The changing daylight hours thread

[hillbilly]

Not sure why people think August is not summer and want to swap it with May?for me August is every bit of summer as July or June just as February is Winter,i don't see anyone wanting to swap November for February,it is not all about daylight!

[Sunny76]

2 hours ago, adam93 said:

I agree with mid August. Working night shifts you really notice the difference compared to May & June. It’s still dark by 6am in late August unlike now where it never really gets properly dark all night. 

This.

I started working 12 hour day shifts last June, and noticed from the third week of August, it was dark past 5am, which is the time I usually wake up. But, when I leave around 5.45, it’s light. 
 

However, by late September, the mornings are completely dark until after I’ve left the flat and doesn’t get light until after 6am. Late September until mid March is the worst period for darkness. 

[CheesepuffScott]

Don't care so much for the early morning brightness as it wakes the birds up far too early, but it's depressing when the evenings begin to draw in. I don't really notice until around mid August though, when it's typically dark before 9pm.. and the autumnal conditions (overcast.. drizzle... rain) we so often face in August doesn't help much. The late Sept - December period is the worst for me, I feel a little more festive around Christmas, although it's probably raining and blowing a gale, rather than snowing, and then after Christmas, once the festive mood is gone, it's the long wait until the start of BST..

[Azazel]

I’ve always thought of August as an autumn month. It’s usually underwhelming weather-wise, the shadows have gotten longer and the oranges and yellows are starting to appear.

May, June and July are the summer and the best portion of the year for me - again, often reflected in the weather.

[Sunny76]

38 minutes ago, Azazel said:

I’ve always thought of August as an autumn month. It’s usually underwhelming weather-wise, the shadows have gotten longer and the oranges and yellows are starting to appear.

May, June and July are the summer and the best portion of the year for me - again, often reflected in the weather.

The early part of May until late July is the feel good period, and either side of June, the daylight is around between 9pm to 10pm, from August it starts dropping and becoming more obvious.

Some Augusts in the past still felt like summer, but since 2006, it does feel more like an autumn month at times. 

[damianslaw]

6 hours ago, hillbilly said:

Not sure why people think August is not summer and want to swap it with May?for me August is every bit of summer as July or June just as February is Winter,i don't see anyone wanting to swap November for February,it is not all about daylight!

From a Lake District perspective, on average May is far drier than August, it can be and often is our sunniest month. Whilst temps languish far behind August, the sun, light, dry factors and the sense of positivism of summer around the corner, far far out rank August in this respect. Plus you have the wonder of spring growth, and far quieter roads and hills. 

Can't compare it with November and February comparatives. Different factors at play here, November is a much darker month, usually much wetter and duller and windier, and no sense of spring on the way. 

In my ranking of months weatherwise  August languishes in 4th place

1st May

2nd June

3rd July

4th August

5th April

6th September

7th October

8th March

9th February

10th January

11th November

12th December

The most important factor is rainfall for me, coming from the wettest county in England, followed by sunshine, then temperature.

What good is a warm low cloud filled wet day as so often plagues August and it's associated tropical maritime westerly south westerly air flows.

Edited June 21, 2020 by damianslaw

[Turnedoutniceagain]

Well that's the Solstice done and dusted, it'll be Christmas before we know it.

[Sunny76]

6 hours ago, Turnedoutniceagain said:

Well that's the Solstice done and dusted, it'll be Christmas before we know it.

Not yet. We still have July and August to enjoy.

But, I know what you mean, 2020 is wearing on.

[hillbilly]

19 hours ago, damianslaw said:

From a Lake District perspective, on average May is far drier than August, it can be and often is our sunniest month. Whilst temps languish far behind August, the sun, light, dry factors and the sense of positivism of summer around the corner, far far out rank August in this respect. Plus you have the wonder of spring growth, and far quieter roads and hills. 

Can't compare it with November and February comparatives. Different factors at play here, November is a much darker month, usually much wetter and duller and windier, and no sense of spring on the way. 

In my ranking of months weatherwise  August languishes in 4th place

1st May

2nd June

3rd July

4th August

5th April

6th September

7th October

8th March

9th February

10th January

11th November

12th December

The most important factor is rainfall for me, coming from the wettest county in England, followed by sunshine, then temperature.

What good is a warm low cloud filled wet day as so often plagues August and it's associated tropical maritime westerly south westerly air flows.

