Spring 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter.

[Sunny76]

11 hours ago, B87 said:

1989 had an excellent May and a good summer as well.

1991 had a poor May and summer (even if August was decent, it wasn't enough to undo the first 6 weeks of that summer).

That’s right. Was on work experience in June 1991, and it was really chilly. It felt like winter 90-91 was back with a vengeance.

July became warmer and we had a storm in the first week, but it was very on and off. Some hot sunny days in July and into august, but not a classic. It was a useable summer, but probably felt disappointing off the back of 1990 and 89. 

[stainesbloke]

1 hour ago, Sunny76 said:

I think the stormy summers seem to come about when there’s been more cold lingering into spring. I think we will get a thundery summer, maybe a return to some classics we had around 2016-2018. 

That would be great Need some payoff for this cruddy spring! Yet another chilly, cloudy, and windy day here. Very depressing, though looks like a warming trend next week

[summer blizzard]

It would be interesting to see which May's were above 100mm since 1950 and below 10.9C so that we can crosscheck then against years which are actually comparable in seasonal background patterns rather than jump on some less likely.

1985 is not a bad analogue.

As I noted before I also like 1971, 1989, 2011.

Edited May 27, 2021 by summer blizzard

[*Stormforce~beka*]

Sod off cloud! Can't we just have blue sky with nothing in it but the sun?!

[TheOgre]

Nice day today. I’m glad the cold and wet spell has gone. Looks much better in June. Wednesday could be 24C. Hopefully it will last. 

[Man With Beard]

I note the met office are describing the weekend as "hot and sunny" in the SE. I know it's nice to have decent weather, but that's pushing it a little? 27C plus not on the cards till at least midweek.

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, TheOgre said:

Nice day today. I’m glad the cold and wet spell has gone. Looks much better in June. Wednesday could be 24C. Hopefully it will last. 

Yes here’s hoping. We need a spell of 24-27c, to really lift the temps and give us some warm evenings. 
 

I know some on here hate warm evenings and nights, but I think it’s nice to not feel cold while walking round in the evening, or needing a light jacket all the time. Hopefully we can say goodbye the the teens until September at least. 

[Sunny76]

56 minutes ago, Man Without Beard said:

I note the met office are describing the weekend as "hot and sunny" in the SE. I know it's nice to have decent weather, but that's pushing it a little? 27C plus not on the cards till at least midweek.

It will be warm and feel hot in the sun, but anything up to 24c is still just ‘warm’ for me. I class anything around 26c and above as hot. 

[al78]

Can't complain about the weather today. Warm and sunny, perfect for more evening allotment work. Met Office forecasting it to be warm and sunny well into next week. I hope some of this finds its way to Scotland when I am trekking across Knoydart next week.

[Thundery wintry showers]

It was rather cloudy in Lincoln until mid-afternoon but the sun has since broken through.  Often at this time of year a "cloudy" high will mutate into a "sunny" one unless we get a steady input of moist air and cloud cover into the high pressure (e.g. the late August 2008 anticyclonic spell was cloudy because we were under a constant tropical maritime westerly flow).  It's currently looking like it will be cloudy for many again tomorrow, but mainly sunny over the Bank Holiday weekend with the high being positioned over the country.

[Fourty Point Three Degrees]

Early summer warm spells like the one coming up are always very bad curses for the upcoming season so don't be fooled by it. Bear in mind that 2012, 2016 and 2017 had similar spells in the late spring/early summer period that lead to very poor Junes and a rubbish summer overall.  

[NEVES SCREAMER]

I shouldn't moan after the recent festering heap of poo. But I am going to have a bit of one. Because Saturday is down as a day of thick cloud according to the met office and a 'real feel' temperature of 15c in Dudley. I'm not happy. Sunday looks better but Monday afternoon the cloud roles in again. And of course the real brilliant weather comes slap bang in the middle of next week when I am stuck in the bleedin office! And no doubt it will all go pear shaped again just in time for the following weekend. Moan over.

[SummerShower]

5 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

Sod off cloud! Can't we just have blue sky with nothing in it but the sun?!

Yes, infill cumulus that flattens and hides the sun is the worst!   Certainly taking today though given the crudfest we have had, and should be clear skies from Sunday onwards

Edited May 27, 2021 by SummerShower

[SummerShower]

30 minutes ago, 38.7°C said:

Early summer warm spells like the one coming up are always very bad curses for the upcoming season so don't be fooled by it. Bear in mind that 2012, 2016 and 2017 had similar spells in the late spring/early summer period that lead to very poor Junes and a rubbish summer overall.  

