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Summer 2006


A Winter's Tale

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Posted
  • Location: Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire
  • Location: Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire

Summer 2006 was one of the warmest summers ever in the UK and the warmest in Scotland. A very prolonged period of notably warm conditions in June and July was absolutely incredible - I can still remember playing football in the heat (perfect weather for a World Cup summer) and the BBC Forecasts showing 30C. In the end it reached 35C on an incredibly warm day - I seem to remember June and July of that Summer best but can't quite remember what the August was like. I would love to see a Summer like that again, record breaking but highly enjoyable just severe cold spells of recent winters.

It would be great to hear about:

Your Memories of that Summer

What caused it and how significant it was.

What kind of weather was present in June, July and what kind of a month was August.

How warm were the nights and mornings and was it continuously sunny and warm, or were there thunderstorms and cooler overcast days.

I would think that this would be a thread as we start looking forward to progressively more sunny and warm days in Spring.

Will we see a Summer like 2006 again?

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Posted
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Anything but mild south-westeries in winter
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
Will we see a Summer like 2006 again?

Will we see another hot summer? Definitely. Will we see the hottest July on record again? Well, maybe not..

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.
  • Weather Preferences: Anything extreme
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.

One of the most notable features of the summer of 2006 was that the long period of warm/hot and sunny weather coincided almost exactly with the calendar month of July, rather than being split between two months, and the result was the hottest month on record.

As if a switch had been thrown the hot weather ended as July came to a close and August was much cooler, cloudy and quite wet.

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

Baking hot July, and also some hot days in June. I was in Uni back then but had a summer job during those months and travelling to and from work everyday on the Tube and on the bus was unbearable at times. Beautiful otherwise though.

Heathrow temperatures for June 2006:

Day Temp

1 16.2

2 20.6

3 24.2

4 23.1

5 20.1

6 21.6

7 25.8

8 26

9 26.4

10 29.4

11 28.3

12 31.4

13 25

14 19

15 21.2

16 24.5

17 28

18 26.1

19 21.6

20 23.5

21 20.7

22 21

23 22.2

24 25.1

25 24.5

26 16.8

27 19.4

28 23.4

29 25.6

30 29.1

Heathrow temperatures for July 2006:

Day Temp

1 29.7

2 32.3

3 31.4

4 31.3

5 23

6 25.4

7 22.8

8 23.5

9 23.9

10 22.4

11 25.2

12 27.6

13 23.6

14 24

15 26.3

16 30.5

17 32.7

18 33.2

19 35.5

20 31.7

21 31.7

22 29.5

23 26.5

24 30

25 33.1

26 32

27 30.3

28 29.1

29 26.7

30 25.4

31 24.2

Edited by danm
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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

An awesome summer and early autumn except the cool/damp August sandwiched in the middle.

A summer where the sun was just around all the time and you could spend most of your free time outdoors.

Would love to see something like that again this year.

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Posted
  • Location: Burntwood, Staffs
  • Location: Burntwood, Staffs

I remember how arrid and parched everywhere was looking by the end of July and everything was covered in dust.

Thank goodness August rescued the situation just in time.

We seem to be on a roll of cooler, cloudier summers, I hope it continues.

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Posted
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms and heat, North Sea snow
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

One thing I thought of today is that at the time I didn't often go on holiday to hot places so I found it quite uncomfortable at times, but I wonder how I'd find it now as Newcastle's mean maximum temperature was only around 23°C and I'm used to hot weather now, and certainly enjoy it more than I used to. One thing I noticed about 2006 was the lack of overhead storms here - we had many risk days during the heatwave in June and July but it never happened. I also saw altocumulus castellanus on several occasions though, and I enjoy these thundery conditions before a thunderstorm as much as the storm itself sometimes! 2007-2011 haven't been too bad for storms actually, and 2007, 2009 and 2011 contained a few spells with several consecutive thunder days.

Edited by Alza 2
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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Yes, the Tyne and Wear area missed out on most of the June/July 2006 thunderstorms apart from receiving the tail end of one on the 20th July.

In Leeds (where I was at the time) it was a very different story- there were about 3 hours of thundery downpours on the 12th June 2006, a big thunderstorm on the evening of the 3rd July and more around the 19th/20th. Some parts of the country, notably much of the Midlands and Norfolk, had frequent thunder during July 2006 and as a result rainfall came out near or above normal despite record-breaking heat and sunshine. Around Leeds the month was quite dry but not exceptionally so due to the intensity of the occasional thundery downpours, whereas in Tyne and Wear/Durham it was exceptionally dry with about 10-15mm of rain, making the month essentially a slightly hotter and sunnier version of August 1995.(as August 1995 was similarly dry).

