Summer 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter

[I remember Atlantic 252]

8 minutes ago, 38.7°C said:

Personally Ive now written off the rest of summer.  Everything is pointing to a poor August and If any of the latest charts verify (99% chance likely they will) its not going to be looking good for Southern England. So disapointing that we can't even maintain a decent ridge when one builds, look how strong was the ridge was we had two weeks ago and look how quickly it got blown away. The weather gods must hate us.  

Think so for northern areas, southern areas may see the odd 25+ day in any southerlies ahead of the next system, if angled right

[Frost HoIIow]

12 minutes ago, 38.7°C said:

Personally Ive now written off the rest of summer.  Everything is pointing to a poor August and If any of the latest charts verify (99% chance likely they will) its not going to be looking good for Southern England. So disapointing that we can't even maintain a decent ridge when one builds, look how strong was the ridge was we had two weeks ago and look how quickly it got blown away. The weather gods must hate us.  

Yeah August is rarely settled here and the hurricane season is now upon us so no doubt will throw a spanner in the Atlantic. But they can sometimes drag up warm air from the south depending on their track. Hurricane Ophelia in October 2017 gave us that "red sun" and warm temps.

[Eugene]

Sunny speIls and temps around 20C, how will i cope.

[MP-R]

Just now, Frost HoIIow said:

Yeah August is rarely settled here and the hurricane season is now upon us so no doubt will throw a spanner in the Atlantic. But they can sometimes drag up warm air from the south depending on their track. Hurricane Ophelia in October 2017 gave us that "red sun" and warm temps.

It was also a hurricane that brought about a pattern change in September 2014. Thank goodness it did or it probably would've continued in the same manner as the August, whose pattern change was also partly brought about by Hurricane Bertha, that eventually reached our shores.

The models however just paint a standard 'descending into La Nina' picture. If we could get a positively aligned Atlantic, we'd get a lot more warmer air up over the UK, instead of secondary lows spawning in the flow just in time to swamp the UK. It would also help ridging, which has been perpetually shown to be a higher possibility into the second third of August. Time will tell.

[davehsug]

21 hours ago, stainesbloke said:

Levels of selfishness generally go up with hot weather, agree with you there. Sadly, a lot of people couldn’t give a toss about anyone but themselves, but that’s modern Britain. The long nights are great up to New Year, I enjoy Christmas lights especially but by the middle of January it starts to get really old

I hate the realisation that hits me, when it's dark, and you close the curtains at 4.30, and think that it's going to be dark for the next 16 hours. Always a horrible thought.

[markyo]

14 minutes ago, davehsug said:

I hate the realisation that hits me, when it's dark, and you close the curtains at 4.30, and think that it's going to be dark for the next 16 hours. Always a horrible thought.

For me that is the best part of Winter by far. Fire lit, curtains closed, no flies or open windows, a comfortable  temp in the bedroom, love love it. But each to their own. I spend far more time outside in the Winter, must be by a factor of 4 or 5 times. Feel so much more healthy and settled, sleep better, eat less, exercise more. Summer is the opposite. 

[summer blizzard]

Must say as somebody who is happy for summer to end after June the latest output is brilliant. Just a shame that we can’t maintain this lack of pending warmth through September. The long road to winter May have begun.

[78/79]

Bit of a strange question, but does anyone suffer with sinus headaches when the air pressure drops?.  I do , these last few days have played havoc with me.

 

[Daniel*]

The totals are really adding up!! Very wet year while April only had 1.9mm.

 

[Mapantz]

July is a soaker for here too. 140.2mm. It's close to being in my top 10 wettest months.

Average is 47.2mm.

[NEVES SCREAMER]

2 hours ago, summer blizzard said:

Must say as somebody who is happy for summer to end after June the latest output is brilliant. Just a shame that we can’t maintain this lack of pending warmth through September. The long road to winter May have begun.

And you managed to endure the one week of summer we actually got this year.

[al78]

43 minutes ago, NEVES SCREAMER said:

And you managed to endure the one week of summer we actually got this year.

I assume you mean the warm weather last week but wasn't the first half of June pretty decent? I recall hardly any rain fell in the SE in those first two weeks then some places got 200% of the June average in the second half of the month. I admit I don't know how the Midlands faired in June.

[summer blizzard]

6 minutes ago, al78 said:

I assume you mean the warm weather last week but wasn't the first half of June pretty decent? I recall hardly any rain fell in the SE in those first two weeks then some places got 200% of the June average in the second half of the month. I admit I don't know how the Midlands faired in June.

June was dry, warm, sunny but unexceptional. I’m not sure we exceeded 25C for example and the nights were very warm early in the month.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes, I thought the first half of June was pretty good (not necessarily near the south coast of England, but pretty much everywhere else).  It's been an odd summer so far with its north-south split despite the lack of a pronounced southerly tracking jet stream (wet and dull in the SE, dry and sunny in the NW).

July has been a strange one here in Lincoln, often dull early and late in the month with that persistently hot sunny week thrown in.  Waddington is reporting below average sunshine in spite of that very sunny week.  However I can't moan too much with having had 6 days with thunder this month.

Edited July 29, 2021 by Thundery wintry showers

[Cheshire Freeze]

On 29/07/2021 at 01:23, Thundery wintry showers said:

 

July has been a strange one here in Lincoln, often dull early and late in the month with that persistently hot sunny week thrown in.  Waddington is reporting below average sunshine in spite of that very sunny week.  However I can't moan too much with having had 6 days with thunder this month.

