Summer 2014 thread

[Evening thunder]

It looks like we are going to get some quite notably cool uppers despite all the warmer than average SST's to our north. At the end of August 2010 similar uppers gave a min of 3.0c here with a touch of ground frost seen!

 

That was unusual so probably not quite that cold this time but some chilly minima look likely here.

 

If it's just dry/settled weather you want and temps don't matter too much the forecast doesn't look too bad down here. For me I'd prefer temps a bit warmer with such weather and/or some other weather going on like convection/storms.

[h2005__uk__]

Oh dear, WeatherPro is forecasting a max of 15C for Chelmsford on Tuesday :/

[IanR]

awful dire boring weather today, just cool, cloudy,some drizzle in the air,  a taste of things to come, YAWN

[cheese]

What a horrible, depressing, cold, breezy day. The pits.

Edited August 16, 2014 by cheese

[damianslaw]

Looking like the third disappointing weekend in a row here, the 1st weekend of August was a washout, last weekend delivered a good Saturday but a poor Sunday, today we have spits and spots of rain, cloud and a cool wind with temps hovering around 15 degrees, tomorrow looks windier and cooler still with early rain and showers thereafter- fingers crossed we can salvage a good one next weekend.

[Summer Sun]

This is going well................... http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/493781/SHOCK-WEATHER-FORECAST-Hottest-August-in-300-YEARS-on-way-as-jet-stream-BOILS-Britain

[March Blizzard]

This is going well................... http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/493781/SHOCK-WEATHER-FORECAST-Hottest-August-in-300-YEARS-on-way-as-jet-stream-BOILS-Britain

We just need them to write similarly dramatic articles about relentless warmth from November to March...the reverse is bound to happen!

[Weather-history]

awful dire boring weather today, just cool, cloudy,some drizzle in the air,  a taste of things to come, YAWN

[Carl46Wrexham]

This is going well................... http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/493781/SHOCK-WEATHER-FORECAST-Hottest-August-in-300-YEARS-on-way-as-jet-stream-BOILS-Britain

EPIC FAIL

[conor123]

Writings on the wall for the rest of August now so here's Summer 2014 summed up with a simple ranking:

 

June: 7.5/10 

July: 8.5/10

August: 0.0/10

 

Was nice to have a June this year with a bit more variety than recent years, we managed (admittedly weak) three thunderstorms, hail, warm sunny days, best of the weather at the weekend's and few days that weren't sunny after finishing work.

July was almost on par with last year's, a few miserable days early in the month but then consistently warm, humid and often very sunny, heat never pushed as high as last year but was a lot more humid than last July with warmer nights.

As for this month, well, not even exaggerating when I say it's on track to be the worst of 10 years of poor August's, maybe one of the worst in living memory, 13.9c and lashing it down with rain again right now in fact!

[hillbilly]

Writings on the wall for the rest of August now so here's Summer 2014 summed up with a simple ranking:

 

June: 7.5/10 

July: 8.5/10

August: 0.0/10

 

Was nice to have a June this year with a bit more variety than recent years, we managed (admittedly weak) three thunderstorms, hail, warm sunny days, best of the weather at the weekend's and few days that weren't sunny after finishing work.

July was almost on par with last year's, a few miserable days early in the month but then consistently warm, humid and often very sunny, heat never pushed as high as last year but was a lot more humid than last July with warmer nights.

As for this month, well, not even exaggerating when I say it's on track to be the worst of 10 years of poor August's, maybe one of the worst in living memory, 13.9c and lashing it down with rain again right now in fact!

Yes it has not been great this august but maybe you were out of the country or suffer from amnesia as 2008 and 2012 were truly dire,this year probably on a par with 2010 as that was poor too!!!

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

What a horrendous day, it feels like November with that cold howling wind. YAWN, this weather depresses me!

[BlueHedgehog074]

@conor123: It's clearly upto you, but I reckon you should bump up your August score to at least 0.01/10 (he hee). For a 0.0/10, I think it would have to be constantly raining 24/7 everyday of the month with temperatures way, way below average. But then again, an August like that probably wouldn't even get a 0.0/10, with a -10/10 more likely instead.

For here, I'd give June about a 7/10. Pretty much mixed, but not terribly unsettled either with some decent brighter interludes at times. There's was also quite a high-quality early morning thunderstorm near the beginning of the month. It happened on a Saturday and gave the heaviest rain of the year with some torrential wet hail mixed in. The radar had showed me briefly being under one of those intense bright pink parts with about a 90mm/hour accumulation rate - usually quite rare for here (although a similar thing happened in late July last year).

For July, I'll give it about an 8.2/10. Very dry, sunny and bright most of the time with some very warm periods. A few thundery episodes included too, but was lacking a proper late-afternoon thunderstorm with hail. In fact, I don't think there was any hail here at all that month. Having said that, there was an overnight thunderstorm giving some spectacular bright flickering flashes to the South and East (kinda glad I stayed up for that even though the thunderstorm was loosing its intensity as it tracked further North).

As for August, I can't see myself giving it any higher than about 6/10 at best. Depends how the rest of this month goes really. While not quite a washout month so far, it's certainly been feeling less Summery in comparison to June and July.

Edited August 17, 2014 by DiagonalRedLine
Correcting mistake.

[conor123]

Yes it has not been great this august but maybe you were out of the country or suffer from amnesia as 2008 and 2012 were truly dire,this year probably on a par with 2010 as that was poor too!!!

