Spring 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter.

[MP-R]

4 hours ago, SummerShower said:

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

Although the late May warm spell in 2003 was very brief and quickly morphed into a warmish cyclonic pattern in early June, so not quite the same.

[East Lancs Rain]

5 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.  

June 2017 was actually a good month down in the south and June 2016 was warm despite being wet.

[Frigid]

3 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. 

Was born in Summer 2003 and the sole reason why the weather got me fascinated as a kid. I'd assume it was lovely with that hot temp record of 38.5C in August. Though I'd much prefer the typical British summer opposed to stifling heat. 

[robert]

Some photos from my trek Thursday, the day before did a 18 mile trek from Stornaway back to my cottage next to the black house village Garenin Isle of Lewis. 
 

these are from Dalmore Beach on my way back home. 

Also added some videos and pictures of red deer on my 18 mile trek the day before Wednesday.

Edited May 28, 2021 by robert

[markyo]

10 hours ago, Scorcher said:

2003 had a warm end of May/start of June- what a terrible summer that turned out to be!

To true, one of the deadliest summers in modern times, that is something we do not need at the present!

[Sunny76]

3 hours ago, markyo said:

To true, one of the deadliest summers in modern times, that is something we do not need at the present!

I’ll gladly take a summer 2003, after the dire cold of this spring, and damp cool conditions during May.

A month or so of 25c plus will suit me just fine. 

[al78]

14 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

I’ll gladly take a summer 2003, after the dire cold of this spring, and damp cool conditions during May.

A month or so of 25c plus will suit me just fine. 

I'd rather do without extremes full stop, at the hot end or the cool and wet end.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I spent summer 2003 in Tyneside and remember June 2003 being quite unusual in that it was changeable but very warm and sunshine was generally above average except in western Scotland.  It particularly stood out warmth and sunshine wise after a run of rather cool cloudy Junes.  I remember it not feeling like a particularly wet month either because although rainfall was above normal, a lot of it fell in a few thundery downpours (8th, 17th and 22nd - 2003 was the one year when I had thunderstorms on my birthday on 22 June).  In contrast to the warmth of August 2003, the warmth of June 2003 was consistent rather than outstanding.  July 2003 had rather less sunshine, near to slightly above average in the east and below in the west. 

After the heatwave early in the month, August 2003 had a SW-NE split with the NE continuing sunny and dry, but cloudier towards the SW, I recall Shropshire in particular being relatively cloudy.  It didn't compare to the Augusts of 1947, 1976 and 1995 sunshine wise, but due to the lack of other outstandingly sunny Augusts, it just beat 1975, 1933, 1989 and 1983 as the 4th sunniest August on record for the UK as a whole.

There was considerable regional variation here, but in Tyneside the summer also sticks out for some spectacular thunderstorms, particularly on 17 and 22 June and on 10 August (the day that the SE had record breaking temperatures).

Edited May 28, 2021 by Thundery wintry showers

[stainesbloke]

5 hours ago, markyo said:

To true, one of the deadliest summers in modern times, that is something we do not need at the present!

It’s rather unlikely to happen, this is the UK and not Spain. 38°C isn’t much fun, granted but I’m hoping for a nice, warm (not boiling) and sunnier than average season, with some decent thundery outbreaks. Spring here has been hideous, not even usable a lot of the time. The one positive is everything is lovely and green.

Edited May 28, 2021 by stainesbloke

[Mapantz]

Despite the forecasts, it has ended up as the warmest day of the year here. 19.4°C and an added bonus of sunshine.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Mapantz said:

Despite the forecasts, it has ended up as the warmest day of the year here. 19.4°C and an added bonus of sunshine.

Was about to post something similar, second warmest day and a much brighter afternoon than I expected. 

[markyo]

3 hours ago, stainesbloke said:

 this is the UK and not Spain. 38°C isn’t much fun, granted but I’m hoping for a nice, warm (not boiling) and sunnier than average season, with some decent thundery outbreaks

Couldn't agree more, now is not the time for a 2003 extreme and the issues and misery it caused.

[Relativistic]

The haar's rolled in here. First time this year.

[Arctic Hare]

A bit of a disappointment here after yesterday. Not terrible, but mostly cloudy, not that warm (17.8 °C) and with annoying very light rain for several hours in the afternoon. Tomorrow looks a bit better, Sun/Mon look a lot better. Then? Well... I'll say nothing here; from 1st June onwards my vague thoughts are for the summer thread.

[The real Lomond snowstorm]

On 27/05/2021 at 16:54, al78 said:

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.

I backpacked across Knoydart in the last week of May in 1991 (and did the munros etc. ) and it was so hot down in the glens where the heat was concentrated, that I got mild heatstroke one day. It is forecast to be fairly warm next week.

And other parallels with this current weather pattern was that it was cool and wet up until the start of my holiday

I would advise that you camp up high as the midgies were fairly ferocious when we camped on the beach one night.

It is a lovely place in good weather and pretty rough in bad weather and you really are between Loch Hourn (heaven) and Loch Nevis (hell) . 

 

[East Lancs Rain]

15 hours ago, markyo said:

To true, one of the deadliest summers in modern times, that is something we do not need at the present!

 You and your allergies to heat! Bit overdramatic calling it the deadly summer lol.

[East Lancs Rain]

8 hours ago, Mapantz said:

Despite the forecasts, it has ended up as the warmest day of the year here. 19.4°C and an added bonus of sunshine.

Says it all. To get to the end of May and not even reach 20°C in the south is pretty pathetic to be honest.

[East Lancs Rain]

3 hours ago, Arctic Hare said:

A bit of a disappointment here after yesterday. Not terrible, but mostly cloudy, not that warm (17.8 °C) and with annoying very light rain for several hours in the afternoon. Tomorrow looks a bit better, Sun/Mon look a lot better. Then? Well... I'll say nothing here; from 1st June onwards my vague thoughts are for the summer thread.

 Yup, been very similar here really. Overcast with a bit of rain during the afternoon but feeling warm and a bit humid which is more than what can be said for the rest of this month. 

[East Lancs Rain]

6 hours ago, markyo said:

Couldn't agree more, now is not the time for a 2003 extreme and the issues and misery it caused.

 Well we had the hottest day on record on 25th July 2019 and it only caused minor issues. We also had a similar very hot spell in early August last year. A good summer will cheer everyone up post lockdown. 

[East Lancs Rain]

Well, that is one good thing about all this cold wet weather that we've been having...

 

The usual suspects on here won't be able to guilt trip us about wanting a warm and dry summer this year in case of drought...

[Mapantz]

36 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

Says it all. To get to the end of May and not even reach 20°C in the south is pretty pathetic to be honest.

Well, to be honest, it took until the 22nd May 2012, 31st May 2013 and 22nd of May, 2017 to reach 20°C  here. Whilst not common, it's not highly unusual here either.

[markyo]

8 hours ago, East Lancs Rain said:

 You and your allergies to heat! Bit overdramatic calling it the deadly summer lol.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | French heat toll almost 15,000

NEWS.BBC.CO.UK

 

[Methuselah]

I don't mind if the summer is either very warm, or not, so long as it's consistent and nae too wet & dull; it's those sudden-onset plumes that get to me. Though the thunderstorms they often bring do make up for it!

[Guest]

ah smells like summer outside!! A really quite pleasant morning outside despite the cloud. Certainly the warmest it’s been at this time all year.

[SummerShower]

Looking forward to my 2hour Sunday run tomorrow.  For the first time in ages it should be in bright sunshine (without the frosts of april).  The tunes on the playlist sound so much better when it's like that!