buckled and overhead wires snapped in the heat.

Commuters attempting to get home to Northamptonshire found themselves stranded in London as trains from London Euston were cancelled while East Midlands Trains advised passengers in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough against all but essential travel as track temperatures exceeded 50°C — 122°F.

One tale of woe was typical: "I was working in London a year ago and got out of the office at about 9.30pm to find out there were no trains on my usual route back to Bedford, then I found out there were none from Euston to Northampton either!

"I managed to book what must have been the last hotel room in London, somewhere in Ilford. It was a tiny room — with no air conditioning! I've never been so hot."

The Met Office announced the UK's hottest July day on record with 38.1°C — 100.6°F — recorded just down the road in Cambridge.

That beat 2015's previous July record of 36.7°C in 2015 and was only the second time in history the country had seen heat higher 100°F — but it fell just short of the county's all-time high of 38.5°C in 2003.

And the forecast for July 25, 2020? Well, the Met Office say a maximum temperature of 21°C with a 50 per cent chance of rain in the morning and 60 per cent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon!

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