Summer 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter

[SummerShower]

Not sure if I'm missing anything but the outlook for the next 2 weeks doesn't look that bad.. not a classic by any means.  There will be showers around yes, but also a bit warmer than average?  A surprise, brief plume could spring out of the predicted set up.

Note I am the world's biggest optimist though and im aware this is just a forecast.. but to me doesn't look all doom and gloom (literally)

[summer blizzard]

At least we will have got 4/9 of the summer out of the way without melting or really being threatened.

[Bradley in Kent]

I have seen worse outlooks and the first half of June was reasonable. I am with many though in not helping but feel a tad mugged off when the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing warm weather or thunderstorms. The crud has got to go somewhere and once again it's come here. 

The UK is definitely the least interesting place geography wise. Places which have an even worse climate (Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand) are blessed with rugged landscapes and places which have less features (European plain, Asian Steppe, Midwest) are blessed with proper seasons.

HOWEVER thankfully our lives are more affected by other things like culture, wealth or community. And for those reasons I'll be staying here in the land of year-round mild and damp!

[damianslaw]

I have a few days off next week visiting NW Scotland.. why can't it be this week!...

Edited June 29, 2021 by damianslaw

[East Lancs Rain]

 

 

18 hours ago, Nick L said:

Please tell me this is a case where sarcasm/humour isn't translating well over text!

What a grim day though. Most excitement was some light rain at lunchtime.

Oh... My apologies... Not the first time it’s happened to me either!

3 hours ago, mb018538 said:

Sometimes I can't believe Moscow has an almost identical June and July average max as London. Just seems whenever you look at the forecast in eastern Europe it's either warm or hot, or there's some warm or hot weather in the forecast in the very near future. Back here? 2-3 weeks without anything of note is a guarantee. Can't believe we're going to get towards mid July without 30c being reached!

I wonder does anybody know the last summer when 30°C wasn’t reached in the U.K.? Imagine if that happened this year! That would be noteworthy! The U.K. climate can’t be that bad otherwise we wouldn’t record 30°C every year. Lerwick has never recorded a temperature higher than 23°C! So things could be worse!

2 hours ago, Atmogenic said:

I know this sounds a bit extreme but right now got to be one of the most depressing weather feeling i've had, everywhere except the UK is like

and then there is us with

Literally it makes me so moody because of our location

I know it’s depressing, but I’m sure things will improve sooner or later. At least we won’t get the brutal cold winter that other countries get... Mind you, we'll probably just get six months of wind and rain with flooding instead!

1 hour ago, SummerShower said:

Not sure if I'm missing anything but the outlook for the next 2 weeks doesn't look that bad.. not a classic by any means.  There will be showers around yes, but also a bit warmer than average?  A surprise, brief plume could spring out of the predicted set up.

Note I am the world's biggest optimist though and im aware this is just a forecast.. but to me doesn't look all doom and gloom (literally)

You would have been a good person to have as the person who does the predictions for COVID. You would have done a much better job than the notorious Chris Witty, with his doom mongering predictions that never came to happen.

15 minutes ago, Bradley in Kent said:

I have seen worse outlooks and the first half of June was reasonable. I am with many though in not helping but feel a tad mugged off when the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing warm weather or thunderstorms. The crud has got to go somewhere and once again it's come here. 

The UK is definitely the least interesting place geography wise. Places which have an even worse climate (Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand) are blessed with rugged landscapes and places which have less features (European plain, Asian Steppe, Midwest) are blessed with proper seasons.

HOWEVER thankfully our lives are more affected by other things like culture, wealth or community. And for those reasons I'll be staying here in the land of year-round mild and damp!

I actually think New Zealand has a pretty good climate. Mild winters (good if you hate cold), plenty of sunshine and pleasant summers around 20-24°C. Auckland averages 24°C in summer with plenty of sunshine (2000 hrs a year). Even in the winter they are still in the mid teens. What’s not to like? It’s currently 14°C and mostly sunny in Auckland at the moment, in their “winter” which is better than what some parts of the south are doing at the moment.

 

Auckland - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

New Zealand vs UK Climate – Moving to New Zealand

WWW.ENZ.ORG

 

[kold weather]

3 hours ago, AderynCoch said:

I didn't laugh but believed it had to be wrong. It's got to be the most exceptional heatwave I've ever seen worldwide, even moreso than the Russian heatwave of 2010 (though that one went on for a long time).

Here it's been another sticky night (one local weather station didn't drop below 23C) with 34-35C expected today, but a cool-down is in store for the rest of the week. It's been very dry and the grass has turned yellow in many places.

Its a smashing of the old record for sure.

Perhaps whats even more bonkers is we came mighty close in late June 2019 to also obliterating our record (which did end up getting just broken later that summer). We had a very hot stagnant airmass that came up at peak solar input. We had thickness that would have supported 41-42c as would have the normal lapse rates for the sorts of uppers we saw. The 850hpa profile was 3c higher than anything previously seen! (basically 25c!)

