Summer 2014 thread

[TonyH]

Yes. In terms of rainfall amount across the country, May comes out at the driest with 70mm, with April and June following behind. August is actually wetter than all those months, as well as February and July. However it does depend on where you live, for instance where I live, February is actually the driest month. 

In some areas, such as parts of the Midlands August is the wettest month of the year.

[SP1986]

I'm not sure why people put 2003 down, it was one of the best Summers in the last few decades.. 2003 was more prolonged than 2006. Maybe a few people had persistent cloud.. but my recollection was a drought, with plenty of sunshine, and considerable, frequent heat.

[Supercell 89]

Would personally love a summer like 1976/1995, i vaguely remember bits of '95 but was only very young. I still think this summer will be a warm one with rainfall average to slightly below with most the rainfall. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

But for all people say about summer 2007, I reckon it was the best August here in recent years, certainly since 2000. 

Although I don't remember much about the day-to-day weather (not a lot happened really) I recall that August 2007 was definitely a dry sunny month in the Tyne and Wear area, with close to average temperatures, and probably sunnier than any subsequent August.  There was regional variation in the sunshine anomalies (e.g. it was quite a dull month in East Anglia) and some regions were cooler than average which is probably why this is often overlooked.

 

The August 2003 sunshine maps from the Met Office show a marked regional split with close to average totals over most of western England and Wales, but excesses of 30% or more in many parts of Scotland and north-east England.  Much of the excess sunshine stemmed from the exceptionally hot third of the month- I remember that even in Tyneside, where the month's sunshine total was well above average, there were many dry but dull days in the second half.  My favourite month of the 2003 summer was the June though, which in Tyneside was unusually warm, probably a little sunnier overall than the August, and with some thundery outbreaks- I even had thunderstorms on my birthday that year.  July however was quite cloudy and wet near both ends of the month.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers

[Supercell 89]

If I was to rank summers from the late 90's onward i would place 2003 at the top as it was persistently warm, dry and sunny most of the time. We also had a couple of cracking spanish plumes in June and a 4 week dry spell in the August which ended with a thunderstorm. The heatwave at the start of August was also really memorable.

 

The warm very sunny and dry spring and first half of Autumn also made it feel like one long lazy summer, we've not had such a warm spring followed by a warm summer since. 

 

2006 I'd rank second. The June and July were brilliant, although I missed the second half of July so for that reason i rank it behind 2003. The August wasn't too bad down in the South-west. The first week was very warm, the middle part of the month was a bit dull at times but it still reached 20c pretty much every day and we then had some cracking storms around the 18th. In fact this is the only summer where i've experienced a storm in each of the summer months, all of them were spanish plumes and pretty nasty. 

 

2005 I'd place third. A very thundery but also very warm second half to June, saw 6 thunderstorms in one day, don't think i'll ever see that again in the UK. July had a nice fortnight of very warm/hot weather where it almost hit 30c. August was persistently very warm right throughout and ended with a cracking thunderstorm 

 

On the flip side, I never, ever want to experience a summer like 2008 again. Was an incredibly boring summer weather wise, all the years extremes happened between May and June and after that it was just damp and drizzly, bar one week in July. 

Edited May 27, 2014 by Supercell 89

[matty007]

I uploaded forecasts from that summer on YouTubeJune

July

August

1995 was my favourite year for weather. That summer was superb and the August was magnificent. Late June was superb as well, that was very sunny around here. That last day of June was a scorcher but in the evening it felt freezing wearing a T shirt and shorts, temperature dropped about 10C in a hour or two, yet it remained sunny.Combine the first half of summer 1976 and the second half of summer 1995, you would have an unbelievable summer. It would be a severe drought, almost a national emergency I reckon.

 

Brilliant, thanks mate. 

 

That run from the end of July to near the end of August was amazing. One of the few spells in this country that lasted a considerable time, with the rest of the Summer also being respectable. Definitely the best year for weather this country's had I think. 

 

I think my perfect Summer would be the June of 1976, July of 2006 and August of 1995. Of course, the odds of that happening are slim to none. We have had some years where June and July have both been dry and warm, but it always seems scuppered by August unfortunately.

 

One August people haven't seemed to mention is 1997, very hot and humid with a lot of storms, and was probably the last great August. 2003 of course had the famous heatwave at the start of the month and the maximum temperature, but not all of the month was good.  

Edited May 27, 2014 by matty007

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

I'm not sure why people put 2003 down, it was one of the best Summers in the last few decades.. 2003 was more prolonged than 2006. Maybe a few people had persistent cloud.. but my recollection was a drought, with plenty of sunshine, and considerable, frequent heat.

It was staggeringly hot! 38.5c and 36-37c achieved widely in some regions, that is some going !! August 2003 and July 2006 were the best in terms of heat, although August 2003 was uncomfortable at times!

