Spring 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter.

[Met.]

1 hour ago, al78 said:

If people had to produce their own food like subsistence farmers instead of paying someone else to do it for them

Some start moaning about dry weather before it even gets close to causing problems growing things. Water table's really full now still even though April was dry. So much rain over winter (more than 50% above average), we're not exactly crying out for it.

Anyway I have no problem with rain, if it's from showers or thunderstorms, but I hate cold frontal rain.

Also I like many others post from the POV of a weather enthusiast. So I like seeing dry periods and wet periods, for the interest. So it causes some people problems. Well that's not my fault. A weather enthusiast is going to enjoy extremes in weather. Doesn't mean they enjoy the problems it causes others.

IMo though why bother inhabiting these dreary, cloudy rainy islands in the first place. Barely fit for human habitation, in my opinion. Garbage climate.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Thundershine

[Sunny76]

6 hours ago, hillbilly said:

Many of the Springs of the 80s were cold affairs including 1983,1984 and 1989 all only bettered since by 1995!

All of those years had hot summers. Spring 1984 had a warm April, but the May was cold and damp. May 1989 was hot and sunny with storms towards the end.

Spring 1995 had some warm sunny days in April and May, but it was chilly during parts of April and May was cold at times.

[Nick L]

I don't think outdoor hospitality will be having a great evening!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Thundershine said:

But people start moaning about dry weather before it even gets close to causing problems growing things. Water table's really full now still even though April was dry. So much rain over autumn/winter, we're not exactly crying out for it.

Better still, why bother inhabiting these dreary, cloudy rainy islands in the first place. Barely fit for human habitation, in my opinion. Garbage climate.

Your last paragraph, pretty much true. Other than true polar climates I think that of the British isles is one of the worst (and by worst I mean consistently depressing) in the world. However while I have young children and an elderly mother I can’t really go anywhere. I don’t know anyone can actually like a climate where the sunniest place only gets a little over 40% of the max sun available in the best years and most places are like 25-30%. 

[Met.]

1 minute ago, Alderc said:

Your last paragraph, pretty much true. Other than true polar climates I think that of the British isles is one of the worst (and by worst I mean consistently depressing) in the world. However while I have young children and an elderly mother I can’t really go anywhere. I don’t know anyone can actually like a climate where the sunniest place only gets a little over 40% of the max sun available in the best years and most places are like 25-30%. 

It definitely has the worst summers of any majorly populated place in the world IMO. Even Scandinavia has considerably drier, sunnier and reliably warmer summers at least where most of the major cities are located. I'd even think about living in Stockholm or even Helsinki over stinking blighted Blighty these days.

[Sunny76]

19 minutes ago, Howie said:

This is getting absolutely ridiculous now, I hope we don't have another 2007 or 2012 coming up

I have a feeling it’s another 2011 coming up. Not as wet as 2007 or 12, but definitely a cooler duller summer. A week of very hot weather from 29-35c, still won’t salvage it from being a poor summer, if we have weeks on end of 19-22c with long dull spells with no sunshine.

[B87]

11 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

I have a feeling it’s another 2011 coming up. Not as wet as 2007 or 12, but definitely a cooler duller summer. A week of very hot weather from 29-35c, still won’t salvage it from being a poor summer, if we have weeks on end of 19-22c with long dull spells with no sunshine.

2011 was improved slightly by having average highs above 18c from April to October. This year will be much worse than 2011 if we get a similar summer.

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, B87 said:

2011 was improved slightly by having average highs above 18c from April to October. This year will be much worse than 2011 if we get a similar summer.

2011 was nice in April and October, but the main summer was awful. Only a couple of hot spells in early and late June I think.

The spring was nice, and parts of May were warm and sunny, but it fell apart around mid June.

2020 was like that, but we had a very good sunny dry April and May, into early June, despite July and much of June being relatively dull and on the poor side. So it was redeemed in some areas. 
 

Not sure if 2021 will even match 2020, and I highly doubt another 2018 is happening. But, nobody can tell for sure, 1983 and 1995 had cold Mays and even chilly early June’s, so anything is up for grabs. But the winters preceding those summers were milder than 2020/21. 
 

[Sunny76]

5 minutes ago, B87 said:

2011 was improved slightly by having average highs above 18c from April to October. This year will be much worse than 2011 if we get a similar summer.

Another 1980 then? Lol. 

[B87]

1 minute ago, Sunny76 said:

Another 1980 then? Lol. 

2011 was infinitely superior to 1980 looking at the stats. July 1980 was the coldest on record in London, and the October that year was chilly with an av high of only 14c (vs 18.1c in 2011). November 1980 was very cold with a high of 9.3c (vs 13.6c in 2011).

1980 was a very cloudy year as well; January and May were the only months with above average sunshine.

[MP-R]

7 minutes ago, B87 said:

2011 was improved slightly by having average highs above 18c from April to October. This year will be much worse than 2011 if we get a similar summer.

