The changing daylight hours thread

[Nick L]

10 hours ago, sarahng said:

I absolutely dread the dark mornings and evenings - it feels very claustrophobic to me.  I like it light and bright - Northern Finland in summer would be perfect for me.  However, in an effort to understand others' preferences, could somebody perhaps explain to me just what it is you like about it being pitch dark for 16 hours a day for several months running?

I love it in the run up to Christmas, makes it feel more festive.

It's not so much the prolific darkness though that I enjoy. When doing a run of night shifts in December I can easily go 4 days without seeing daylight at all, doesn't really bother me. But I love how rapidly the daylight seasons change at our latitude. I enjoy both the descent into winter and the ascent into summer.

[cheeky_monkey]

On 13/08/2021 at 11:26, Nick L said:

 

But I love how rapidly the daylight seasons change at our latitude. I enjoy both the descent into winter and the ascent into summer.

the problem is at both ends of the spectrum of disliking light or disliking dark.. for about 12 weeks of the year light levels plateau and don't change much..so if you dislike light evenings/mornings then 1st May - 31st July is a pain..if you dislike dark evenings/mornings then 1st November - 31st January is no fun...so those descents into either can be quite depressing

[damianslaw]

Oh dear, curtains drawn before 9pm.. the descent has started...

[Weather Enthusiast91]

I may sound a little crazy when I say this, but I don't mind the darker evenings and in some ways I prefer it over light ones. Dark evenings are more cosy and I also tend to sleep better at night.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Weather Enthusiast91

[Bogman]

On 19/08/2021 at 20:53, damianslaw said:

Oh dear, curtains drawn before 9pm.. the descent has started...

Yep, very noticeable now.  

Seems earlier this year, although that maybe something to do with getting older.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Bogman

[Osbourne One-Nil]

It means I can astro-image again; I love summer but the evenings are awful for anything astronomy-wise. Now at least the light evenings aren't the limiting factor....it's the cloud. 

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, Bogman said:

Yep, very noticeable now.  

Seems earlier this year, although that maybe something to do with getting older.

Endless overcast evenings reason why..

[Sunny76]

The evenings seem to be drawing in much quicker this august, compared to last year, due to duller conditions. 

[philglossop]

Its galloping now- sunset was 2023  last night and having been in bed with bad back to wake up to darkness at 9pm was a surprise.

I'm not used to Septembers in UK as normally I've been in Greece for 2 or 3 weeks for the last 10 years but I think this year with work back to normal, I'll really notice it.

[ANYWEATHER]

Yes days rapidly drawing in now , this time of year daylight equal to first half of April. I know when we get to September 11th the daylight is equal to my birthday on March 31st...

[damianslaw]

Definate shift in the feel of things now.. the 'high summer' atmosphere long gone and that 'late summer' state firmly in full swing. There is a certain melancholic air about late August.. the 'back to school' syndrome. Everyone feels an urge to make the most of the dying embers of the summer.. September is very pleasant but it isn't summer. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by damianslaw

[Sunny76]

7 hours ago, damianslaw said:

Definate shift in the feel of things now.. the 'high summer' atmosphere long gone and that 'late summer' state firmly in full swing. There is a certain melancholic air about late August.. the 'back to school' syndrome. Everyone feels an urge to make the most of the dying embers of the summer.. September is very pleasant but it isn't summer. 

Yeah, I agree with this.

Once we hit August 15th-20th, we move from that high summer feeling, which you can still get in early August, as it’s still 9pm or after 9 when it gets dark.

Now it’s drawing in at 8:30 or even before that now.

 

For the first time since early April, it’s now dark when I wake up at 5am. How depressing, as the darkness lasts longer for people who work long days. Soon it will be dark when I’m leaving work, which happens in about 3 weeks time.

[Nick L]

Entering one of my favourite times of year now. The sun is noticeably lower in the sky, the mornings aren't light at stupid o'clock and any warmth is usually of the pleasant variety with cool nights.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

57 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Entering one of my favourite times of year now. The sun is noticeably lower in the sky, the mornings aren't light at stupid o'clock and any warmth is usually of the pleasant variety with cool nights.

Only thing I don't like about this time of the year is that spider season could start at any time now (though I do use successful repellents). But other than that, I love the fact that nature is really starting to change by getting ready for the next season; including the now very noticeable darker evenings. The changing of the seasons has always fascinated me, particularly from summer to autumn and winter to spring.

 

[Cheshire Freeze]

On 23/08/2021 at 18:15, Weather Enthusiast91 said:

Only thing I don't like about this time of the year is that spider season could start at any time now (though I do use successful repellents). But other than that, I love the fact that nature is really starting to change by getting ready for the next season; including the now very noticeable darker evenings. The changing of the seasons has always fascinated me, particularly from summer to autumn and winter to spring.

