Isle of Harry

I’ve just come back from Svalbard - I was battling daily with -23C conditions ?. Locals couldn’t believe how cold the autumn has been and conditions which many were not used to at this time of year. On Thursday I embarked on a voyage to the abandoned Soviet mining town of Pyramiden. It was the last trip of the season before early June. On the final approach to the docking area the captain of the boat was stunned by the amount of sea ice. Volumes not seen for at least a decade this early in the season. The pictures below are mine showing the extent...All that white stuff is Ice. Of course I had to also show you the sign to Pyramiden ??

Found a couple of other sources about this month. A weather diary from Bristol by Dr Pole shows relatively the same temperatures but much harsher wintry conditions out West. Frequent heavy snowfalls reported mid-month and fairly wet. Also a quote from James Losh's Diary based in Newcastle. ''The last November (1807) has been by much the most severe November I ever remember - Indeed although the frost was not long continued without intervals of thaw, I apprehend that it's average cold has been fully equal to that of January in general. I do not believe that the season has not been unhealthy except for old and very delicate persons who have certainly died in great numbers. Flowers of all kind have been checked and the sowing of Wheat has been greatly impeded'' The following December was equally as cold but the Christmas period was slightly milder and 10C was recorded in London come Boxing day.

0.3C cooler than bloody October 1816 - the year with no summer ?

I think May this year was slightly below

The mid September heatwave of 1926 was very warm with temperatures hitting 32C in London and central France up to the high 30's!

Snowing last night on Svalbard, fairly rare for August. Unusually cold.

That long week heatwave at the end of July 1868

Summer 2007 was worst in my opinion than 2012. I just remember summer 2007 (my GCSE year) constantly raining and never stopping. Our school hall flooded! Temperatures were struggling to get into the low 20's throughout June and July although there was a slight warm period at the start of August but that was it. I just hope 2019 isn't going this way as it certainly has the same vibe to it. 2012 was horrendously wet but days were more warmer and summery than 2007 when it was clearer I seem to remember.

Try to find some reports on the 1800 drought from local newspapers at the time. Proved difficult but managed to find 4 quotes all from August 1800. I have also found an image of the Drought effects and it's extent from the Old World Drought Atlas.

Interesting information there! I was only 5/6 years old during the 95/96 very hot and dry summers so I don't really remember much ? This 1800 summer heatwave pretty much kicked of series of very hot and dry summers especially 1801, 1805, 1806,1807 and 1808. A decade very much in contrast to the wet and fairly cool summers of the 1790's. As you can see in the table below average summer temperatures rose over 1 degree between the 1790's and 1800's.

Around 219 years ago, back in 1800, May opened up with a pleasant burst of early summer-heat but June began cooler and was dull with cloudy and wet conditions and perhaps the locals were gearing up for another typical British summer - but what was coming up was nothing short than extraordinary. From the 23rd June to 23rd August no rain fell - it was hot, dry and clear with blue skies for practically two months (62 days - just under 9 weeks) ?. Temperatures in July remained in the mid to upper 20's every day and were sunny and clear. The high amount of heat and the dryness of the atmosphere would probably have made conditions very oppressive in London at that time, the jet streams most likely parking anticyclonic pressure over Great Britain and staying there for weeks on end, dragging up tropical air from the equator in a ''Spanish plume'' effect maybe? There was no relief from this heatwave from July into August as temperatures soared into the low 30's (maybe higher?), even the nights were very warm and humid with 25C recorded just before midnight on the 2nd August. The long heatwave and the general sultriness continued till the 23rd August when finally some showery weather returned with some relief but what an incredible Summer this was and totally the opposite of the fairly cool and wet summer of 1799. Data is from B.W Cary's stand in Central London - so there may have been different conditions in the North or out to the far west but It's probably a clear indication of what was going on in the southeast. I'd imagine though the heatwave probably did effect large areas of the country regardless.

Only 4 days of rain so far this month. Could all change by next week.

Very warm and muggy night so far in Thanet.

January, February, end of March and so far this month have all been much drier than usual. Only the first two weeks of March were incessantly wet which took the month as a whole to above average rainfall, in fact it was the wettest March for a well over a decade. All this is setting up nicely for the ''1912'' wet summer to make up for the dry first half! ?