Summer 2014 thread

[Ross Andrew Hemphill]

The Diamond League Athletics at Hampden Park was great in all areas. Rain was on for a few minutes but soon dried up, great atmosphere all round. Hopefully summer is back for The Commonwealth Games!!                

[Costa Del Fal]

CFS although of course has its pitfalls has been quite consistent with heights just to our E/NE in August and thus consistent with warmer than average conditions. Hope its right. Very long well overdue a proper good August!

[Milhouse]

I actually think the more recent weather fronts couldn't have been timed more perfectly. They seem to be coming at night after fairly sunny days and are then more or less gone by morning, to leave another decent day. That's good because the cloud somewhat helps to keep overnight temperatures higher and then gives the next day a kick start in terms of temperatures!

 

Lovely

 

Its good when that happens. But sadly the same cant be said for us over here. That front stuck around all day here on Thursday. But i'm pleased for those westerners though who had a pretty rotten time of it from 2007-2012 whilst over here we did get at least something summery.

[hillbilly]

When was the last time we actually had a "good" August?

 

Yeah, I think we've been spoilt this year. Normally the South East has to be guarenteed set fair conditions before us westerners can even begin to think about warm and sunny.

Very good augusts in recent times are....

1983,1984,1989,1990,1995,1997 and 2003

[cheese]

Average highs of recent Augusts here, with deviation from 1981-2010 averages in brackets..

 

2013: 22C (+1.2C) - consistently warm, hot on the 1st with a high of 31C. Many days above 25C. The month was very wet with 88.3mm - 52.4mm of which fell in a 3-day period from the 23rd to the 25th (big storm on the 23rd)

2012: 21C (+0.2C) - consistently warm, mostly between 20C and 25C. The final day of the month saw the low temperature fall to 3C, with a high of 14.6C on the 30th. This month was wet as well.

2011: 20.1 (-0.7C) - not great. Cooler than average (but not exceptionally so), but also drier than average. Not much to comment on.

2010: 20C (-0.8C) - virtually identical to 2011 in every aspect. Even the rainfall was the same. Boring.

Edited July 12, 2014 by cheese

[Nick L]

So 2003 basically. Just goes to show generally, how poor August is as a summer month. I would actually say that September is more summery than August,

 

In a similar way to how poor January was as a winter month for so many years.

[Thundery wintry showers]

When was the last time we actually had a "good" August?

 

Yeah, I think we've been spoilt this year. Normally the South East has to be guarenteed set fair conditions before us westerners can even begin to think about warm and sunny.

I think August 2009 made it in East Anglia and the SE.  In Norwich the first half was quite cloudy with the odd bit of sun and the odd bit of rain, but frequent warm sunny weather in the second half (especially the third week, which got quite hot at times) more than made up for it.  Above-average sunshine was, however, largely confined to that area of the country.

 

August 2007 was a dry sunny month in some areas of the country, including Tyne and Wear, though not everywhere (East Anglia had quite a cool cloudy month for instance).

 

Before that we had August 2005 which was a dry sunny month with warm days and cool nights in most parts of England and Wales, though cloudier in Scotland, especially the north of Scotland.

 

And before that, yes, we're looking at August 2003.  That August had a SW-NE split, with sunshine totals ranging from near-normal in the SW to much above normal in the NE, but the first third of the month was exceptionally hot at times almost everywhere and it was generally an unusually dry month.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers

[Bottesford]

My experience of August from memory is a warm month (but lacking proper warm days >24c), very cloudy where the average was kept up by high night minima.

[Froze were the Days]

Other than maybe 2011 in this part of the country we seem to have 'reasonable' Augusts, we haven't had a 'great' one for some time but on the whole I'd say Augusts were better than Junes on the Costa del Essex.

[Summer Sun]

BBC weather for the week ahead showing temperatures possibly hitting 30c in the south on Thursday the heat could also trigger some thunderstorms later on Thursday

 

 

By Friday they are keeping an eye on some potentially heavy rain moving south to north given the heat that will be over the UK this could well be thundery

 

[Summer of 95]

1995 was the last time we had a "good" August here, 2007 the last time we had a "reasonable" one. 2003 struggled to make the latter classification, it had one or two hot days and a load of cloudy boring ones, it was like a warmer version of 2011. It was such a let down here that I hate to be reminded of it by Southeasterners likening it to 76/95/06 etc.

 

2009 could have been nice, but the heat refused to budge beyond the SE. The sunshine made it here from time to time but it was very frustrating. 2012 had another SE only heatwave (notice a pattern here?) then 2013 had 3 cracking days to start before going all cloudy and boring again. 2005 was OK, a bit like last month, never outstandingly warm but often pleasant enough.

 

2007 I'd actually rate the best August of the 21st century, despite the wet June and July.

[Milhouse]

I can only wonder what the Daily Express must be planning on putting in their papers next week!