I holidayed in the Barcelona area in July 2011 and even down there the weather was dodgy - maxima between 22-26C most of the time, bright rather than sunny, and a lot of rain! Not a summer I want to see a repeat of in this country either - dead boring it was. At least in 2007, the first half of June was alright, and August was sunny if more like September on the temperature scale, and the second half of summer 2012 was much better than the first half!

[Sunny76]

4 minutes ago, B87 said:

2011 was infinitely superior to 1980 looking at the stats. July 1980 was the coldest on record in London, and the October that year was chilly with an av high of only 14c (vs 18.1c in 2011). November 1980 was very cold with a high of 9.3c (vs 13.6c in 2011).

1980 was a very cloudy year as well; January and May were the only months with above average sunshine.

2011 was still quite bad though. I remember how bleak august and July were with a lot of cloudy days. 

[B87]

Just now, Sunny76 said:

2011 was still quite bad though. I remember how bleak august and July were with a lot of cloudy days. 

It was a terrible summer, it just wasn't as bad as 1980. I'd go as far to say 2007 was a better summer than 1980 (definitely better over the year as a whole).

[Sunny76]

Just now, B87 said:

It was a terrible summer, it just wasn't as bad as 1980. I'd go as far to say 2007 was a better summer than 1980 (definitely better over the year as a whole).

2007 had too much rain. I think 1980 had more hot weather in June and late July. September 1980 was also warm and sunny.

[Portsmouth Sun]

1 hour ago, Frigid said:

BBC forecasting summer in a weeks time. Can't rly see a warm up incoming and if it does only briefly, GFS 12z also keeps it cool throughout and its been consistent at that. 

That's very much springlike weather for the south of England

[B87]

3 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

2007 had too much rain. I think 1980 had more hot weather in June and late July. September 1980 was also warm and sunny.

2007 was sunnier and warmer than 1980 during summer, though neither had any hot days (30c+) which shows how poor they were. Summer 2011 had a terrible July (warmest all month was a pathetic 26c here) but it got over 30c in June and August, then above 28c in September and October.

Edited May 3, 2021 by B87

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, B87 said:

2007 was sunnier and warmer than 1980 during summer, though neither had any hot days (30c+) which shows how poor they were. Summer 2011 had a terrible July but it got over 30c in June and August, then above 28c in September and October.

Yes they were poor. I don’t think any other summer was worse than 1986 from my memory. I just remember it being cold all the time, apart from some hot sunny weather in June. 

[B87]

2 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yes they were poor. I don’t think any other summer was worse than 1986 from my memory. I just remember it being cold all the time, apart from some hot sunny weather in June. 

1980 was terrible, then there was a spell of 4 terrible summers in a row similar to the 2007-2012 spell of absolute crap. 1985 and 1986 had better summers than 1987 or 1988, but they were still very poor summers overall, similar to that of 2008 (another summer that failed to reach 30c).

Edited May 3, 2021 by B87

[Cheshire Freeze]

Just looked at the GFS. What once looked to be Azores ridging has been displaced further N as it has got closer, leaving the UK under troughing. Typical low solar state fayre IMO.

[reef]

If the 12z GFS came off then May would certainly be up there as one of the worst spring months ever. By the 19th it would put us on a mean of 7.0C (-3.8C) and 116mm of rain (417%).

I doubt it will happen of course, but it would certainly put April into perspective!

[damianslaw]

17 minutes ago, reef said:

If the 12z GFS came off then May would certainly be up there as one of the worst spring months ever. By the 19th it would put us on a mean of 7.0C (-3.8C) and 116mm of rain (417%).

I doubt it will happen of course, but it would certainly put April into perspective!

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notable wet periods... 

This evening feels like we have entered October, its gloomy with low light levels. not feeling May at the moment... oh to rewind back to conditions 1 and 3 years ago..

[Guest]

Not really weather related it my gas and electricity consumption is still peak winter levels, 

33 minutes ago, reef said:

If the 12z GFS came off then May would certainly be up there as one of the worst spring months ever. By the 19th it would put us on a mean of 7.0C (-3.8C) and 116mm of rain (417%).

I doubt it will happen of course, but it would certainly put April into perspective!

3.8c below average is in the Dec 10 range? 

[Sunny76]

24 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notable wet periods... 

This evening feels like we have entered October, its gloomy with low light levels. not feeling May at the moment... oh to rewind back to conditions 1 and 3 years ago..

Yes May 2018 and 2020 were lovely, and I think even 2017 had some good May weather. Feels a world away now.

I hope we get a few days of decent sunny days, as this is the best time of the year for long sunny days. 

[B87]

24 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notable wet periods... 

This evening feels like we have entered October, its gloomy with low light levels. not feeling May at the moment... oh to rewind back to conditions 1 and 3 years ago..

We had a lengthy wet period from October to February though. The dry period in March and April only partly offset that ridiulous wet spell.

[Arctic Hare]

28 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notable wet periods... 

This evening feels like we have entered October, its gloomy with low light levels. not feeling May at the moment... oh to rewind back to conditions 1 and 3 years ago..

I'd want a refund if October was this bad! Feels more like late November to me. Horrible day in just about every way here in Worcs. No redeeming features whatsoever.