Sky Full

Turned out to be a cool and comfortable night after all. The air temperature dropped fairly quickly and I had no trouble sleeping. It’s a lovely start this morning with wall to wall strong sunshine already pushing temperatures up again but thankfully we won’t see the serious heat forecast for the south and east of England. I remember being in London for a wedding on the 9th and 10th August 2003 when the temperature reached 38C officially but it was 39.9C on my car and it was pretty much unbearable. You had to stay on the shady side of the street to manage walking at all and sleep was almost impossible overnight. I know it’s common to have these temperatures in Mediterranean and tropical countries but they do have a lifestyle which accommodates the heat. Almost all public places in Southern Europe are air conditioned these days but then they get much more then a couple of hot days every summer!

It’s only going to get down to around 16C in the early hours and until then it’s going to be uncomfortably warm upstairs. Will have to sleep with the window wide open and hope the mozzies don’t get me! Tomorrow we can look forward to 33C max according to one forecast so I’ll not be doing any work outside. Or inside, for that matter!

Hazy skies here most of the day but the gradually increasing temperature has now reached the hot and uncomfortable stage. Humidity feels very high but the wind speed has also increased during the day - to the extent that one gust turned the patio umbrella inside out and I had to tie it down! Had the windows and doors closed most of the day to keep the cool air in but the first floor rooms still warmed up unpleasantly and have now opened a couple of windows to let the wind blow through. It’s probably not cooler air but it feels fresher! What I can’t stop thinking about is that the temperatures in the south east and London area for tomorrow are forecast to be 10 degrees above those that I am experiencing here. That’s going to be dangerous for some people.

As it now looks like Monday will bring the peak temperatures I would like to change my guess to 37.9C at Heathrow on Monday. For Wales, 32.9C at Cardiff airport sometime on Monday…..

Sounds like you’ve really got the water situation sorted there and some great ideas for me to think about! It’s a cloudy morning here today with some early drizzle but it’s very welcome, tbh. Still warm but much more bearable. Let’s see what the rest of the week brings…..

I also lived in S Essex, at one time, not far from Maldon which I believe still holds the record historically for being the driest place anywhere in the UK. I didn’t really notice how dry it was when I lived there, but just took it for granted. Here in Pembrokeshire we get a lot of rain and I admit I have often looked on with envious eyes at the weather being enjoyed in the south east of England - sunny, 25C+ and dry - while we have been under cloud or misty drizzle and struggling to reach 15C! However, as I look out now on hillsides of green meadows, and a garden which remains green and healthy, with plants which are managing to find plenty of water in the soil without my help, I realise that I wouldn’t swap this beautiful countryside for sunny Essex or anywhere else in the south east. Our copious rain is what makes this area so resistant to drought although, if the present hot dry spell continues into August, eventually even Wales will run short of water. ?

36.9C at Heathrow airport, Sunday 17th July. For Wales - 32.8C at Cardiff airport! Same day. Extra points if I’m right twice, please. (no chance, then….)

A stunning summers day today. Beautiful right from first thing this morning (5:30am) with a little mist rising from the valley quickly lifting into intricate mares tails for most of the morning. Completely clear sky now and the sun is still very warm. Must admit that if it gets much hotter by the weekend it’ll be uncomfortable outside…..but I am definitely not complaining. Are we in for a prolonged very warm/hot and dry spell? Let’s hope the reservoirs are all full.

OK, what have you done with summer, then? A typical - for October Atlantic - storm is currently bringing frequent heavy showers and a strong gusty wind that’s really more suitable for mid-autumn. Come back June - all is forgiven.

The hot and sunny morning has given way to a very warm, sultry afternoon with thickening cloud. Looks like there’s some rain north of here judging by the radar and if a storm wanted to form then these are the perfect conditions. Can’t move around too much - it’s too humid and muggy. Will keep an eye on the radar in case we get some more exciting weather later…..

Another beautiful day for the solstice - warm and sunny, probably got to 24C at some point, and only light clouds. Tomorrow looks the same or even better but after that it’s a little downhill for the next week or so.