Yes I see your point,maybe it is my Farming background that make me think different t o you.May can be great and feel very much like high summer with the Mays of this year,1992 and 1989 but it does seem to me that May has improved over the years where August had faltered.Great Augusts are now the rarest event in Metreology and Poor Mays seem to have disappeared.

[Sunny76]

21 minutes ago, hillbilly said:

Yes I see your point,maybe it is my Farming background that make me think different t o you.May can be great and feel very much like high summer with the Mays of this year,1992 and 1989 but it does seem to me that May has improved over the years where August had faltered.Great Augusts are now the rarest event in Metreology and Poor Mays seem to have disappeared.

I agree in some ways.

May was a poor month during the 80s and 90s, but also in the 2000s. 

We did have a few poor Mays in the 2010s though. 2010, 12 and 13 were all poor. 
 

[Bobafet]

Yes the slow descent into darker evenings - I really cant wait.  How anyone can enjoy the heat we have had today is beyond me.  Roll on October for me!!

[Sunny76]

7 minutes ago, Bobafet said:

Yes the slow descent into darker evenings - I really cant wait.  How anyone can enjoy the heat we have had today is beyond me.  Roll on October for me!!

Today is lovely. Beats weeks of wind and rain.

[damianslaw]

Apt that today was a hot or very warm one, it's midsummers day. Always used to think of 'high summer' as mid July to early August, but nowadays feel it starts in late June and that deep mid summer feeling ends when the school holidays start and the weather tends to go downhill, and light levels start to take dip.

For now rejoice in high summer!

[Sunny76]

58 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Apt that today was a hot or very warm one, it's midsummers day. Always used to think of 'high summer' as mid July to early August, but nowadays feel it starts in late June and that deep mid summer feeling ends when the school holidays start and the weather tends to go downhill, and light levels start to take dip.

For now rejoice in high summer!

Up until 18 or 19 I thought the peak of summer was late July to early August. Maybe, because June and early July was still part of the school or college term, so we had no time to enjoy it, apart from the weekends.

I started to see August as the decline of summer since entering the work place for some reason. 
 

 

[Dangerous55019]

I was up and about at 04:30 this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks, and whilst it was noticeably darker, I'm not sure if it was the fact that we've lost daylight, or just the heavy cloud. 
Give it another couple of weeks mind, and it'll really be noticeable. 

[Seasonal Trim]

A couple more weeks and true night returns to my region. Looking forward to those long cosy nights again. 

[damianslaw]

Light levels for over a week have been very low for time of year. Persistent grey skies, early descent into dusk. About 2 hours of sunshine. Has felt autumnal.

[matt111]

Was almost dark before 9:30 yesterday with the cloud and drizzle. Wouldn't be surprised if it's the same tonight.

[Boydie]

Its not as bright the last few mornings at 0530, because of the heavy rain at times it seems like its getting darker earlier in the evening. I cant believe that I started this post 7 years ago and its still going!

[Bobafet]

8.20 and starting to notice the darkness earlier now, cloud cover obviously helps but noticeably beginning to get darker earlier.  Give it 4 weeks and it will be properly dark at 8.30.........Bliss!!!

Edited July 7, 2020 by Bobafet
Spelling

[winterfreak]

16 hours ago, Bobafet said:

8.20 and starting to notice the darkness earlier now, cloud cover obviously helps but noticeably beginning to get darker earlier.  Give it 4 weeks and it will be properly dark at 8.30.........Bliss!!!

Darker mornings is what i'm most looking forward to. My circadian rhythm is knackered with all this light 

Edited July 8, 2020 by winterfreak

[cheeky_monkey]

4 hours ago, winterfreak said:

Darker mornings is what i'm most looking forward to. My circadian rhythm is knackered with all this light 

im truly loathe dark mornings..getting up in the dark to go to work for months on end..here that usually means from Early Sept to Mid April..by that mid winter period of mid Nov to mid February sun does not rise before 9am here

[Bobafet]

Sounds amazing cheeky monkey!  May have to retire to Canda

[damianslaw]

I shame we have not been able to maximise the available light we have at this time of year in recent weeks - given the often cloudy skies. From mid July light levels begin to diminish slightly, and those twilight evenings end. Many an evening past 4 weeks has descended into an early dusk. 

[damianslaw]

A shame we have not been able to maximise the available light we have at this time of year in recent weeks - given the often cloudy skies. From mid July light levels begin to diminish slightly, and those twilight evenings end. Many an evening past 4 weeks has descended into an early dusk.