North West Regional Discussion 3 June 2020 onwards

[East Lancs Rain]

No high summer feelings this year sadly. Temp scraped 16°C and it felt pleasant enough in the strong July sunshine, but the temperature has quickly dropped this evening. Currently 12°C with a chilly breeze and cloudy. House feels chilly at just 18°C. It would normally be 20-22°C in July. It’s been a cold summer so far.

Edited July 6, 2020 by East Lancs Rain

[toggerob]

I remember last year spending a week at the Isle of Man where for 5 days it was fine sunny weather although Manchester did have a bit of localized storm-flooding, the last 2 days on the IOM however was dreadful with consistent rain 24/7 where places such as Fairy Bridge that i'd visit not long before got flooded and it was touch & go for a time as to how i'd make it back to Ronaldsway (in the end I got the steam-train back while it was still running and booked a hotel room overnight.) I got back to Manchester Airport in the early afternoon the day after to see sunshine and heavy showers but nothing too noticeable until the showers became more frequent over the few 2 days I had now been back, it wasn't until seeing local reports on FB that it occurred to me the town was actually flooding in many parts along the Goyt, mostly down to the extreme rainfall but the dam overflow was in full-spate. I remember crossing the pedestrian footpath that's ontop of the dam and wondering to myself what would happen if it suddenly went in one go.

Famous last words as the morning after the town was subsequently evacuated when it was discovered the concrete slabs had disintegrated and there was more Emergency Services, Chinook & News Helicopters over the village than what i've seen at some small airshows.

[Frost HoIIow]

25 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

No high summer feelings this year sadly. Temp scraped 16°C and it felt pleasant enough in the strong July sunshine, but the temperature has quickly dropped this evening. Currently 12°C with a chilly breeze and cloudy. House feels chilly at just 18°C. It would normally be 20-22°C in July. It’s been a cold summer so far.

Yes it's not been a good Summer thus far. Last Summer wasn't great either. That freak heat toward the end of July couldn't save it. Overall it was a very wet Summer in our region. However 2018 was unquestionably good - up there with the classics of 1976 & 1995. Before 2018 you probably have to go back 5 years to the last good one in 2013. It's certainly not easy to get a dry warm Summer in our region. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Frost HoIIow

[damianslaw]

54 minutes ago, Frost HoIIow said:

Yes it's not been a good Summer thus far. Last Summer wasn't great either. That freak heat toward the end of July couldn't save it. Overall it was a very wet Summer in our region. However 2018 was unquestionably good - up there with the classics of 1976 & 1995. Before 2018 you probably have to go back 5 years to the last good one in 2013. It's certainly not easy to get a dry warm Summer in our region. 

Dry Springs seem much easier to obtain though.

[East Lancs Rain]

1 hour ago, Frost HoIIow said:

Yes it's not been a good Summer thus far. Last Summer wasn't great either. That freak heat toward the end of July couldn't save it. Overall it was a very wet Summer in our region. However 2018 was unquestionably good - up there with the classics of 1976 & 1995. Before 2018 you probably have to go back 5 years to the last good one in 2013. It's certainly not easy to get a dry warm Summer in our region. 

Summer 2019 was definitely better than this summer though, at least July anyway.  The first half of June 2019 was absolutely atrocious but the second half was better.

 

The first three weeks of July were the best part of summer 2019 in my opinion. Mostly dry, plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s most days. Very pleasant summer weather.  I do remember the wet weekend after the hottest day on record when it reached 33°C here, and we had some decent nighttime thunderstorms during the July heatwave as well.

 

The first week of August 2019 was warm, cloudy and unsettled, with a few thundery showers and a warm humid feel. The middle of the month was cool and unsettled and unfortunately coincinced with my holiday to Barmouth on the west coast of Wales where it was almost consistently 17 degrees with a cold westerly wind blowing in from off the sea all week I was there.  

 

Annoyingly, the weather warmed up as soon as I’d left and the day travelling home was very hot and sunny.  I also had to fight through the crowds in Manchester as the Manchester gay parade was on. The next few days were also very hot and sunny but very chilly at night.