Instead we had 20-25c most of that week because we had a shallow undercut from the ENE/NE in the lowest portion of the atmosphere and a relatively cooler flow from the North Sea.

Had that been angled more to the SE from the get go we'd have no doubt smashed through our old record and gone north of 40c with it. As it happens even with a glancing blow (as the best heat was by that point out to our east) with just 6-12hrs of a SE airflow we still managed 34c!

[East Lancs Rain]

49 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

I have a few days off next week visiting NW Scotland.. why can't it be this week!...

It will probably be back to the usual SE/NW split by then, so expect mid teens, low cloud and drizzle.

 

Stornoway doesn’t look too bad for the next week, mainly sunny and mid teens. 

 

Just a quick question. If the U.K. climate is so bad, then why is everyone dying to get into the U.K.?

Edited June 29, 2021 by East Lancs Rain

[*Stormforce~beka*]

2 hours ago, summer blizzard said:

Did we hit 30C the other week?

 

Nope you imagined it!

[Guest]

Another terrible day, no sun and just a 17c max. Rotten 

[al78]

46 minutes ago, Bradley in Kent said:

The UK is definitely the least interesting place geography wise. Places which have an even worse climate (Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand) are blessed with rugged landscapes and places which have less features (European plain, Asian Steppe, Midwest) are blessed with proper seasons.

Strongly disagree with that statement, and I reckon many geologists would as well. Have you ever been to the Scottish highlands, and especially the remote parts that it is best to wild camping to explore properly? There are some fantastic landscapes in the UK. Height isn't everything when it comes to mountains.

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by al78

[Nick L]

Geography wise the UK is not boring. Climate wise it's as dull as dish water.

[Weather-history]

6 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Geography wise the UK is not boring. Climate wise it's as dull as dish water.

Are we that dull? Take San Francisco for instance?  or the Amazon:- hot humid, afternoon downpour.....

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Weather-history said:

Are we that dull? Take San Francisco for instance?  or the Amazon:- hot humid, afternoon downpour.....

Despite its reputation down town San Francisco at 3,000hrs per year has double the sunshine hrs of the majority of the UK, only the south coast manages more than 50% of San Frans total at a supposed 1,700 hrs per year. 
 

San Francisco - Wikipedia

EN.M.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

[East Lancs Rain]

32 minutes ago, al78 said:

Strongly disagree with that statement, and I reckon many geologists would as well. Have you ever been to the Scottish highlands, and especially the remote parts that it is best to wild camping to explore properly? There are some fantastic landscapes in the UK. Height isn't everything when it comes to mountains.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Weather-history said:

Are we that dull? Take San Francisco for instance?  or the Amazon:- hot humid, afternoon downpour.....

I think people just love to bash the U.K. about everything. Worst weather, worst public transport, worst healthcare, worst benefits system, worst roads, the worst country in the world for everything.

[Weather-history]

2 minutes ago, Alderc said:

Despite its reputation down town San Francisco at 3,000hrs per year has double the sunshine hrs of the majority of the UK, only the south coast manages more than 50% of San Frans total at a supposed 1,700 hrs per year. 
 

San Francisco - Wikipedia

EN.M.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

I'm not sure if I misunderstood Nick but I was assuming he was meaning we have a boring climate.   ? 

 

[Wynn D Woo]

1 hour ago, Bradley in Kent said:

I have seen worse outlooks and the first half of June was reasonable. I am with many though in not helping but feel a tad mugged off when the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing warm weather or thunderstorms. The crud has got to go somewhere and once again it's come here. 

The UK is definitely the least interesting place geography wise. Places which have an even worse climate (Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand) are blessed with rugged landscapes and places which have less features (European plain, Asian Steppe, Midwest) are blessed with proper seasons.

HOWEVER thankfully our lives are more affected by other things like culture, wealth or community. And for those reasons I'll be staying here in the land of year-round mild and damp!

I'd recommend travelling outside of Kent, the UK has some fantastic landscapes especially the further West and North you head.

Also I think New Zealand has got a pretty decent climate, certainly compared to here...

 

Going back to today, the sun is breaking through finally after some particularly gloomy days

[Weather-history]

8 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

 

I think people just love to bash the U.K. about everything. Worst weather, worst public transport, worst healthcare, worst benefits system, worst roads, the worst country in the world for everything.

I think we're lucky in some respects.

We don't suffer from devastating earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, we are not under threat of category 5 hurricanes,  destructive tornadoes are rare, baseball hail.

Our climate is moderate, bad news if you are an extreme weather nut, but there is  enough variety just to keep the interest going. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Weather-history

[East Lancs Rain]

1 minute ago, Weather-history said:

I think we're lucky in some respects.