 

"Britain will be facing conditions similar to early August 2003 as temperatures soar to over 35C al over the UK later this week. The South East, being the hottest location may even see 40C, possibly meaning that the UK's all time record for heat, of 38.5C (101.3F) that was set in Faversham on 10 August 2003, could be smashed."

 

This is really the sort of BS they would actually put in their papers!

 

And its not only that, but its the conversations this week at work with people actually believing were in for a record breaking hot spell. Makes my blood boil how people actually believe that nonsense.

[Weather-history]

Very good augusts in recent times are....1983,1984,1989,1990,1995,1997 and 2003

One pretty decent August that is forgotten was the one in 1991. Not spectacular but pretty decent.In the two worst summers of recent times, 2007 and 2012, August was actually the best month overall.

[Milhouse]

Same! It's not a remarkable hot spell at all. It's just a traditional British hot spell that lasts for three to four days before breaking down.

 

One thing I will say though, if the charts remain the way they are now, Friday could be a very remarkable day indeed. Obviously, nothing to do with the heat, but the fireworks.

 

I agree, it doesnt need ramping up by the press, but im sure it will be. Its nothing unusual, but neither is a 3/4 day cold and snowy spell in winter but it would still get people excited. Im looking forwards to a good spell of very warm/hot conditions with warm pleasant evenings and strong sun. We've not had anything approaching mid 20s here yet this year.

[cheeky_monkey]

One pretty decent August that is forgotten was the one in 1991. Not spectacular but pretty decent.In the two worst summers of recent times, 2007 and 2012, August was actually the best month overall.

August 1991 was a belting month in Essex esp the last 2 weeks where it was pretty much 28-31c with lots of sunshine quite breezy too which tempered the heat beautifully.

[Milhouse]

The heat will really get going properly from Wednesday onwards. Who said we have seen the best of the summer?

[laserguy]

It's really quite breezy here this evening and feeling generally quite Autumnal. Atleast that will not be the case for Wednesday onwards though!

 

Ye I'm really looking forward to being a sweaty,smelly, slobbering wreck. If I don't get big,big storms I'm having serious words with the guy 'upstairs'.

[damianslaw]

On average August is warmer than June and only a little cooler than July. In terms of sunshine, it is normally much duller than June and July. On average it is a wetter month than June and July, and on many occasion here it has been a very wet month. So despite the warmth, I tend to expect much less of August in terms of dry settled sunny weather compared to June and July.

 

Recent August's whilst respectable temperature wise - have been quite cloudy wet affairs. The last August to deliver heat wave conditions here was 2003, but that was preety exceptional. Prior to that we had August 97 which was a very wet very warm month. August 1995 was exceptional for the dry sunny very warm weather - very unusual month.

 

August often delivers very humid conditions with very mild minima especially in the first half. Late July heatwaves and settled conditions often prevail into the start of the month, however, by mid month there is often a change in feel of things, with lowering levels of light, and the first stirrings of the atlantic - however, the early taste of the atlantic is often very shortlived, early September on average being one of the most settled periods of the year.

 

Anyhow - lets not think about August, we are entering high summer and we have the rest of 'summery' July to enjoy - lets splendour in the feel of proper summer (I'm writing this on a very early autumnal feeling evening mind!).

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Ye I'm really looking forward to being a sweaty,smelly, slobbering wreck. If I don't get big,big storms I'm having serious words with the guy 'upstairs'.

 

hope its short lived, that chart posted by milhouse in model thread GEM model is horrid, who wants that for heavens sake

[Milhouse]

Its got more chance of coming off than the FI GFS 'very cool and very wet' charts we've seen posted umpteen times this summer. Wait till January and if uppers of -20c are coming from the east then you can post the charts showing it.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Its got more chance of coming off than the FI GFS 'very cool and very wet' charts we've seen posted umpteen times this summer. Wait till January and if uppers of -20c are coming from the east then you can post the charts showing it.

 

definitely has yeah, more likely to come off than GFS, Just not the weather type I like, I would prefer GFS Atlantic stuff,

 

GFS is the most accurate model in winter, giving us Atlantic dominated weather, where the other models tend to give us cold weather wrongly

Edited July 14, 2014 by IrememberAtlantic252

[cheese]

hope its short lived, that chart posted by milhouse in model thread GEM model is horrid, who wants that for heavens sake

A lot of people, quite evidently!

Edited July 14, 2014 by cheese

[TonyH]

Not sure if August is really more dull than July or its due to less daylight.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I think that August is cloudier than July on average in Cumbria, Ireland and western Scotland due to an increase in the average strength of Atlantic depressions, but that in most other parts of the country the lower sunshine totals are caused by less daylight rather than greater cloud cover. 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Aug here tends to be Atlantic dominated, much more so than may, jun, jul and even sept, minimums in Aug tend to be warmest of year

 

but from around 20th can tell summer fading, I still would class it as less summery than Jun and Jul, even than May at times as May here has dominant easterly winds and sunny