Me too! Lovely photos! Here I am enjoying an almost perfect summers day, at last. Light air, plenty of sun and only light cumulus, together with perfect temperature. One day like this is worth enduring a fortnight of rain and wind, really.

Cloudy, cool and very breezy here today but serious rain has yet to make an appearance. Daily rain forecast for this location has altered from 10mm this morning to 2.9mm now, so definitely not as wet as predicted. Hopefully there’s still time for the garden to be well watered before another dry looking week next week?

No heatwave here, then. After a sunny, warm but breezy morning the temperature has just fallen at least 5 degrees in about an hour as a tranche of low cloud drifted in quite quickly from the Irish Sea. No sun here now - just an insistent breeze and 100% cloud cover. I don’t like the heat that the south east of England is reporting but it would be nice to have seen a bit more of the sun today, at least! Tomorrow is a tricky one to predict because the main belt of heaviest rain could be further south, or further north. We just don’t know yet…..

Having spent a week in your area I have to say that you are very lucky! The area around Llangollen is so beautiful and has so many attractions it’s hard to imagine a lovelier place. We visited Chirk, Pontcysyllte, Glyn Ceriog, and Bala among others, but the jewel is Lake Vyrnwy. And the Corn Mill at Llangollen has the most incredible location overlooking the river and the old station. Loved it all. Must come back again some day.

Visited Erdigg today and I’m with you completely. To see that interior completely unchanged from over 100 years ago and all the outbuildings looking like they could come back to life tomorrow - fascinating. And the gardens, and the woodland walk….would love to come back again sometime. The weather was perfect really - cloudy and cool - as it would have been less enjoyable in hot sunshine. Might take a longer drive tomorrow as we’d like to see Llandudno for the first time but we’ll definitely visit the Pontycysllte aqueduct this week - it’s only down the road!

We are staying between Llangollen and Trevor and the countryside around this part of Wales is glorious! Wet and miserable yesterday which was a shame but hopefully there’ll be some sunshine at some point this week. There’s a lot to see in this area but I want to visit Erdigg and Chirk castle in particular. It’s another grey day today with very low cloud base but not raining so far….

Staying near Llangollen for a week. A few days ago the models were ALL promising a week of warm sunshine here - honestly! Now we have rain all day today followed by sunshine and showers for the rest of the week. I sometimes wonder if any of the weather models really know more than I can find out just by looking out of the window……

Another lovely Spring day with 50/50 blue skies and cumulus clouds, and if it wasn’t for the uncomfortably cold northerly breeze it would probably be around 18c or 19c. As it is, we’re only at about 14c which is not really warm enough when it’s almost June! Come on, Summer, get your act together!

A beautiful, completely cloudless, calm and sunny morning here. This is more like it! I don’t mind that it’s not a heatwave, either, because I prefer temperatures that I can work in, and it’s also great weather for a walk.

Dull and grey again today but the rain from yesterday has moved on. The strong winds are persisting though, and set to strengthen during the day. It’s more like March than May. At least there is some sun in the forecast over the weekend and even next week. We will have to wait and see if this is accurate…..

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that chart is 14 days away? I don’t think we should be getting worried about charts in far FI. Earlier this month the charts were all showing an unbroken warm sunny spell of five or six days mid month which changed to cool, cloudy and showery with only four days notice. I don’t see any reason why the real weather in early June can’t overturn the current charts, maybe more than once, by the 1st June.

This GFS 0z rainfall accumulation chart shows a fairly dry end to the month of May in many central and south eastern areas with less than 3mm in the south east by 01/06 and less than 5mm widely in central areas…..

It’s been pretty changeable here for the last couple of weeks but rain has not been a problem. The main feature has been the wind which has returned again and again from different directions and many garden plants have suffered. It’s grey and drizzly here this morning but calmer than lately and the ground needs watering so I’m not complaining. Looks like another unsettled few days ahead with the possibility of sunnier conditions at the end of the month, although this might change of course…..

Looks like it could be a nice weekend with plenty of sunshine. Then a couple of cloudy wet days followed by a long period of increasingly sunny and warm weather through the middle of the month. Very very welcome if it happens, and may we enjoy plenty of warm sunny weather throughout June, July and August to please all the holidaymakers making Wales their destination this summer.