 

 Yes, last summer was very wet but it was also a warm summer which kind of made up for it for me.  I don’t mind rain in summer too much as long as it’s warm rain. I hate cold rain in summer though.  And there was quite a lot of pleasant fine sunny days when I could sit out and sunbathe in the garden.  Not many days where I’ve been able to do that this summer, not since the spring anyway. And the rain while a lot seemed to fall in big quantities on fewer days rather than spread out over a lot of days.  What annoyed me about last summer though was that it had short periods of intense heat followed by longer spells of cool wet weather. I would have preferred a long spell of fine but not too hot weather. 

 

 People say that last summer was poor here, but I would disagree because it was warmer than average and had plenty of decent warm dry sunny days to offset the cool wet days.  I definitely rate last summer better than 2016 and 2017 which were both very unsettled summers but weren’t as warm as 2019.

 

 July 2018 was nice but the heat did get a bit much at times. I found the last week of June 2018 and the first week of July 2018 was unbearably hot. August 2018 was just like a typical August - cool and very cloudy, humid, damp and unseasonably cold at times. June 2018 was the best month of summer 2018 imo which was very dry and sunny but not too hot.

 

 Summer 2014 was also a very good summer in our region. At least June and July anyway. Lots of warm sunny weather and not much rain. August 2014 was just cool and cloudy as usual, before the sunshine returned in September and even October and November 2014 was very mild I remember.

 

This summer has seemed to be a lot less sunny and a lot colder than last year.  The first half of June was unseasonably cold with temperatures struggling to get into the mid teens. Six days into July and haven’t even reached 20°C!  Absolutely atrocious! I’m surprised the Manchester summer index is as high as it is. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by East Lancs Rain

[East Lancs Rain]

19 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Dry Springs seem much easier to obtain though.

Yes and May has been an excellent month in recent years. Often better than the summer itself. Even May 2019 which was a bit cooler still managed some pleasant sunny days with temperatures in the mid to high teens.  The last poor May I remember was 2015 which was a cold May but even then I remember some sunny days. The only thing you have to watch out for in May is that you tend to get a lot of chilly easterly and north-easterly winds as they are coming off the North Sea which is still cold in May.  It can be deceptive as it can make an otherwise pleasant sunny day feel really chilly. 

 

 September however is a different story. It used to be a reliable pleasant dry and sunny month and usually saw the return of the sun after the kids had gone back to school after the typical cloudy and damp Augusts that we often have in this region.  However, in recent years September has been poor. Especially September 2017 which was awful with a lot of heavy rain.  We haven’t had a nice September since 2016, it would be nice to get another one this year. Maybe we will, especially if the summer has been poor. 

[Weather-history]

20 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Horrible FAX charts. 

Annoying frontal train looks like for at least 48 hours 

 

Good news are the latest FAX charts have the frontal systems and little lows further south.

[A Face like Thunder]

Not far enough south for my liking, with steady and at times heavy rain since 9am here in S Cheshire. 

[karyo]

Boring day! Overcast and without even measurable rain here. Just occasional drizzle. If the plants needed watering this wouldn't even touch the sides.

[East Lancs Rain]

12 minutes ago, karyo said:

Boring day! Overcast and without even measurable rain here. Just occasional drizzle. If the plants needed watering this wouldn't even touch the sides.

Lucky you. Pouring here in east Lancashire! Cold too. ?️

[karyo]

1 minute ago, East Lancs Rain said:

Lucky you. Pouring here in east Lancashire! Cold too. ?️

To be honest, if it is going to be like that it may as well rain properly. The annoying drizzly stuff is just not good for anything and still spoils the day.

[East Lancs Rain]

9 minutes ago, karyo said:

To be honest, if it is going to be like that it may as well rain properly. The annoying drizzly stuff is just not good for anything and still spoils the day.

True, but we've had more than enough rain now to last the rest of the year!

[Spurry]

Just switched the heating on for a bit,I'm freezing

[karyo]

31 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

True, but we've had more than enough rain now to last the rest of the year!