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Posted
  • Location: G.Manchester
  • Location: G.Manchester

2010 was pretty similar to 2006 for the South and East. A very warm June/July but cool August. In all instances they were cooler though. For east Anglia 2010 and 2006 are quite comparible;

June 2006; 16.0c (+1.7c)

June 2010; 15.5c (+1.2c)

July 2006; 20.5c (+3.7c)

July 2010; 18.8c (+2.1c)

August 2006; 16.6c (-0.2c)

August 2010; 16.4c (-0.4c)

Summer 2006; 17.7c (+2.6c)

Summer 2010; 16.9c (+1.8c)

2010 was certainly the best summer between 2007-2011. And probably the mosr exciting year too.

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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

July felt like we were in the med. It was a glorious month from start to finish with days of hot sunshine and blue skies. Conditions mid month became a little too uncomfortably hot for my liking - but the heat was not nearly as oppressive as that of early August 03 thanks to much less humidity.

Summer 2006 brought two excellent months in June and July but a rather dissapointing August - with average temps but far too much cloud - a common theme for August ever since.

However, overall I would still rate summer 2005 over summer 2006 - yes it saw a rather unsettled July, but it brought some lengthy dry sunny warm weather and some decent thunderstorms. Summer 2006 was not on a par with the excellent summer of 1995 - to see another summer like 1995 would be a real treat (granted it took a while to get going - around the summer solstice- but once it started that was it until september when the heavens opened). Unlike summer 95 though, summer 2006 continued into september with very warm conditions - indeed the period May 2006 - April 2007 I think is the warmest 12 month period in the CET zone on record - with only very shortlived periods with below average temps and even then these were not that exceptional (think mid dec and early feb).

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

July 2010 was a mile behind July 2006 sunshine wise, with only East Anglia and the southeast recording near or slightly above average sunshine, and many western areas had record low sunshine totals. In Norwich there was a remarkable hot sunny spell from 22 June to 4 July 2010, marked by consistent maxima of 25-29C, then from the 5th-15th it was generally dry and warm but with variable rather than plentiful sunshine. An unsettled period 16th-22nd brought some dramatic rainstorms, then the weather from the 23rd-31st was dry and cloudy with average temperatures. Statistically sunshine and rainfall came out near normal in Norwich but with temperatures about 3C above average. July 2006 however had temperatures 4C above average.

Note also that thunder frequency was generally much below normal during Summer 2010. I would have regarded 2005 as a great summer overall had it not been for the persistently cool cloudy last third of July.

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

2010 was pretty similar to 2006 for the South and East. A very warm June/July but cool August. In all instances they were cooler though. For east Anglia 2010 and 2006 are quite comparible;

June 2006; 16.0c (+1.7c)

June 2010; 15.5c (+1.2c)

July 2006; 20.5c (+3.7c)

July 2010; 18.8c (+2.1c)

August 2006; 16.6c (-0.2c)

August 2010; 16.4c (-0.4c)

Summer 2006; 17.7c (+2.6c)

Summer 2010; 16.9c (+1.8c)

2010 was certainly the best summer between 2007-2011. And probably the mosr exciting year too.

Yes, June and July 2010 had some great warm/hot & sunny weather. It was exceptionally dry too. Very little rain, grass was parched brown. But August 2010 was much cooler and wetter.

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

In Norwich there was a remarkable hot sunny spell from 22 June to 4 July 2010, marked by consistent maxima of 25-29C, then from the 5th-15th it was generally dry and warm but with variable rather than plentiful sunshine.

Not just Norwich, but for much of the SE.

Here are the temperatures for Heathrow airport on consecutive days between 21st June 2010 and 12th July 2010:

24.7, 27.3, 27.3, 26.3, 27.8, 27.6, 30.6, 28.7, 28.6, 26.4, 27.2, 25.8, 26.1, 24.5, 24.2, 23.8, 24, 27.1, 31.2, 29.1, 27.5, 23.9.

After a few days of cooler weather between the 13th and 17th July, it warmed up again between the 18th and 31st:

Temperature at Heathrow consecutively between 18th and 31st July 2010:

25, 29.5, 29, 25.1, 22.7, 20.6, 25.5, 26, 24, 26.3, 25.2, 23.3, 23.1, 25.1.

It was quite a remarkable spell of weather. Nothing record braking in terms of actual temperatures, but it was a few weeks of

consistently warm/hot and sunny weather with very little, if any, rain.

There also was a brief warm spell earlier in June 2010 with the temperature getting up to 28c on the 4th and 5th.

Edited by danm
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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

I certainly remember the heat affecting most of the SE during 22nd June-4th July 2010- many in and around London were complaining about the hot and uncomfortable nights. In Norwich I found it quite comfortable because although the temperature got high during the daytime it dropped off to the mid-teens overnight making it relatively easy to sleep, in contrast to minima near 20C in central London.

I'm surprised at the warmth at Heathrow during the last third of July 2010, as in Norwich temperatures dropped close to average, but clearly London remained on the warm side. Sunshine maps though imply that it was probably still relatively cloudy there:

http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

I agree though that generally above average sunshine persisted in the SE (and also Norwich) through to the 12th though less prominently so during the 5th-12th than earlier in the spell.

