Monday to be one of the hottest June days on record with 34C possible

Some Wimbledon weather stats as tournament opens gates during heatwave

Stav Danaos

BBC Weather

Image source, PA Media

As the world's oldest tennis tournament begins today, it's looking very likely that we could break opening day temperature records.

Forecasts are currently suggesting values into the low 30s across the SW19 area.

So far, the warmest start to the tournament was recorded on 25 June 2001, with a high of 29.3C (84.74F) – so we could break that record by a considerable amount.

However, the hottest day recorded during the Wimbledon fortnight occurred on 1 July 2015, when temperatures soared to 35.7C just a few miles away at Kew Gardens.

The highest overnight minimum temperature was 20.8C which was recorded on 27 June 1976 (during the infamous summer of that year).

Conversely, the lowest maximum temperature during the tournament was just 12.0C on 24 June 1925, a reminder of the sharply contrasting temperatures in the UK - even during the summer months.

Rainfall has often played a big part at the tournament and is almost seen as a “traditional feature” of Wimbledon by many.

This year it’ll be a hot, dry and sunny start to the Championships, but the wettest opening day was back in 1969 on 23 June when 13.8mm of rain fell at Wimbledon Power Station.

The wettest single day on record was way back on 28 June 1906 when 62.7mm (nearly 2.5 inches) of rain fell at nearby Kew Gardens.

The wettest overall championship occurred in 1927, with 83.8mm (3.29 inches) of rain was recorded over 14 days at Raynes Park.

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