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Official figures released by the Met Office have underlined what we all suspected – that we had never known such sweltering heat.

Mansfield, Sutton and Kirkby come under the jurisdiction of Nottingham Weather Centre, run by the Met Office at Watnall.

And although readings didn’t quite make the milestone of 40C, they did surpass 100F for the first time.

As the sun blazed down, Mansfield and Ashfield basked in their hottest day yesterday (Tuesday) since records began.

Between 1 pm and 5 pm on Tuesday, the temperature dial for Watnall shot up to 39C, or 102.2F, peaking at 39.8C at one point.

This followed readings the previous day, on Monday, of 36C (96.8F), which beat Mansfield and Ashfield’s long-standing record and wasn’t far off the previous Nottinghamshire best of 36.1C, set in 1990 and 2019.

A new record for the county was smashed on Tuesday by Gringley On The Hill, a village of about 700 people, which sits on the road between Bawtry and Gainsborough in the Parliamentary constituency of Bassetlaw.

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The temperature at Gringley rocketed to 40.1C (104.18F), and was one of no fewer than 34 places across the UK that broke the previous heat record for the country, which stood at 38.7.

Temperatures have cooled down noticeably in Mansfield and Ashfield today (Wednesday), although many buildings still feel warm inside because they have retained the heat from previous days.

Mansfield is forecast to reach a high of 24C today, followed by 21C tomorrow and 20C on Friday.

The weather will warm up again on Saturday and Sunday, with forecast highs of 24C, before cooling down next week when predicted figures of 18C and 19C on Tuesday and Wednesday will feel positively Arctic after the last couple of days!

Fierce heat is often followed by spells of rain and the Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for heavy showers and possible thunderstorms across Nottinghamshire from about 6 pm today until midnight.

It even warns that the rain could trigger lightning strikes and flooding in some areas, making driving difficult and causing road closures, train and bus delays and possible power cuts.

However, some places may avoid the rain altogether. The maximum chance of rain in Mansfield today is set at 73 per cent.

It's official - Mansfield and Ashfield basked in hottest day on record