Best and Worst Summers?

[Harry233]

To compare to other people what would you say your 5 worst summers have been in the last 30 years for me, as someone who likes warm days and cool nights with plentiful sunshine and slightly below rainfall these would be my worst.

2012: 

Mean maximum: 17.6.C (-1.6.C), mean minimum: 10.2.C (+0.1.C), rainfall: 336mm (176%), sunshine: 344 hours (69%)

2007:

Mean maximum: 18.5.C (-0.7.C), mean minimum: 9.7.C (-0.4.C), rainfall: 317mm (160%), sunshine: 396 hours (80%)

2008:

Mean maximum: 19.0.C (-0.2.C), mean minimum: 10.6.C (+0.4.C), rainfall: 313mm (159%), sunshine: 408 hours (82%)

2011:

Mean maximum: 18.2.C (-1.0.C), mean minimum: 9.8.C (-0.3.C), rainfall: 309mm (156%), sunshine: 445 hours (91%)

2017:

Mean maximum: 18.8.C (-0.4.C), mean minimum: 10.6.C (+0.4.C), rainfall: 307mm (155%), sunshine: 451 hours (91%)

All of these summers expect 2017 and 2008 had no days above 25.C.

[TJM14]

In recent terms I'd say 2012, 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2015.

2017 for me was only good in June. Summer went downhill mid July for me, cloudy and wet and no real good heat until late August only then we had good heat for a few days. But it only just avoided this list!

[hillbilly]

Best and worst??You have only listed worst.There have been lots of topics very similar before but a good reminder.

Worst

1st Equal  2008 and 2012

3rd 2007

4th 1985

5th 1986

Best

1st 1995 

2nd  1984

3rd 1989

4th 1997

5th 2003

A couple over 30 years sorry but I had to add them

[Harry233]

Forgot to put best summers down for me it would be.

1995: Mean maximum: 21.0.C (+1.8.C), mean minimum: 10.8.C (+0.6.C), rainfall: 74mm (37%), sunshine: 685 hours (138%)

2006: Mean maximum: 21.3.C (+2.1.C), mean minimum: 11.1.C (+1.0.C), rainfall: 161mm (81%), sunshine: 632 hours (127%)

2013: Mean maximum: 20.8.C (+1.6.C), mean minimum: 10.5.C (+0.3.C), rainfall: 98mm (49%), sunshine: 550 hours (110%)

1989: Mean maximum: 20.1.C (+0.9.C), mean minimum: 10.7.C (+0.5.C), rainfall: 102mm (52%), sunshine: 606 hours (122%)

2003: Mean maximum: 20.9.C (+1.7.C), mean minimum: 11.3.C (+1.2.C), rainfall: 103mm (53%), sunshine: 534 hours (107%)

[cheeky_monkey]

Best in order

1995

1983

1989

1990

2003

[Badgers01]

7 minutes ago, cheeky_monkey said:

Best in order

1995

1983

1989

1990

2003

I would agree with that '89 was amazingly sunny warm to very warm most of the time and only occasionally hot I think only 3 days over 90f..

[summer blizzard]

I suppose it depends if the list is subjective or objective.

From an objective point of view it's pretty easy to say that 2007, 2011 and 2012 were among the worst summers you can find (wet, cool, dull) however from a subjective point of view i truly despise humidity and despite a preference for a cool summer, i do appreciate extremes and love the sun, hence a subjective ranking for me would put 2004, 2008 and 2009 below the summers mentioned and put 2006, 2013 and 2018 at the top along with 2007 and 2011.

[Fourty Point Three Degrees]

Worst:

2012  Probably worst in modern day living memory

2007  Rain and floods but with a warm humid feel.

2016  Nice start to June but went downhill with no real warmth until mid July then poor until mid August.

2017  Poor July & August but June was good.

1998  had its nice sunny days in late July and early August but the rest was awful.

 

Best

1995  Gloriously warm and sunny with a nice heatwave end of July.

2006  Warm and sunny June with a heatwave end of Jue into July.....July very hot days,  August went downwards but a heatwave towards the end.

2003  June, July & August had heat waves in between sunny periods. End of July went rotten.

1983  Prolonged hot spell in July with big fireworks

1976  ,Hot, dry & sunny throughout - 2018's doppelganger 

[cheese]

I was born in 1987 so I'd say these are the best and worst I can remember..

Best:

1995 - no contest, speaks for itself

2006 - August let it down but otherwise hot and sunny

2003 - all three summer months were warmer than average, doesn't happen very often

2013 - July was great, August was okay, June was bleh

1997 - August was fantastic, July was decent too

Worst:

2012 - perfectly evil combination of cold, wet and cloudy weather - August was okay though

2007 - atrociously wet with flooding, but warmer than 2012 and a lot of thunder - August was rather pleasant

2008 - no month was decent but in equal measure no month was as bad as June 2012 or June 2007

1998 - disappointing on the whole

2011 - dry but cloudy

I'll also give a mention to 2009 which wasn't horrendous but like 2012 and 2007 had a much better August. August hasn't wowed us since 2003 but has been the best summer month here in a number of post-2007 summers (mostly due to the fact that the other two were so atrociously bad).

Edited July 4, 2018 by cheese

[weatherguru14]

June  2013 was very nice for the western part of the UK! August was rubbish

Anyway  best summers

1995

2003

2006

2013 

and a small note for 2016 which was  good compared  to previous years

Poor summers  2007 that's all need to be said. 2017 was terrible over all . and July 2015 was garbage.

 

 

[sixfootdrifter]

1976 was the best by a mile for me. I was 8 yrs old. It just went on for ever and ever. Playing out every day of the holidays. If this current summer lasts well into August with no rain it could compare.

[danm]

I love the heat and sunshine in summer, so best and worst in the London area (caveat, I was born in 1986 so only doing the ones I remember):

Best

1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2006

Those mid-90s summers coincided the peak of my primary school years (aged 8-10) where I'd be out on my bike, at the park, playing football etc all day during the holidays. 1995 was a stone cold classic. 1994 and 1996 were also very good summers but not as good as 1995. 2003 was hot and sunny for large parts, particularly in July and August. Record max temperature of 38c in the London area. 2006 had a good June and an exceptional July, not only in terms of longevity but also temperatures (36c max in the London area).

Honourable mentions

1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

The summers of 1997 and 1999 had quite lengthy warm and sunny spells. August 1997 had an average max of 26c in London. July 1999 averaged 25c and saw a max of 33c in early August. 2005 had a warm and sunny July, and first half of August and a hot spell at the end of June. the bank holiday in August reached 32c. 

2009 and 2010 were not great summers nationally as far as I can remember, but we fared pretty well down in the SE compared to the rest of the country. There was a lengthy hot spell end June/early July in both years with temperatures in the high 20s/low 30s.

2013 had a beautiful July (average max of 27c in London). Max temp of 34c on the 22nd. It hit 34.1c again on 1st August. the rest of August was fairly warm with temperatures fluctuating in the low to high 20s. 

2014 wasn't exceptional, but had some lovely warm weather. Between 14th and 31st July, the temperature didn't drop below 24c and was consistently in the high 20s with one day hitting 30c.

2015 had the hottest temperature since 2003 - 37c on 1st July. Much of the second half of June and first half of July was warm/hot and sunny. August was a lot cooler, but it still hit 31c on the 22nd.

June 2016 was cool, however the weather really warmed up in the second half of July, hitting 33c on the 19th. The second half of August was also warm/hot and sunny with maxes of 30c and 33c on the 23rd and 24th, and temperatures regularly in the mid to high 20's.

2017 had a beautiful first half (June to mid July) and a cooler second half (mid July to end of August). June had five consecutive days above 30c in London between 17th and 21st, peaking at 34c. The first half of july had many days in the mid to high 20s, peaking at 31c on the 6th. 

Worst

1998, 2007, 2008, 2012

1998 was generally cool, with very few hot days. 2007 and 2008 were the same. 2012 had an abysmal June, but a better end of July and August. 

Edited July 5, 2018 by danm

[Harry233]

5 hours ago, weatherguru14 said:

June  2013 was very nice for the western part of the UK! August was rubbish

Anyway  best summers

1995

2003

2006

2013 

and a small note for 2016 which was  good compared  to previous years

Poor summers  2007 that's all need to be said. 2017 was terrible over all . and July 2015 was garbage.

 

 

2015 was also a stinker, this had my wettest and coldest recorded July, it was only helped by quite a decent August.

[Methuselah]

Best 3 summers - that I can actually remember: 1975, 1976 and 1995; worst 3 summers: 1972, 1974 and 1988...

[Harry233]

4 minutes ago, danm said:

I love the heat and sunshine in summer, so best and worst in the London area (caveat, I was born in 1986 so only doing the ones I remember):

Best

1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2006

Those mid-90s summers coincided the peak of my primary school years (aged 8-10) where I'd be out on my bike, at the park, playing football etc all day during the holidays. 1995 was a stone cold classic. 1994 and 1996 were also very good summers but not as good as 1995. 2003 was hot and sunny for large parts, particularly in July and August. Record max temperature of 38c in the London area. 2006 had a good June and an exceptional July, not only in terms of longevity but also temperatures (36c max in the London area).

Honourable mentions

1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

The summers of 1997 and 1999 had quite lengthy warm and sunny spells. August 1997 had an average max of 26c in London. July 1999 averaged 25c and saw a max of 33c in early August. 2005 had a warm and sunny July, and first half of August and a hot spell at the end of June. the bank holiday in August reached 32c. 

2009 and 2010 were not great summers nationally as far as I can remember, but we fared pretty well down in the SE compared to the rest of the country. There was a lengthy hot spell end June/early July in both years with temperatures in the high 20s/low 30s.

2013 had a beautiful July (average max of 27c in London). Max temp of 34c on the 22nd. It hit 34.1c again on 1st August. the rest of August was fairly warm with temperatures fluctuating in the low to high 20s. 

2014 wasn't exceptional, but had some lovely warm weather. Between 14th and 31st July, the temperature didn't drop below 24c and was consistently in the high 20s with one day hitting 30c.

2015 had the hottest temperature since 2003 - 37c on 1st July. Much of the second half of June and first half of July was warm/hot and sunny. August was a lot cooler, but it still hit 31c on the 22nd.

June 2016 was cool, however the weather really warmed up in the second half of July, hitting 33c on the 19th. The second half of August was also warm/hot and sunny with maxes of 30c and 33c on the 23rd and 24th, and temperatures regularly in the mid to high 20's.

2017 had a beautiful first half (June to mid July) and a cooler second half (mid July to end of August). June had five consecutive days above 30c in London between 17th and 21st, peaking at 34c. The first half of july had many days in the mid to high 20s, peaking at 31c on the 6th. 

Worst

1998, 2007, 2008, 2012

1998 was generally cool, with very few hot days. 2007 and 2008 were the same. 2012 had an abysmal June, but a better end of July and August. 

 2005 would also be one of my favourite summers, it was just let down by a very cool and dull second half of July, second half of June and first half of July was very warm and sunny, the temperature also reached 30.C on the 12th July the first time in my area since 1990 at the time. August was rather decent as well.

2009 was also an OKish summer, with a rather decent June, July was very wet but it was generally warm with few cool days and a lot of the rain fell in short heavy showers and was quite bright, August was wet and duller but still warm.

2010 was also not a bad summer minus July, June was rather warm, very dry and sunny, while August although cool was also dry and sunny, July however was very wet with near normal maximum temperatures and above average minimums.

2014 was a pretty decent summer with a very good July, though August was rather poor.

2016 Had a good first half of June although the second half on June and first half of July was terrible, very wet and dull. The second half of July wasn’t bad, and August was rather decent as well.

[cheeky_monkey]

7 hours ago, sixfootdrifter said:

1976 was the best by a mile for me. I was 8 yrs old. It just went on for ever and ever. Playing out every day of the holidays. If this current summer lasts well into August with no rain it could compare.

1995 was better than 1976 IMO

[karyo]

I hate hot and dry weather so this summer is a contender for the worst summer since I moved to the UK, but of course it is still early days.

Other than this one, 2003 and 2006 although at least they had some thunderstorms (especially 2003).

Before 1997 i was in Greece so pretty much every summer was horrible with 1995 the bright exception. That summer the maximum temperature in northern Greece was in the 28-32c range and there were afternoon thunderstorms almost daily. That was the best summer of my life actually. By the way, 28-32c is quite low for Greek standards.

[AderynCoch]

Best - 1995

Worst - 2012

[BlueSkies_do_I_see]

I like summer warmth late on as the nights are drawing in.  2006 was great. I wasn't in the UK for much of August 1995, so I can't comment on that one.  This summer is shaping up to be my new no1.  Too hot to work in, but being able to walk around in shorts and flip flops and be warm at 8am and 9pm for weeks at a time is amazing! Feels like I am in Provence not Coventry.

Edited July 5, 2018 by BlueSkies_do_I_see

[Harry233]

14 hours ago, weatherguru14 said:

June  2013 was very nice for the western part of the UK! August was rubbish

Anyway  best summers

1995

2003

2006

2013 

and a small note for 2016 which was  good compared  to previous years

Poor summers  2007 that's all need to be said. 2017 was terrible over all . and July 2015 was garbage.

 

 

I have good memories of June 2013 despite it being slightly cooler than average it was mainly dry, sunny and pleasantly warm, most days were around 17.C-20.C the lack of heat was noticeable I think the highest all month was only 22/23.C, there was some noticeably chilly nights thrown in as well.

[Snowyowl9]

As its 30 years exactly 1988 one of the worst 6 weeks of cold atlantic wet rubbish.

Neighbours hay was out for 6 weeks the blackest hay I`ve ever seen.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Snowyowl9

[Captain Shortwave]

I was too young to remember the better summer from the 90s but for me probably the best was 2003 given there were hot spells in all three months. July 2006 is probably the best sumer month I have ever experience, an average max of 26C for a location just over 10 miles from the sea (not bad).

No summer has been a complete write off though 2007 and 2012 did come close.

Since I have been here though;

2013 - The summer probably let down by how cold the preceding spring was, at the time I was in Great Yarmouth and on some days during early June the temperature struggled to reach double figures even with the sunshine due to how cold the wind off the sea was. June synoptically could have delviered a warm month but cold SSTs killed that, also July 2013 probably would have been a fair bit warmer for the same reason though the sea teperatures recovered towards the end of the month. 

2014 - August was pretty poor but June was okay and July had a solid spell towards the end of July with a string of very warm to hot days as well as some stunning thunderstorms.

2015 - June was awful with a perisistent north Atlantic high with most days dry and cool with a lot of cloud. the end of June into July was decent as we finally got a Euro ridge but then we got stuck into a west base -NAO which meant wet conditions for the rest of the summer though the heat over Europe was close enough to give a few 30C+ days here and there.

2016 - I actually cannot remember much from this summer, it was very mixed but saved by a good spell of weather towards the end of August.

2017 - There was a very good spell of summer weather in June, otherwise a very forgettable summer with conditions tending to deteriorate further as it went along though again the end of August was decent enough.

[danm]

Just went and looked back at the records from 1995. At Heathrow, the temperature reached 30c+ on 18 separate days (rounded to the nearest degree) in the 3 summer months. 

Incredible really. 

Edit: 2006 had 16 days at 30c+ (rounded) and 2003 had 12.

Edited July 6, 2018 by danm

[Stargazer]

Best summers I can remember (roughly in order with best first) have been 1976, 1995, 1983, 1989, 2003 and 2006, with honourable mentions for 1990 and 2013.

I can remember summers back to the 70s and can't remember anything worse than 2012. June and July 2012 were truly dire months and August seemed to offer a bit of an improvement for the duration of the Olympics but was generally unexceptional. 1988 was another shocker.

[cheeky_monkey]

From memory 1985 was worse than 1988 and looking at the records seems to bear this out.......also seems that generally 1985,86 and 87 were worse than 1988...1988 had a stinker of a July ..however both June and August were fairly average..in fact June 1988 was pretty dry.