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First published on 21/06/25

When people think about the warmest places in Wales, their minds usually go to the coast with places like Tenby on a sunny bank holiday. But according to long-term data from the Met Office, the town that consistently records the highest temperatures in South Wales is Usk. The small town in Monmouthshire is surrounded by countryside and is set alongside the River Usk and has been identified as having the highest average maximum temperature across the year, based on official monitoring data.

The findings come from a network of weather stations run by the Met Office which track daily weather patterns across the country including temperature, rainfall, wind and more.

The difference in temperature is subtle, with the average maximum temperature being 15.26°C. The Met Office’s Cardiff station site (Bute Park) is slightly less at 14.95°C But in Wales (or anywhere else in the UK), even a few extra degrees can make a difference, especially in the spring and summer months.

Usk is located inland so is away from the influence of the coast, and also sits within a sheltered valley which also might offer natural protection from wind and more extreme weather, whereas nearby towns like Sennybridge and Tredegar sit in more open ground where temperatures can drop more quickly are the coldest places in south wales, according to Met Office data as Tredegar’s average maximum temperature is 12.73°C and Sennybridge is 12.19°C.

Read this piece here.