[matty007]

It was staggeringly hot! 38.5c and 36-37c achieved widely in some regions, that is some going !! August 2003 and July 2006 were the best in terms of heat, although August 2003 was uncomfortable at times!

 

Pity the rest of the month was pretty poor. Very overcast and the temperatures dropped considerably, especially towards the end. 

 

It pales in comparison to the August of 95' and 97' really. It'll just be remembered for breaking 100F. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

August 1997 is often a "forgotten month".  It would probably be better-remembered were it not for the proximity of the exceptional August just two years earlier, but it is worth noting that it was wetter than average in some areas of the country, some regions had near or slightly below average sunshine, and the positive temperature anomaly was similar by both day and night in many areas of the country, making for some warm sticky nights.  I remember being relieved during the last week of August 1997 when hearing that it wasn't going beat the record-breaking August 1995 CET value as I didn't think the month "deserved" to beat it.

 

The sunshine and rainfall stats for August 1997 were somewhat unusual for such a hot summer month.  Most of the very hot months in the CET record have been much sunnier than average, and some have been very dry (e.g. August 1995) while others have had only slightly below average rainfall due to rainfall totals being swollen by thundery outbreaks in some regions (e.g. August 1975, July 1983, July 2006).  July 2013 was the nearest approach at such a month since the record-breaking one in 2006, particularly for western areas of the country.

 

Meanwhile, if June 2014 turns out to be cool, cloudy and wet with a southerly tracking jet stream, it doesn't mean much for the rest of the summer- I could point to those of 1955, 1990 and 1991 for example.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers

[summer blizzard]

2005 is a great example of a summer which was not spectacular but is remembered well for timing. 

 

Overall the first half of June and last half summer were nothing special (cool at times actually) but because we got heat at the perfect time (mid-June to mid-July) it's remembered very well.

[SP1986]

Summer 2004 was pretty good too, following 2003 was a big act to follow but without being overly hot it was often warm, humid and thundery ... A very convective summer - I'd take a 2004 type summer this year

[cheeky_monkey]

August 1997 is often a "forgotten month".  It would probably be better-remembered were it not for the proximity of the exceptional August just two years earlier, but it is worth noting that it was wetter than average in some areas of the country, some regions had near or slightly below average sunshine, and the positive temperature anomaly was similar by both day and night in many areas of the country, making for some warm sticky nights.  I remember being relieved during the last week of August 1997 when hearing that it wasn't going beat the record-breaking August 1995 CET value as I didn't think the month "deserved" to beat it.

 

The sunshine and rainfall stats for August 1997 were somewhat unusual for such a hot summer month.  Most of the very hot months in the CET record have been much sunnier than average, and some have been very dry (e.g. August 1995) while others have had only slightly below average rainfall due to rainfall totals being swollen by thundery outbreaks in some regions (e.g. August 1975, July 1983, July 2006).  July 2013 was the nearest approach at such a month since the record-breaking one in 2006, particularly for western areas of the country.

 

 

I remember Aug 1997 mainly for the fact is that my oldest son was born towards the end of the month (wow he is nearly 17 where has the time gone?) running up to his birth it was very warm/hot and humid, uncomfortably so at times fortunately for my wife the weather broke towards the end of the month and ended on a cooler note.

Aug 1995 was perfect for heat and relatively low humidity.

[matty007]

Even though June looks to be getting off to a bit of a wet start, at least it doesn't look cold. In summer, cool and wet is really the last thing the vast majority of people (excluding a few specific members on here) want.

 

 

Very true. 

 

I'd take warm and wet over dry and cold any day. Unless it's very severe of course. However saying that, given that we've had an extremely mild Winter and Spring I wouldn't be as annoyed if we got a cold Summer as I would be if we just had a cold Winter and Spring. That really annoys me. 

 

But of course, I'm praying for a hot Summer. It can go to crap come late September for all I care, these well above average months can't last forever, just hoping it holds out until the end of the Summer. 

Edited May 28, 2014 by matty007

[hillbilly]

How I would summarise the recent summers:

 

2006 – An excellent summer, July was very hot and sunny along with September for that matter. However, August and its dullness did dampen it slightly. [8/10]

2007 – A terrible summer with constant rain and flooding. It felt even worse because of the show that 2006 put on. [1/10]

2008 – Still wasn’t great but it was certainly miles better than 2007. Some warmth and sunshine came in mid-to-late July. The ultimate wrecker was August. [4/10]

2009 – Again not wonderful, but it did bring some hot and sunny weather in June. Thunderstorms later followed it which were somewhat pleasureable. [4.5/10]