Yeah there is definitely a pattern there.. last year was similar, 2008 (after the bank holiday), and 2001 are other examples.  2003 is the only year that bucks the trend here

[Thundery wintry showers]

My mind went back to 1947 which had an exceptional heatwave at the start of June, and June and July 1947 were warm but rather changeable, and then August 1947 was pretty similar to August 1995.  I think 1996 had a brief warm spell at the end of May and a short hot spell around 5-7 June, and that summer was decent enough.  I can't think of many other counterexamples though.  2018 was pretty warm around late May/early June but May 2018 had been one of the warmest and sunniest Mays on record.

[Arctic Hare]

1 hour ago, NEVES SCREAMER said:

I shouldn't moan after the recent festering heap of poo. But I am going to have a bit of one. Because Saturday is down as a day of thick cloud according to the met office and a 'real feel' temperature of 15c in Dudley. I'm not happy. Sunday looks better but Monday afternoon the cloud roles in again. And of course the real brilliant weather comes slap bang in the middle of next week when I am stuck in the bleedin office! And no doubt it will all go pear shaped again just in time for the following weekend. Moan over.

Yeah, not a million miles from you in N Worcs and I'm a bit irritated about Saturday's likely cloudfest too. Still far better than the damp dross of recent weeks obviously, but I'd have loved a day out in the sun somewhere. I can't go very far on Sunday because of limited train services, and I'm busy on the Monday.

Had my first 20 °C in nearly 2 months today! 20.8 °C max this afternoon. Still a degree or so short of the 31 March high, so it's touch and go whether Sunday or Monday will stop me recording a spring high in March this year.

[Frigid]

Anyone seeing a slight resemblance of this month with May 1996. Very cool throughout with a warm up in the final days. June '96 also had a pretty good heatwave around the 5th and looking at the models, same could happed this year.

[Scorcher]

2 hours ago, 38.7°C said:

Early summer warm spells like the one coming up are always very bad curses for the upcoming season so don't be fooled by it. Bear in mind that 2012, 2016 and 2017 had similar spells in the late spring/early summer period that lead to very poor Junes and a rubbish summer overall.  

2003 had a warm end of May/start of June- what a terrible summer that turned out to be! 2006 was also very warm after the first week of June.

Pattern matching is futile- no two years are ever the same. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes, somehow I forgot that warm spell at the end of the otherwise very westerly-dominated May of 2003.  Indeed, I see broad similarities between the summer of 2003 and the aforementioned 1947 - warm changeable June & July, warm anticyclonic August.

[Nick L]

I'm so used to having to wear a coat that I wore it without thinking on the way to my night shift this evening - was far too warm! Absolutely lovely evening.

[al78]

40 minutes ago, Scorcher said:

2003 had a warm end of May/start of June- what a terrible summer that turned out to be! 2006 was also very warm after the first week of June.

Pattern matching is futile- no two years are ever the same. 

I agree re pattern matching on a handful of years but was the 2003 summer really that special outside the (back then) record breaking temperature in August? I can't remember anything about that summer other than the August heatwave.

[Scorcher]

6 minutes ago, al78 said:

I agree re pattern matching on a handful of years but was the 2003 summer really that special outside the (back then) record breaking temperature in August? I can't remember anything about that summer other than the August heatwave.

June had a CET of 16.1C- warmest since 1976 and equal with 2018. The June-July combination was very warm as well as the hot August.

[al78]

1 hour ago, Scorcher said:

June had a CET of 16.1C- warmest since 1976 and equal with 2018. The June-July combination was very warm as well as the hot August.

OK thanks, strange it doesn't stick in my mind. It was nearly 20 years ago and there have been many notable weather events since then.

[thestixx]

1 hour ago, al78 said:

I agree re pattern matching on a handful of years but was the 2003 summer really that special outside the (back then) record breaking temperature in August? I can't remember anything about that summer other than the August heatwave.

2003 was the year I really got fascinated by weather watching. High pressure was omnipresent over and around the UK for months. I remember in August it parked to the west of Ireland for the month just close enough to keep any toppling lows at bay. The summer wasn't exceptional for heat, but was very dry and settled. 

 

[Fourty Point Three Degrees]

2 hours ago, Scorcher said:

2003 had a warm end of May/start of June- what a terrible summer that turned out to be! 2006 was also very warm after the first week of June.

Pattern matching is futile- no two years are ever the same. 

Weren't those years drought years and following on from dry winters?