I might be wrong about this Steve, but IIRC July 1983 was the hottest CET month of the 20th century and remained so until it was toppled by the same month in 2006.
Interestingly, the hot August of 1995 came very close to matching or beating July '83 if I remember correctly, finishing only 0.3C below and is still the hottest August on record, I believe.
Originally Posted by: David M Porter