None of those August's/summer months have been as poor as this one though, even August 2008 which always springs up as one of the dullest ever was at least around 19-22c a lot of the time, the consistent maxes between 15-18c coupled with blustery winds and heavy showers make it hard to even have that 'usable weather' as end up needing a coat/long trousers.

 

Fully expecting a return to warmth for September though, a heatwave akin to Late Sept/Early Oct 2011 is direly needed after this month!

[matty007]

None of those August's/summer months have been as poor as this one though, even August 2008 which always springs up as one of the dullest ever was at least around 19-22c a lot of the time, the consistent maxes between 15-18c coupled with blustery winds and heavy showers make it hard to even have that 'usable weather' as end up needing a coat/long trousers.

 

Fully expecting a return to warmth for September though, a heatwave akin to Late Sept/Early Oct 2011 is direly needed after this month!

 

Precisely. One of the worst August's I can remember. A short sharp transition into what feels like Autumn.

 

I try to be optimistic, but I don't see signs of anything indicative of a potential warm/hot and settled spell. I honestly fear we've had our lot this Summer. Seems to be the way the cards have been dealt. I sincerely hope I am proved wrong howver. 

 

I will say that September is our last chance, and mostly in the first half. The chances of another heatwave akin to Late Sept/Early Oct are extremely small. The continent usually just isn't warm enough at that point. 

[Richard2901]

Of the recent rubbish Augusts 2009, 2010 and 2013 were not that bad here whereas 2008, 2011 and 2012 were utterly dire. 2011 was the worst of that. Just horrendously cool, dull and wet. The last weekend of the month I remember as giving the worst summer weather I can recall. 11C and overcast with 50mph winds. It was like summer in Spitzbergen.

 

August 2014 looks as though it may turn out as bad if not worse than 2011. All there is in the outlook is day after day of cloud, rain and cold winds. A totally unpalatable situation when there’s been just 3 dry days so far. The record number of rain days for August in the 20th Century was 25 in 1917 and 1985. Seems a good chance, in this record-breaking cyclonic year, of beating that to give the most rain days in August since 1890 when there were 27!

 

Sunshine was reasonable up to the 8th but has been horrific since with most days managing just 2-3 hours and yesterday best with only 5.7 hours.

 

This is an absolutely awful summer month that is going to ensure we get a 7th wetter and duller than average summer out of 8. A ridiculously poor run without parallel in modern times.

 

[sundog]

The cooler weather we have been having of late is like a breath of fresh air imo, there was enough warmth and humidity during june and july to do me.  I just hope this month is the start of a cooler run of months now as we head into autumn and winter what with the last year giving nearly all above average months. Summer 2014 had its chance it took it for the most part and now its coming to an end. Roll on Autumn.

[hillbilly]

None of those August's/summer months have been as poor as this one though, even August 2008 which always springs up as one of the dullest ever was at least around 19-22c a lot of the time, the consistent maxes between 15-18c coupled with blustery winds and heavy showers make it hard to even have that 'usable weather' as end up needing a coat/long trousers.

 

Fully expecting a return to warmth for September though, a heatwave akin to Late Sept/Early Oct 2011 is direly needed after this month!

Just goes to show how different weather is around this country,both 2008 and 2012 were far worse in these parts we never saw the sun,2008 being very dull and 2012 never stopped raining.At least we are having some sunshine,it is even sunny today between the endless showers and the first week was really not all that bad at all ,it has only really been bad this last week and mainly due to the strong winds these last few days with cooler temps.I remember 1986 it was far cooler than now with similar winds and very dull the whole month...some of you would be looking for a big bridge if you had lived through that!!!!

[NeilN]

How cool was 1986? Seriously, this is a throwback to the 2007-2012 period this month. I do remember the end of August 2010 being absolutely dire.

[reef]

How cool was 1986? Seriously, this is a throwback to the 2007-2012 period this month. I do remember the end of August 2010 being absolutely dire.

August 1986 had a mean temp of 13.7C. To put it into context, we haven't had an August below 15.3C since 1993.

 

The average mean temp of August in the last decade was 16.2C.

 

This August has seemed poor after June and July, but although it has been pretty wet so far, temperatures and sunshine have been generally close to average in most places.

[johnholmes]

it would be a good idea if some folk actually looked at the figures for their area rather than prattling on about how bad August is. Of course it may get worse, or it may improve. But to say this month is the worst since whenever on the 17th of the month is a bit daft it seems to me.

 

as to lashing it down with rain, the cumulative radar would hardly agree with that, it has rained in a good many places but not quite as bad as some imply?

http://www.netweather.tv/secure/cgi-bin/premium.pl?action=hiradar;sess=d2be6136540de67bb519ddf2838a0dec

Edited August 17, 2014 by johnholmes

[IanR]

sunny and bright blue sky here now after the showers have passed  still blustery and not warm enough  to sit out in a t shirt due to the cold wind, sun feels warm if you are sheltered

[Summer Sun]

Strong wind gusts here in Darlington more akin to Autumn and Winter rather than summer however it actually feels slightly warmer than yesterday mainly due to the lengthy spells of sunshine

 

I wouldn't call this a 'Blast Of Wintry Weather Hits Parts Of Britain' as per sky news this is not wintery weather its more Autumnal

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1320184/blast-of-wintry-weather-hits-parts-of-britain

Edited August 17, 2014 by Summer Sun

[Tony27]

does windy weather make it autumnal? they get hurricanes in the america in summer, its windy here but it's 19c so can't call it autumnal really, even though its not really summary either 

[Carl46Wrexham]

June was pretty decent. 7/10

July was for me excellent. Hot and humid with great thunderstorms thrown in 9/10

August has just been diabolical by comparison. 0/10