2010 – A pretty bad summer in my opinion. Even though it was drier than average, it was very dull and cloudy and temperatures were rarely above average. The only considerable warmth came in late June and early July. [3/10]

2011 – Quite a strange summer. April and September/October brought the summery weather. June also gave some warm weather, but July and August were just dominated by westerlies. [5/10]

2012 – Truly a horrible summer. It went down the same path as 2007 with rain and wind from April all the way up to the start of 2013. The only warmth and sunshine came for a week in late May and late July. One thing it was good for though, was thunderstorms  [2/10]

2013 – Not a bad summer at all! It was certainly a pleasant surprise from 2012! May and June were sunny with pretty average temperatures. July brought a lovely three-week heatwave and the thunderstorms that followed it were excellent. The only let down was (surprise, surprise!) our old friend August. Even September again, a very summer-like month. [7.5/10]

I agree with most of these but 2007 had floods in june and july and very wet yet august was quite sunny and nice  whereas 2008 was truly shocking with constant wetness and dull up to the middle of September before we had anything like summer!!!

[cheese]

2013 was a great summer - even August was warmer than average with temperatures reaching 31C on the 1st. I don't like hot weather, but it was a refreshing change from the horrors of 2012 and 2011, and August was mostly between 21-25C anyway which is a pleasant temperature range. June was a bit bad, and May was shocking - so even if June 2014 is a shocker, it isn't a precedent for the rest of summer.

Edited May 28, 2014 by cheese

[StretfordEnd1996]

2009 wasn't that bad from what I can remember, although July and August were a no nothing of a month with fairly frequent rain despite not being a washout, but when this happens we all know that really it's nothing to remember. The main highlights were a fairly decent June and September

[Lauren]

I would happily do last summer all over again, except with more overnighters. Not that I'm fussy, no, not me.

[Richard2901]

My ratings (/10) for recent summers

 

2006: 5 (Rotten August cancelled out very good July and June was mediocre)

2007: 0 (Unrelentingly awful apart from one week in August)

2008: 3 (June and July were fairly average, August terrible)

2009: 4 (Wet and unsettled but no protracted dull spells)

2010: 4 (A good settled period in June/July but mostly poor)

2011: 1 (Very cool, dull and wet except for a brief hot spell at the start of June)

2012: 0 (The worst summer since at least 1879; relentlessly cool, dull and wet)

2013: 7 (Similar to 2006 only July not as good but August much better)

 

I'm not optimistic about this summer at all given the unbelievably wretched synoptics which have prevailed so far this year and show no sign of relenting.

 

Summer 2013 accrued a 70-hour sunshine surplus which did little to reduce the 560-hour deficit which built up between 2007 and 2012. We would need every summer to be like last year up until 2020 for that to happen.

 

Whilst the long run without a notably dull May has been broken this year the current model output suggests the equally long run without a notably sunny June looks set to continue so depressingly the deficit just looks like growing larger again.

 

My ideal summer would consist of June 1940, July 1955 and August 1947. Far better summer months than any in my lifetime. It would pretty much be the antithesis of summer 2012.

[J10]

Locally June has been the best summer month on the past 5-10 years.(Source Met Office)

 

When compared to averages.

 

June

2009 Warmer, Sunnier and Drier

2010 Warmer, Sunnier and Drier

2011 Average Temps, Sunnier and Wetter

2012 Colder, Cloudier and Wetter

2013 Average Temps, Sunnier and Drier

July

 

2009 Colder, Cloudier and Wetter

2010 Average Temps, Cloudier and Wetter

2011 Average Temps, Average Sun and Wetter

2012 Colder, Cloudier and Wetter

2013 Warmer, Sunnier and Drier

 

August

 

2009 Warmer, Cloudier and Drier

2010 Colder, Cloudier and Drier

2011 Colder, Cloudier and Drier

2012 Warmer, Cloudier and Wetter

2013 Warmer, Cloudier (slightly) and average rain

 

However none of the above Augusts have been very wet in the same way that a Few Julys have been.

Edited May 28, 2014 by J10

[summer blizzard]

My own ratings are..

 

06: 9/10 (August was rather bland but June and July near perfect)

07: 5/10 (June and July were not my flavour although August was lovely and Autumn pretty nice)

08: 2/10 (i found the whole to be dull and disappointing at the wrong times)

09: 3/10 (I found June a nice month but July was wet and then humid, August was humid i found)

10: 7/10 (June and August were very good summer months for me, July was too cloudy and humid) 

11: 4/10 (Lovely August but a poor June and July, quite dry though)

12: 1/10 (A spectacular feat of weather but rather dull and too wet early on)

13: 5/10 (Fantastic July, dry summer on the whole but was not a fan of August which was too humid)

[cheese]

2006 will always have a special place in my mind. July was admittedly a little too warm for my preferences, but the heat was always dry rather than humid, as is usually the case here, so it wasn't a problem really. Plus, I was 18 and had finished my A Levels, so it was the perfect weather to enjoy myself - virtually every day was clear and sunny and the nights balmy. The only month before then that came close in my lifetime was August 1995, but July 2006 was like no other.. average high of 26C for the entire month. Really quite exceptional.