We don't suffer from devastating earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, we are not under threat of category 5 hurricanes,  destructive tornadoes are rare, baseball hail.

Our climate is moderate, bad news if an extreme weather nut, but there is  enough variety just to keep the interest going. 

There certainly is. Otherwise this weather forum wouldn’t be so popular!

[East Lancs Rain]

19 minutes ago, Alderc said:

Despite its reputation down town San Francisco at 3,000hrs per year has double the sunshine hrs of the majority of the UK, only the south coast manages more than 50% of San Frans total at a supposed 1,700 hrs per year. 
 

San Francisco - Wikipedia

EN.M.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

San Francisco is one of my favourite climates. I get the impression that a lot of the residents hate it though. I don’t know why. Mild year round, loads of sunshine, bone dry summers. You get to experience the Californian sunshine without frying like a crisp. what’s not to like?

 

Interesting climate. Warmer in October than it is in July!

Edited June 29, 2021 by East Lancs Rain

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes, on balance I'd probably find the climate of many parts of New Zealand more interesting than anywhere in the UK.  However, I'd also say that from my POV, the parts of the world that have more interesting climates are probably somewhat outnumbered by the parts that don't.  In particular, there are many parts of the world that aren't capable of getting anywhere near the range of weather types and regimes that we get.

After moving to Lincoln I found plenty of interest in the weather from early April through to mid-June.  It's just the second half of June that has dragged, having a lot of cloud and just the odd bit of sun and the odd bit of rain.  I did find Exeter's climate comparatively boring relative to eastern England (although it did have its moments), indicating that there is also regional variation in the UK.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Thundery wintry showers

[Freeze]

2 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

San Francisco is one of my favourite climates. I get the impression that a lot of the residents hate it though. I don’t know why. Mild year round, loads of sunshine, bone dry summers. You get to experience the Californian sunshine without frying like a crisp. what’s not to like?

If the weather did the same thing 95% of the year, there wouldn't really be much to talk about would there...

[mb018538]

1 hour ago, East Lancs Rain said:

 

 

Oh... My apologies... Not the first time it’s happened to me either!

I wonder does anybody know the last summer when 30°C wasn’t reached in the U.K.? Imagine if that happened this year! That would be noteworthy! The U.K. climate can’t be that bad otherwise we wouldn’t record 30°C every year. Lerwick has never recorded a temperature higher than 23°C! So things could be worse!

I know it’s depressing, but I’m sure things will improve sooner or later. At least we won’t get the brutal cold winter that other countries get... Mind you, we'll probably just get six months of wind and rain with flooding instead!

You would have been a good person to have as the person who does the predictions for COVID. You would have done a much better job than the notorious Chris Witty, with his doom mongering predictions that never came to happen.

I actually think New Zealand has a pretty good climate. Mild winters (good if you hate cold), plenty of sunshine and pleasant summers around 20-24°C. Auckland averages 24°C in summer with plenty of sunshine (2000 hrs a year). Even in the winter they are still in the mid teens. What’s not to like? It’s currently 14°C and mostly sunny in Auckland at the moment, in their “winter” which is better than what some parts of the south are doing at the moment.

 

Auckland - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

New Zealand vs UK Climate – Moving to New Zealand

WWW.ENZ.ORG

 

Can’t really compare to Auckland though….it’s at 36S. For comparison, 36N is North Africa/Southern California, so it’s waaaaay close to the equator than we are!

[Thundery wintry showers]

I forgot to mention that even in the case of New Zealand there are exceptions.  I could imagine the climate of Christchurch (near the east coast of the South Island) getting quite samey at times from what I've seen and heard, which might well more than offset the advantage of getting around 2000 hours of sunshine per year.  It's hard to gauge how I would think of the climate of Auckland or Wellington, as they are wetter and somewhat sunnier than most of the UK, indicating less periods of non-descript grey drizzly weather, and certainly look like being strongly to my taste in the summer, but I might well miss the lack of frost and snow in the winter, as their winters are very mild. 

Somewhere like Nelson might be pretty hard for anywhere in the UK to beat, though, as there they get plenty of temperature variation, over 2400 hours of sunshine and yet still get over 900mm of rain per year.

Nelson, New Zealand - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Thundery wintry showers

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Freeze said:

If the weather did the same thing 95% of the year, there wouldn't really be much to talk about would there...

Wouldn’t need to talk about it, you would be too busy playing golf, cycling, hiking etc without the constant fear of everytime you plan something it’ll rain….

[East Lancs Rain]

3 minutes ago, mb018538 said:

Can’t really compare to Auckland though….it’s at 36S. For comparison, 36N is North Africa/Southern California, so it’s waaaaay close to the equator than we are!

For some reason I always got the impression that they weren’t that far away from Antarctica! Probably because of looking at the world maps, they are perched in the bottom right hand corner with only sea between them and Antarctica.