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Summer 95 - lack of thunder?


Philipsfd

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My memory is hazy being fairly young at the time, but am I right in thinking one potential negative about the summer of 95 was a lack of thunder? Was it similar to 2007, '17 and '18 for lack of thunderstorms?

It's just that 94, 96, 97 and 99 stick out more in the memory for thunder than 95 does.

Edited by Philipsfd
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Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset

Looking at the records for my local area at least, 1995 was eclipsed a bit by 1994, 1996 and 1997 but was by no means devoid of thundery activity. My grandfather has a kept a diary for a number of decades, part of which was a record of the weather, and his notes of thunderstorms or thunder match the data collected at the local weather centre. It looks like July was the main concentration of activity with repeated plume scenarios, whereas August saw a more prolonged dry and hot but more stable pattern - great for unbroken sunshine! 

Some charts from thundery days:

archives-1995-7-10-12-0.png archives-1995-7-11-12-0.png archives-1995-7-26-0-0.png archives-1995-7-31-12-0.png

Although not summer, September brought a number of occurrences of thunder here in what was the complete opposite type of month to August:

archives-1995-9-5-12-0.png archives-1995-9-12-12-0.png archives-1995-9-18-12-0.png

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Posted
  • Location: Hounslow, London
  • Weather Preferences: Csa/Csb
  • Location: Hounslow, London

August 1995 was a fantastic summer month in London - average high of 27.0c with no rain days at all, just a 0.3mm accumulation of dew over the month. 295 hours of sun as well; sunnier than any June or July. Only May 1989 was sunnier at Heathrow.

An unusual month though, Southampton had an average max of 27.1c when it usually averages 1-2c lower than London.

Edited by B87
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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

I remember a bit of thundery activity in July 95, possibly around mid month, and localised stuff late in the month thanks to the significant heat, but overall not notably thundery. It was a very dry month. August was bone dry, hot and sunny, indeed the warmest, driest and sunniest on record in a number of places. September brought one of those classic flips from sustained dry weather to wet conditions, eastern and NE parts were very wet, but it was an oddity, the dry weather and warmth came back in October, and the period up until May 97 was notably dry, April 95 - March 97 driest 24 month period on record. The flip to very wet then set in May 97 onwards.. and a lengthy very wet period ensued culminating in the exceptionally wet autumn and december of 00, before the dry theme came back in January 01.

Edited by damianslaw
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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

11th July 1995, double thunderstorm day. Crikey not said that recently, one mid morning, another around rush hour

There was a small thunderstorm around midnight during early August. I think it was generated off the Pennines. 

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

There was somewhat below-average thundery activity in June and August 1995, although the two months weren't completely devoid of thundery activity.  In June, showery north-westerlies brought thundery showers to parts of the north and east on the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th, while in August there were some localised thunderstorms early in the month, especially in the west and south, and on the 18th.  Also in Tyneside I had hail and thunder from a showery north-westerly on the 27th August.

July 1995 however was a pretty thundery month for many parts of the country - I remember it as being like a warmer and sunnier version of July 1994.  There were the widespread thunderstorms of 11 July as Weather-history posted above, the showery regime of the 14th/15th gave thunder for some, and then a south-easterly incursion on the 25th/26th gave a widespread thundery breakdown.

Lack of thundery activity has been common in the hot dry sunny summers of the past, due to the emphasis on settled weather, though not always (e.g. summer 1975, and the Julys of 1983 and 2006, had quite a high frequency of thunder over much of the country).  Summer 1976 generally didn't have many thunderstorms, and July 1990 was noted in the RMetS Weather Log as being "remarkable for its scarcity of thunder".

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