Btw re. summer 2006, June 2006 was similar to July during the first 12 days, except for some North Sea areas of eastern England which were more heavily affected by sea breezes than during the July hot spells. However in Leeds (where I was at the time) the weather turned quite cloudy between the 13th and 27th June 2006, then it turned hot and sunny again at the end of June setting us up for the record-breaking July. The 13th-27th June 2006 had the sort of north-south split that we often get when high pressure ridges across from the Azores- dry, sunny and warm in the south but cooler and cloudier further north.

Edited by Thundery wintry showers
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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

To me i have to say that both June and July 2006 were phenomenal and near perfect summer months (Junes 2005 and 2010 were good but lacked that something special that 2006 had).

While not a general fan of heat (i sweat in anything above 25C) i am quite a fan of extremes and thus as summer months they were both exceptional.

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Posted
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

An excellent summer as a whole. It could have been really special had August not screwed up.

And the disgusting July of 2010 has no business being talked about in the same breath as July 2006.

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Posted
  • Location: Chelmsford
  • Weather Preferences: Hot and dry summers with big thunderstorms.
  • Location: Chelmsford

2006 was an incredible summer apart from August, I read an article at the time that said the heat, warmed the seas so much that it caused the rainy cool August, whether that's true I don't know?

2010 had another very good end of June into July in Essex,I'm surprised that TWS says it only went onto the 4th in Norwich as I seem to remember a continuation upto at least the 11th/12th with 32c on the 9/10th from memory. After that we saw a slight cooldown then it got warm again.

In terms of summers (my order of Favourites are)

2012 (hopefully)

1995

2003

2006

2010

2005

1997

1996

2009

2004

1998

1999/2000/2001/2002

2011

2007

2008 (worst - awful summer!)

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

In Norwich the spell 22nd June-4th July 2010 was followed by a few average days (dry, fairly cloudy, average temperatures) before it turned very hot again around the 9th-11th, the hottest interlude of the year with 30C breached.

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

BBC News report from 3rd July 2006 on the heatwave:

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

GMTV news report's and weather forecasts from July 2006. Mentions the temperature on buses and trains in London getting above 120f!:

Edited by danm
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  • 9 years later...

I know this is 9 years old, but I discovered it whilst trying to find the temperature for the 17th June 2006 and since you asked for memories well here it goes, (17th June) the day I had a busted ankle but I was going to see Foo fighters in Hyde park no matter what! (My ankle never properly recovered twinges to this day). The day before the 16th I put my pen down in school for the last time having finished my final GCSE exam, those were some of the worst days ever so so so hot, Gymnasium doors pushed open and the same for the 2 school halls which luckily had Quadrangles at the sides. Bye yes me being me I had to fall down a hole 4 days before the best day of my life lol. So 85,000 people blistering hot I remember running for the underground and having a brand new white shirt on I have photos (hey it was the start of social media frenzy!!) of the burns as my dad left the cream miles and miles away from Hyde park. But that summer was so carefree the last time between being a kid and knocking into adulthood. Not only did I see Foos, Angels and airwaves, Juliette and the licks and Queens of the Stone Age and Lemmy and the remainder of Queen well music lovers will know why that summer was an amazing time for a 16 year old. (Ace of spades played for the first time in many many years). 

(Another time) For some reason I have a feeling it was 1995…I remember going to Devon and in my mind of being a five nearly six year old it was a bright hot summer but maybe that’s just childhood dreams lol.

 

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Posted
  • Location: Basingstoke
  • Weather Preferences: In summer, a decent thunderstorm, and hot weather. In winter, snow or gale
  • Location: Basingstoke
2 hours ago, CassieLouise said:

I know this is 9 years old, but I discovered it whilst trying to find the temperature for the 17th June 2006 and since you asked for memories well here it goes, (17th June) the day I had a busted ankle but I was going to see Foo fighters in Hyde park no matter what! (My ankle never properly recovered twinges to this day). The day before the 16th I put my pen down in school for the last time having finished my final GCSE exam, those were some of the worst days ever so so so hot, Gymnasium doors pushed open and the same for the 2 school halls which luckily had Quadrangles at the sides. Bye yes me being me I had to fall down a hole 4 days before the best day of my life lol. So 85,000 people blistering hot I remember running for the underground and having a brand new white shirt on I have photos (hey it was the start of social media frenzy!!) of the burns as my dad left the cream miles and miles away from Hyde park. But that summer was so carefree the last time between being a kid and knocking into adulthood. Not only did I see Foos, Angels and airwaves, Juliette and the licks and Queens of the Stone Age and Lemmy and the remainder of Queen well music lovers will know why that summer was an amazing time for a 16 year old. (Ace of spades played for the first time in many many years). 

(Another time) For some reason I have a feeling it was 1995…I remember going to Devon and in my mind of being a five nearly six year old it was a bright hot summer but maybe that’s just childhood dreams lol.

 

Saw foo fighters on hottest August Bank Holiday ever, 33C on 25th August 2019.  Reading.. one of the best live acts ever.

17th June 2006 I remember being quite hot, 28C in London IIRC, not as hot as the weekend before but still great nonetheless

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