 

Now I feel old - 27 in August. Where does the time go?

Edited May 28, 2014 by cheese

[J10]

My thoughts of recent summers

 

2006 Very good indeed,July and the first half of July were exceptional, a bit disappointing after the school holiday started.

2007 Very wet for June and especially July, August wasn't too bad in comparison.

2008 June was Sunny and Dry, July and August, Cool and Wet

2009 Another good June, wet July and nondescript August

2010 Another good June, and disappointing July and August, but the July not as bad as recent years.

2011 No great months, no terrible months, a bit nondescript

2012 Three pretty poor months especially June

2013 June and July sunny, July also hot at times, August very decent.

[NeilN]

2006 - 8/10 - Decent June, Glorious July and a poor August. This summer goes down as bad on a personal level for personal reasons, but weatherwise was almost perfect.

2007 - 2/10 - June was OK, as was a week or two in August, but this will go down for all the rain and cool temperatures. Never forgot one day in that July, the rain was absolutely intense. Cool, and had TWO jackets on which were sodden through.

2008 - 4/10 - Warm spells in June, late July, and a few days in August. Apart from that, very poor.

2009 - 6/10 - An improvement on 2007 and 2008, but nothing great.

2010 - 6/10 - Absolutely glorious during the World Cup, and a warm spell in July and mid August. Very wet the last week of the month 

2011 - 3/10 - If only April, September and October swopped over to June-August. Very poor summer, and aside from that warm spell the first week of August it was very mediocre.

2012 - 1/10 - WORST SUMMER EVER!! And that was on a personal and weather level. June was horrible, I remember being drenched virtually every visit and coming home from work. There was a few nice days at the end of June, but I was sick with a virus in bed for two weeks. July was OK at the end the month but VERY WET. August wasn't that bad, and the first week of September was glorious. 

2013 - 9/10 - June started off OK, but the second half was horrendous. July was absolutely perfect - lots and lost of heat. August wasn't too bad down here, and with it being my favourite month of the year it was rather nice with some settled and wet and humid spells. First fortnight of September was glorious, and a few days even in October! Sadly on a personal level, it was rather poor for me but the weather consoled and compensated me. 

Edited May 28, 2014 by nn2013

[damianslaw]

Seems like this thread has turned into 'lets talk recent summers' and why not. If we talk last 20 summers i.e. going back to 1994, by far the best summer here was 1995, yes it took a while to get going, but from the solstice through to the end of summer, we barely had any rain with lots of hot sunny weather - superb, on a par with the infamous 1976.

 

2003 probably next in terms of heat, very oppressive at times. 2006 and 2013 were very good with excellent July's. I also rate 1994, 1996 and 2005 and a shout out to July 1999 and August 1997 very warm months, the latter being very wet and humid quite tropical.

 

2012 by a long chalk the worst. Closely followed by 1998 and 2007. 2002 and 2008 were also preety dismal affairs, mmm summers ending in 8 have been preety poor, 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2008.

 

We've had a number of very run of the mill summers in 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

Summer 2004 was a messy affair had potential to be a classic but was spoilt by a very wet poor July.

Edited May 28, 2014 by damianslaw

[Thundery wintry showers]

If I had to pick my "worst" summer in the last 10 years it would be 2012, because of the near-unrelenting greyness and frequent frontal rain up until late July, only partially offset by relatively sunny and warm conditions near the end of July and the first half of August.  Although 28 June 2012 had some exceptional thunderstorms in many places, for most of June and July 2012 convective activity struggled to initiate because the low pressure systems brought far too much cloud with them.

 

Previously I might have said 2008, but that summer had only one month out of three that was exceptionally dull as well as wet (the August) while 2007 contained quite a thundery July in the Tyne and Wear area and then a dry sunny August.  I spent the very wet July of 2009 in Norwich and, in contrast to most central and western parts of Britain which had a total washout, most of the rainfall there came from thundery downpours and temperatures and sunshine totals were slightly above average.

 

For favourite summer I would say that 2006 edges out 2005 and 2013 because of the first 12 days of June and then the phenomenal July, but 2005 and 2013 also certainly had their moments.  2005 would probably have edged the no. 1 spot had it not been for the cool and grey spell in the last third of July.  But putting my nostalgic glasses on, I feel that the summers of 1994, 1995 and 1996 beat everything that has gone since.  I would also place 2003 about level with 2006.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers