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What did you think of Summer 2018?


What did you think of Summer 2018?  

131 members have voted

  1. 1. What did you think of this Summer?

    • Best one in space!
    • Terrific
    • Good
    • Mostly good
    • Okay
    • A bit bad
      0
    • Poor
    • Worse than eating sprouts
    • Most awful Summer ever!


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Posted
  • Location: Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire
  • Location: Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire

Here it was an exceptional summer. It was the warmest on record, joint second sunniest and fourth driest since 1976. We also hit 30C for the first time since 2001. In the period 1st May - 31st August we had an astonishing 978hrs of sunshine - That's almost 8hrs of sunshine per day for a four month period - in the UK! Using the summer index:

1976: 316
2018: 288
1989: 284
1995: 279
2006: 273
1996: 263
2003: 262
2013: 260
1983: 257
1994: 254
1984: 249
1990: 244
1991: 233
2001: 233
1999: 232
2009: 232
2005: 231
1979: 231
1992: 231
2015: 230
2010: 230
1981: 227
2014: 224
2017: 223
2002: 220
2000: 220
1997: 219
1993: 218
2016: 216
2007: 215
2004: 214
1998: 206
2011: 204
2008: 203
1982: 202
1988: 202
1977: 201
1986: 194
1985: 190
1980: 186
2012: 185
1978: 179
1987: 165

(1976-1979 using local figures)

Edited by reef
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Posted
  • Location: Bewdley, Worcs; 90m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and sun in winter; warm and bright otherwise; not a big storm fan
  • Location: Bewdley, Worcs; 90m asl

For me, it was generally excellent right back into May and as far as the first week of August. A very different picture after that, with far less sunshine and too much gloomy murk. What was most interesting here wasn't the existence of any remarkable maxima -- in fact, 29.4 °C was as high as we got -- but the sheer persistence of very warm, dry conditions.

With a 30 °C or two and a better August, this would have been my favourite summer ever. As it is, 2006 probably still pips it, despite that year also having a relatively disappointing August. (2006 had a very warm September, so right now it's beating 2018. Just 15 °C as I type!)

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Posted
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow, thunderstorms, warm summers not too hot.
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL

In terms of thunderstorms - very disappointing! One of the worst Summers ever for that in my opinion. 

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

I guess my only gripe would be about the lack of convection: storm-wise, the summer of 2018 was a bit like waiting for something to happen, in a Jane Austen novel...

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Posted
  • Location: Reading
  • Location: Reading

Definitely up there with the best here in Reading - the only summers that I recall that beat it are 1976, 1995 and perhaps 1983, roughly in that order. Very similar in many ways to 2006, but the latter had a very average August whereas this August has actually been statistically a bit warmer, drier and sunnier than average albeit not exceptionally so. If you include May this summer beats 2006 by a large margin.

I've attached a screen shot of stats for the summer from Reading University, our nearest official station - original site http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/weatherdata/Reading_monthly_summaries.html (this changes every month hence the snapshot). The standout stats are June's lack of rainfall (there was no more than a trace on any day after the 3rd) and July's exceptional sunshine (their electronic sunshine recorder noted well over 300 hours) and mean maximum temperature, which exceeded 27C for the first time since 2006. The highest temperature recorded in my garden was 33.7C on 26 July (the university recorded 33.1 that day) - this compares with 34.1 (1/7/15), 34.5 (19/7/06) and 35.7 (10/8/03).

If I was going to be picky my only criticism of this summer is that it seemed to rain on Sundays more than any other day!

 

summer_2018_stats.PNG

Edited by Stargazer
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Posted
  • Location: St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. 81 metres asl
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms.
  • Location: St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. 81 metres asl

Overall I thought it was one of the better summers in recent years, at least down here in the South East. I've posted stats from an official local weather station over on the South  East/East Anglia regional thread for anyone interested.

Reading all the posts here there does seem to be a general concensus that August was once again something of a let down.

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Posted
  • Location: Barling, Essex
  • Location: Barling, Essex

It was absolutely brutal here in South East Essex. May was glorious, then a couple of duff weeks in June but after that there was 2 full months of literally scorching heat, I have never seen the grass that colour in this country. The summer finished with a bit of a whimper in August but otherwise outstanding.

well, outstanding by day, AWFUL by night.

Edited by Spikey M
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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

1989 was a flippin good summer I thought reef,should be much higher up my list than say 2003/06.

Edited by Snowyowl9
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Posted
  • Location: Solihull, Midlands. (Formerly DRL)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, thunder, hail & heavy snow
  • Location: Solihull, Midlands. (Formerly DRL)
On 02/09/2018 at 11:32, bazookabob said:

Thanks! That storm was the one that dropped golf ball sized hail on York. It was a Friday evening in late July. 

Gosh! Hope you were about to stay safe. Kinda wonder what it must be like to witness a storm that drops massive hail. Never had a storm that’s dropped hailstones any bigger than about a cm or 2(ish).

Just thinking about it, don’t think we had any showers or storms with hail in them this Summer. Maybe except for the odd tiny bit. 

Hope next Summer will see a marked improvement in thundery weather. 

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Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m
1 hour ago, Snowyowl9 said:

1989 was a flippin good summer I thought reef,should be much higher up my list than say 2003/06.

I think that was Reef's ovn figures.If you look at the Manchester summer index figures they are quite different.It obviously waries around the country but even here in the pennines both 76 and 95 are in front,almost the same with 84,89 and 83 I would put just ahead of 2018 only because they had better Augusts.

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Posted
  • Location: chellaston, derby
  • Weather Preferences: The Actual Weather ..... not fantasy.
  • Location: chellaston, derby

1989 was an 'also ran' here good but not THAT good..

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Posted
  • Location: Keyingham, East Yorkshire
  • Weather Preferences: Spanish plumes, hot and sunny with thunderstorms
  • Location: Keyingham, East Yorkshire

Absolutely incredible summer here too. The only downside being that next year will not be as good as this one, barring an absolute mirracle. Just shows that great summers can still happen! Seems like the warmth and sunshine lasted forever. 10/10 from me

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Posted
  • Location: London
  • Location: London
5 minutes ago, Milhouse said:

Absolutely incredible summer here too. The only downside being that next year will not be as good as this one, barring an absolute mirracle. Just shows that great summers can still happen! Seems like the warmth and sunshine lasted forever. 10/10 from me

This could be the two in a row good summer run, much like 1975/76, 83/84, 89/90, 94/95 or 2013/2014.

2014 and 94 had unsettled and cooler Augusts, but had hot Julys.

Like others have said, I think 1989 seems to be ignored a lot. This was the summer to beat all summers, and this was the first truly hot summer I clearly remember as a teen. I have vague memories of 83 and 84 being hot in August, but 89 is much clearer in my mind.

Think what cancelled 1989 out for many people is 1995, so most people forget the decent summers like 1990 and 89.

Summer 2019 could go either way, but I would be confident we will have another hot one. 2020 will be garbage though.

Edited by Sunny76
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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
10 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

This could be the two in a row good summer run, much like 1975/76, 83/84, 89/90, 94/95 or 2013/2014.

2014 and 94 had unsettled and cooler Augusts, but had hot Julys.

Like others have said, I think 1989 seems to be ignored a lot. This was the summer to beat all summers, and this was the first truly hot summer I clearly remember as a teen. I have vague memories of 83 and 84 being hot in August, but 89 is much clearer in my mind.

Think what cancelled 1989 out for many people is 1995, so most people forget the decent summers like 1990 and 89.

Summer 2019 could go either way, but I would be confident we will have another hot one. 2020 will be garbage though.

Peoples memories of the formative child - late teenager years - often a very vivid time for people, when you have time off school to make the most of the summer weather, and before work and other commitments and responsibilities take over.

In this respect, a warm dry August will hold far more memory than a warm dry June when recalling years during that particular lifetime. For me that period roughly equals 1987 - 1998. I remember 1989, 1990 for the excellent school holiday periods, July 1989 was superb, and there was a four week excellent warm sunny period mid July - mid August in 1990. However, 1995 in this respect was par excellence, the cool dull first half to June cancelled out by the superb July and more so August - exceptional stuff, not bettered since.

Equally I don't rate personally 2003 or 2006 on a par with those summers, simply because I had less time to enjoy them, stuck indoors at work.. although they delivered great spells of summer at times, in June and July, 2003 in August, 2006 not so. I therefore place 2018 in the same vein so to speak, and I suspect many young people of age 9-18 will do the same - the school holiday period not coinciding with the best of the summer weather.

 

Edited by damianslaw
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Posted
  • Location: London
  • Location: London

Yes I feel the same, although my job takes me outdoors, so I was more aware of how good this summer was. But, I also will remember working during the majority of the hot spell. I had a few days off here and there though, and enjoyed the weekends during the heatwave. 

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Posted
  • Location: Exeter
  • Weather Preferences: Warm and sunny!
  • Location: Exeter

I can't wait until I get a summer of lots of sunshine and temperatures between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius by day. Wonder how long we'll have to wait to get a hot summer here?

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Posted
  • Location: Czech Republic
  • Location: Czech Republic

According to our oldest station in Prague, this summer was the warmest in 244 years since the measurements began. 3,7 °C above average.

TOP 3: 2018 - 22,7 °C, 2003 - 22,4 °C, 2015 - 22,3 °C

Probably the driest as well. Disgusting.

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Posted
  • Location: East Devon
  • Location: East Devon

I'd put summer in the 'good' category, perhaps 'very good' but not quite 'Excellent' here. 

This is a main reason:
August 2018 Sunshine 1981 - 2010 anomaly
If anything it felt like I could have been in the deeper grey, and August is when many people holiday and visit the SW.

In June and July (and May) the SW was also less anomalously sunny compared to many parts of the country, so the result was a somewhat sunny summer here but not exceptional, and that's the impression I tended to get:
2018_14_Sunshine_Anomaly_1981-2010.gif


Also for the weather enthusiast there wasn't any thunder, or any exceptional temps like 76, 83, and 90 managed (even though they were modelled at times).

1976, 1983 and 1989 had more days above 25C here, and 1976 (exceptional I know) had a mean maxima nearly 1C higher (so this year wasn't the joint hottest here).

Obviously it's a bit much to ask for all of those in one summer but an excellent one needs a decent August, and tbh August 2018 wasn't decent enough here. If including May the rating would be a touch higher though.
 

Edited by Evening thunder
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Posted
  • Location: chellaston, derby
  • Weather Preferences: The Actual Weather ..... not fantasy.
  • Location: chellaston, derby
On 05/09/2018 at 11:55, Sunny76 said:

This could be the two in a row good summer run, much like 1975/76, 83/84, 89/90, 94/95 or 2013/2014.

2014 and 94 had unsettled and cooler Augusts, but had hot Julys.

Like others have said, I think 1989 seems to be ignored a lot. This was the summer to beat all summers, and this was the first truly hot summer I clearly remember as a teen. I have vague memories of 83 and 84 being hot in August, but 89 is much clearer in my mind.

Think what cancelled 1989 out for many people is 1995, so most people forget the decent summers like 1990 and 89.

Summer 2019 could go either way, but I would be confident we will have another hot one. 2020 will be garbage though.

but 2014 wasnt a 'good' summer... it wasnt even average... and july wasnt 'hot'.. it was 23rd warmest according to reefs post above.. way behind others. and 26th according to the manchester data

Edited by mushymanrob
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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

Sunshine levels here were exceptionally high- map above shows this. So many clear blue skies in May and June - superb stuff! very few dreaded SW airstreams and the associated gloomy murk they deliver.

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Posted
  • Location: Wimbledon,SW London
  • Location: Wimbledon,SW London

Too hot and too monotonous for a weather enthusiast imo. I like the odd hot spell interspersed with a good old thundery breakdown, a few cooler days, then hosting up again. Something of interest. There was nothing outstandingly interesting about this summer, we have hotter days in London during very average summers. 

Glad for the folk that enjoyed it but personally I am glad to see the back of it. 

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Posted
  • Location: London
  • Location: London
2 hours ago, Wimbledon88 said:

Too hot and too monotonous for a weather enthusiast imo. I like the odd hot spell interspersed with a good old thundery breakdown, a few cooler days, then hosting up again. Something of interest. There was nothing outstandingly interesting about this summer, we have hotter days in London during very average summers. 

Glad for the folk that enjoyed it but personally I am glad to see the back of it. 

I disagree. 2018 hands down beats anything in the 2014-2017 period for long sunny hot or warm spells, and surpasses anything post 2006.

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
9 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

I disagree. 2018 hands down beats anything in the 2014-2017 period for long sunny hot or warm spells, and surpasses anything post 2006.

I agree with you, Sunny76: the last time we saw May-Aug sunshine totals like this year's must have been 1995...?

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
11 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

I disagree. 2018 hands down beats anything in the 2014-2017 period for long sunny hot or warm spells, and surpasses anything post 2006.

I think in terms of longevity of the warmth and dry weather it was very interesting and pretty much exceptional. I've never known it be so dry for so long. But in terms of individual temperature extremes it was a little bit of a non-event.

Ps. Any chance of adding your location to your profile please? Just gives us an idea of where "here" is when reporting weather stats! Cheers.

Edited by Nick L
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