SIZZLING sunshine yesterday meant Bournemouth enjoyed its hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching 30.3C. 

As we continue to bask in gorgeous sunshine today, memories of some of our previous summers have come to the fore. 

While we may want to forget the washout summers of the past (2012, anyone?), we take a look back at some of the hottest summers Dorset has experienced since records began.

How many of these can you remember?

1. 1976 - Our hottest summer

The hottest summer ever recorded, with an average max temperature of 23.46 degrees. The whole country suffered ruthless drought during this scorching summer. The hottest day of the year reached a scorching 33.8C on the 28th June.

Bournemouth Echo:

2. 1995 - Average max temperature: 22.81C

This summer peaked in early August, with the hottest day reaching 33C degrees on 3rd August. At that time a record swarm of wasps descended and wrecked havoc for holidaymakers with councils and pest controllers inundated with pleas for help to remove nests from homes and gardens. 

3. 1983 - Average max temperature: 22.46C

It reached a high temperature of 31C on the 23rd July, the first edition of Microsoft Word was released and seatbelts became compulsory in cars. Doesn’t that make you feel old?

Bournemouth Echo:

4. 2006 - Average max temperature: 22.37C

The hottest day reached in this year was a boiling 33.9C on 19th July. Drivers fumed after they were stuck in four-mile tailbacks after a decision to close a lane on the A338 Spur Road for grass cutting. It was a scorching summer for a lot of countries in Europe. July 2006 was the warmest month on UK records. Apparently denim bags and shoes were in fashion that summer. Perhaps it’s a good thing we got past it.

Bournemouth Echo:

5. 1989 - Average max temperature: 22.20C

The highest temperature reached 31C, and Batman, Indiana Jones and the Ghostbusters all made an appearance in some great films released in that summer.

The story above from the August 2nd edition of the Echo shows a picture of a fireman battling a blaze at Canford Heath and also says there had already been 27 heath fires that summer already. 

Bournemouth Echo:  A woman enjoying the sun on Bournemouth's west beach in 1975 uses a paper hat to protect her head from the sun

6. 1975 - Average max temperature: 21.9C

We reached a high of 31.3C this year on the 8th August. It was the warmest summer we had seen since 1947. Remember when Queen released Bohemian Rhapsody that year? That year was nearly 40 years ago.

Bournemouth Echo:  How the Echo covered the heatwave in 2003

7. 2003 - Average max temperature: 21.9C

The hottest day of this year reached 33.9C on the 10th August. This surprising summer saw snow in some places in June to sweltering temperatures in August. But we do live in the UK, so, on we go.

The hottest day recorded in Bournemouth was actually on the 4th August 1990, with a roasting temperature of 34.1C, however the temperatures varied so much that summer that it was not overall one of the hottest.