 

Hate spider season with a passion. Nothing worse than that panicked fear when you see a huge male giant house spider leg it across your floor. They really can get huge. They turn my stomach. 
 

Was on break at work the other night and had a bruiser leg it out from behind a box. Soon got squished. 
 

A tip for anyone who is petrified of house spiders…let the cellar spiders go free (the spindly legged ones). These are natural predators of house spiders believe it or not. Apparently cellar spiders have spread further north over time and are helping to push down house spider numbers.

Edited August 23, 2021 by CreweCold

[Polar.]

9 minutes ago, CreweCold said:

Hate spider season with a passion. Nothing worse than that panicked fear when you see a huge male giant house spider leg it across your floor. They really can get huge. They turn my stomach. 
 

Was on break at work the other night and had a bruiser leg it out from behind a box. Soon got squished. 

I found a false widow in my bed the other night. Lucky I spotted it before I got in.

[Cheshire Freeze]

On 23/08/2021 at 18:32, Polar. said:

I found a false widow in my bed the other night. Lucky I spotted it before I got in.

Oh that’s grim. Luckily you saw it before getting bitten. 
 

I have a fear of spiders getting on to my bed. Think it stems back from being at my grandads as a kid. House on a canal bridge and some of the giant house spiders he got in that place were frightening in size. One night went up to bed and had a HUGE one sat on top of the bed covers.

[Methuselah]

4 minutes ago, CreweCold said:

Oh that’s grim. Luckily you saw it before getting bitten. 
 

I have a fear of spiders getting on to my bed. Think it stems back from being at my grandads as a kid. House on a canal bridge and some of the giant house spiders he got in that place were frightening in size. One night went up to bed and had a HUGE one sat on top of the bed covers.

When I was 12, a spider bit me. . . inside my swimming trunks!

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, Nick L said:

Entering one of my favourite times of year now. The sun is noticeably lower in the sky, the mornings aren't light at stupid o'clock and any warmth is usually of the pleasant variety with cool nights.

Yes we are entering our most 'pleasant' period of the year lasting to around the equinox. Whilst we can still see hot temps, high 20s, and on rare occasions 30 degrees- these are the exception and with less sun strength such temps don't bring the intensity of early to high summer.

Atlantic can bring bouts of wind and rain but often short lived. Instead we can normally bank on a lengthy dry calm period. Seems it is happening a bit earlier than the early Sept singularity.

It is often a very humid period still, SW airstreams can be uncomfortable. This is not my favourite airstream. However a easterly or northerly flow very pleasant indeed. 

[Cheshire Freeze]

On 23/08/2021 at 18:41, Ed Stone said:

When I was 12, a spider bit me. . . inside my swimming trunks!

The people that say spiders don’t bite are talking out of their rear. I’ve been bitten by house spiders before but apparently they’re ‘gentle giants’. Bunkum. The males get really aggressive during mating season.

Edited August 23, 2021 by CreweCold

[damianslaw]

Thanks to high pressure on the scene unlike last week when we experienced a notable loss of daylight thanks to gloomy wet skies, this week will see light levels holding up well. This evening it was still fairly light past half 8 and it didn't have an end of summer feel to it. When we do exchange the high pressure for cloudier dull skies and that is likely to be some time, the sudden loss of daylight will be very marked this year.. not a gradual slump, more a fall off a cliff edge! 

[mb018538]

That's it for summer then. Sunset is now 8pm and going the wrong way, sunrise is 6am and getting ever later. Time to forget about the light for another 6-7 months until it starts getting properly light in the morning and evening again.

Best strap myself in for another winter of hyperbole and disappointment on the NW forums then 

[TSNWK]

35 minutes ago, mb018538 said:

That's it for summer then. Sunset is now 8pm and going the wrong way, sunrise is 6am and getting ever later. Time to forget about the light for another 6-7 months until it starts getting properly light in the morning and evening again.

Best strap myself in for another winter of hyperbole and disappointment on the NW forums then 

But we all love it! And come back every year...

[mb018538]

12 minutes ago, TSNWK said:

But we all love it! And come back every year...

I post on here all year - I just love the weather full stop! 

My profile clearly states I have a preference for summer and spring (my bias for these probably shows at times!), but I'll still be on here posting in the model thread all year round. I quite like a crisp autumn or winter day, and still enjoy proper snow if and when it arrives. Sadly living in Cambridge it's very rare, and one of the worst places in the country for snow.

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, mb018538 said:

That's it for summer then. Sunset is now 8pm and going the wrong way, sunrise is 6am and getting ever later. Time to forget about the light for another 6-7 months until it starts getting properly light in the morning and evening again.

Best strap myself in for another winter of hyperbole and disappointment on the NW forums then 

Not quite. I'd say we have another 2-3 weeks to go before evenings become much less usable. My cut off is about 7.30pm. When it starts going dark before then.. you are limited in your ventures. Until then still two or three hours or so after 5pm of usable light.. make the most of it!