Back at the end of May I used the term ‘wax and wane’ to describe what I thought we’d get. I think the term pretty much sums up the summer thus far. 
 

It has panned out exactly as I thought, a bit of a battle between the underlying base state (ENSO neutral) and the fact it’s a low solar summer. The upshot being ENSO neutral tends to support repeated Azores HP ridging across the UK (think 2018) whilst the low solar state promotes ridging to our NW (Griceland area) with a mean UK trough. Thus, the SE has been more prone to being closer to troughing when it has occurred. 
 

Edited July 29, 2021 by CreweCold

[weatherguru14]

Feels coldish this morning.. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by weatherguru14

[Sunny76]

18 hours ago, al78 said:

We definitely have missed out on the happy medium in the SE this year, yes it has happened in other years but that is irrelevant, when it is either blazing hot or soaking wet like this summer so far it is a nuisance. Summer 2018 was exceptional for warmth and lack of rain, but I don't remember being uncomfortable that often, it was a nuisance purely for the absence of rain and having to pour a hundred litres of water on my allotment crops every week because even a cubic meter of stored rainwater was insufficient to get through the prolonged dry spell. People complain about the heat because it is uncomfortable, and when it arrives in the UK it is impossible to get relief from it. At least in the cooler/cold times of year you can put the heating on if you are too cold, but UK properties do not have air conditioning as standard, so if you can't sleep because it is 28C at midnight in your bedroom, you are stuck, and a poor nights sleep has consequences for the following day, and maybe further days if you wrack up a significant sleep debt. Uncomfortable conditions are uncomfortable conditions, it is irrelevant how long they last, people are going to complain about it. That is before I point out that some people have medical conditions which make them at elevated risk from potentially dangerous heat related health problems. The current weather in Horsham of sunshine and showers, with temperatures in the low 20's is much more suitable for physical exhertion outdoors.

The other nuisance of heatweaves in the UK is that if it is too hot to be able to enjoy the outdoors, it is effectively a waste of a sunny summer day, which are on average at a premium.

Heatwaves rarely last that long in this country, but I take your point.

I will admit I find it difficult to sleep most years when the daytime temp has exceeded 28c, and the nights are still very warm.

[Sunny76]

Fresh feel today and I could see my breath. The storms and rained have cleared away that humidity and those warm nights.

Still hoping for one more hot spell before September.

[Number 23]

Summer has been pretty dire down here overall, and it does feel like we're going to crap out sadly, made worse because it's on the heels of a terrible Spring.

Apart from a few stifling days here and there, it's been very hard to get sustained periods of pleasant and settled weather, much the same as Spring.

I dread losing the long days normally, but the prospect of Autumnal gloom feels even less inviting this year. Roll on April 2022 and we'll have another go eh?! 

 

[Sunny76]

11 hours ago, markyo said:

For me that is the best part of Winter by far. Fire lit, curtains closed, no flies or open windows, a comfortable  temp in the bedroom, love love it. But each to their own. I spend far more time outside in the Winter, must be by a factor of 4 or 5 times. Feel so much more healthy and settled, sleep better, eat less, exercise more. Summer is the opposite. 

Eat less in winter?

Most people eat more food during the colder months of the year.

 

[Sunny76]

36 minutes ago, Number 23 said:

Summer has been pretty dire down here overall, and it does feel like we're going to crap out sadly, made worse because it's on the heels of a terrible Spring.

Apart from a few stifling days here and there, it's been very hard to get sustained periods of pleasant and settled weather, much the same as Spring.

I dread losing the long days normally, but the prospect of Autumnal gloom feels even less inviting this year. Roll on April 2022 and we'll have another go eh?! 

 

I had a feeling this summer would be a poor one, following on from the cold winter and chilly spring, although the opposite happened in 2013.

Still think we will have another 2 weeks of warm to hot weather between now and mid September, with a thunderstorm thrown in.

Once we reach the late august bank holiday, that’s when I feel the autumn vibe is arriving, and the heat of summer is fading. Even if it’s hot then, the nights start to draw in quite noticeably by then, and mornings start to become slightly cooler.

 

Until then, I’m still in summer mode, even if the weather is rubbish. Heading off to Latvia for 10 days at the weekend, so will be glad if the change of scene, and leave this awful London weather behind me.

[markyo]

3 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Eat less in winter?

Most people eat more food during the colder months of the year.

 

I'm not stuck inside as much in the Winter, hence less chance to snack!

[Azazel]

Worst spring in my lifetime followed by a 3/10 summer. Lovely stuff.

Gearing up now for the 9 month autumn. Roll on May.

[Sunny76]

18 minutes ago, Azazel said:

Worst spring in my lifetime followed by a 3/10 summer. Lovely stuff.

Gearing up now for the 9 month autumn. Roll on May.

Yes, its been vile this year for nice sunny and warm weather.

Far too many cloudy days, and loads of damp weather. It's been a crap summer, following a very miserable May.  The only plus side, was we had two and a half sunny warm weeks from the last few days of May until mid June, so at least we were able to enjoy some of those long sunny days, and long sunny evenings. But that being said, its been in short supply this time round.

[Sunny76]

46 minutes ago, markyo said:

I'm not stuck inside as much in the Winter, hence less chance to snack!

I go out less during the November to Late February period. Still enjoy the walks and stuff, but tend to spend every other weekend indoors and just exercise inside when the weather is damp and cool.