It picked up a bit in intensity now so it can be classed as rain. Looking at the radar there could be an hour of heavier rain from the west before it clears eastwards.

[East Lancs Rain]

12 degrees and chucking it down. Time to get the BBQ out.

[dodge]

3 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

Time to get the BBQ out.

To wash it?

Another dreadful mid-summer's day here, rain light to start with has now pepped up in the last hour or so.  Thankfully it's set to move south overnight and into tomorrow, but that will no doubt effect the start of tomorrow's 1st test match between England & the Windies (Southampton).  It will probably in reality only get going from Friday.

[Weather-history]

Never witnessed this but I heard accounts about it from relatives and friends. Hailstorms of early June 1983 that hit parts of the region. I assume the storms were supercells.

 

[Scorcher]

Worst July day anyone can remember today? Pretty sure we haven't got above 13C here- absolutely appalling. Feels genuinely cold and miserable. I'm struggling to find another 13C in the July records here- even 2007, 2012 and 1993 didn't manage it it seems.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Scorcher

[East Lancs Rain]

25 minutes ago, Scorcher said:

Worst July day anyone can remember today? Pretty sure we haven't got above 13C here- absolutely appalling. Feels genuinely cold and miserable. I'm struggling to find another 13C in the July records here- even 2007, 2012 and 1993 didn't manage it it seems.

 I’m sure we’ve had days as cold as this in July before. I remember some very cool days in July 2015, July 2016 and July 2017 for example.  But yes it is very miserable and alough we haven’t had much rain here, it has been completely overcast all day, damp and cold.

[karyo]

2 hours ago, Scorcher said:

Worst July day anyone can remember today? Pretty sure we haven't got above 13C here- absolutely appalling. Feels genuinely cold and miserable. I'm struggling to find another 13C in the July records here- even 2007, 2012 and 1993 didn't manage it it seems.

The sad thing is that we easily exceed 13c in January these days...

[HafrenLMP1]

Went out for a short 20 mile cycle, around 11:30 - could well have been October/November; cool, strong breeze, and rain & mizzle. High summer....really?? Okay then...

[Frost HoIIow]

1 hour ago, karyo said:

The sad thing is that we easily exceed 13c in January these days...

Yes and in February 2019 we got up to 18C towards the end of that month. A bit of an extreme example but we should be still chasing snow at that time of year not warm temps. Yet here we are in supposedly mid Summer struggling to get above 12 or 13C. It's like the seasons are completely messed up. Anyway Crewe and a couple of others think we're in for a much better Winter this year compared to the last 2 horror shows.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Frost HoIIow

[karyo]

9 hours ago, Frost HoIIow said:

Yes and in February 2019 we got up to 18C towards the end of that month. A bit of an extreme example but we should be still chasing snow at that time of year not warm temps. Yet here we are in supposedly mid Summer struggling to get above 12 or 13C. It's like the seasons are completely messed up. Anyway Crewe and a couple of others think we're in for a much better Winter this year compared to the last 2 horror shows.

Those winter heatwaves seem to occur every winter now. I just had a read at the Arctic ice thread and I wish I hadn't! It looks like the ice will reach a record minimum before the summer is over. The reduced ice cover waters down our winter northerlies and northwesterlies so we have to rely on long drawn easterlies to bring proper cold.

At least the solar minimum should help us this winter to get some decent cold spells but I am not expecting anything epic (such as 2009/10).

[Weather-history]

15 hours ago, Scorcher said:

Worst July day anyone can remember today? Pretty sure we haven't got above 13C here- absolutely appalling. Feels genuinely cold and miserable. I'm struggling to find another 13C in the July records here- even 2007, 2012 and 1993 didn't manage it it seems.

I remember an absolute rank July day in 2004, I think it was the 8th.

It was absolutely awful, compounded by a gusty NEly wind. At least yesterday, there was virtually no wind. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Weather-history

[karyo]

The rain in Ireland is gathering momentum. It should get here late afternoon or early evening.

After that we should see quite a number of dry days with plenty of sunshine over the weekend.