kold weather

Yeah the top layer certainly has dried out pretty quickly, I suppose we are near peak sunshine length now and whilst not always that warm, it has been more or less dry for the last 15-20 days now so things will dry out pretty readily at the surface. We really do seem to be stuck in an all or nothing type pattern in the last 18 months or so, with long periods of very wet weather, followed by 30-50 day bursts of basically nothing at all on the rain front. Starting to look like this will be another such lengthy dry period.

I think I go along with the consensus for most in the SE, its been a poor spring but the last 10-14 days have probably saved it from being really dreadful. If I was to describe it in one word, it was 'meh'. Nothing much of note happened at all and will be forgotten very rapidly. At least there was some snow, otherwise...

Looking at the data, 2023 was indeed a very good month down there. Temperatures about the same as 2018 but sunnier in 2023. With that being said, 2020 is in a league of its own for sunshine, the mean being a crazy 50hrs more in 2020, similar temperaturs and drier again than 2023. May 2020 really is the gold standard when it comes to May. The fact there hasn't been a sunnier June shows how exceptional that month was. With that being said, of to a strong start for June down there as well.

Its been a very good spell for you guys in the SW. To be fair locally even here its not been bad despite the early morning cloud. I can see those in the eastern half of the SE being thoroughly bored mind you with cloudy mornings with cloud taking till 12-1pm to break up. Whilst the mean temperatures have been broadly similar in the SE as they are in the SW this May, I'm willing to bet there is a huge difference in terms of the cumulative temperatures each day (IE, the SE stuck at 9-12c in the morning whilst SW at 14-18c at the same timeframe). much shorter period of useable weather the further east you go. One thing that has been true across the board though is this is starting to become yet another quite notable dry spell, many places now upto 15-20 days of no rainfall, and no real signs of change for most in the next 7-10 days either... What exams are you taking? I took my GCSE during the early summer of 2006 which was awesome, then July 06 ended up being one of the most impressive months ever recorded. Probably the greatest example of a front loaded summer you'll see, along with perhaps 18.

Quite a few places now into meterological drought now, I'd imagine northern parts may well be at drought risk if the pattern continues, especially as the weather has been far drier up there this spring compared to further south. Been dry down here as well but luckily the last 12 months are in decent surplus here despite last summers dryness, so we should ride this summer out even if we have no rain again for a 40 day period like last summer Jan-Feb period this year. With that being said the top layers of soil have really dried out well and water levels in the nearby waters have certainly dropped, despite the lack of heat. Basically 0 chance it gets as low as last year mind you down here.

Its been such an odd spring down here in the SE, it really does feel like we've been constantly behind the curve of the seasons. The actual temperatures upto maybe 10 days were insanely limited range, nothing really outside of a range of 13-17c for the thick end of 2 months combined with often cloudy and sometimes very wet weather made it a legitimately dreadful feeling spring down here, even if by metrics it ended up near average overall down here. The last 10 days hyave been a shift up. The cloud is still an issue, especially early on but on average it is breaking up on most days and the actual temperatures are ok, just a little above normal. The only downside is that the wind still has a bit of a chill to it down here. I'd imagine this May has actually been decent for those in more western areas, especially the 2nd half of the month. Locally I've been lucky more than once being just SW enough for the cloud cover to break up pretty rapidly, though only 2 days has it been sunny from the get go.

Very good weather today, its almost perfect during the daytime. The cloud cover AM still an issue for the SE but it's been clearing reasonably quickly recently which is ok. May won't be a classic down here, the first half was too poor for that, but equally its easily the best spring month relative to the averages down here and we are at the time of year where even average feels decent enough if the wind is slack enough. I just hope this isn't our equivalent of May 2012...

Luckily the GFS doesn't appear to have much support...and the last time it tried this we saw it be about 6-8c too low at a similar timeframe... Anyway May has been far better in the last 10 days, not anything amazing, especially in the SE but no denying an improvement compared to what came before.hopefully the ECM is correct and we carry on seeing an improvement.

We've been reasonably cloudy most afternoons recently here. Mond you the sunshine levels early/late has been good and has made that more tolerable. I suspect that trend will continue, with the odd really good day spread in with cloudier spells. Further west looks set mind you. @SunSeanwe down here in the SE are running around 80% of normal for 2023 so far. It's been pretty poor on that front,even if it has definitely improved lately compared to the spring so far.

Looks like May might finally deliver at least for the south, the high resolution models look decent on su8nshine levels and most of the models responding getting temperatures between 19-21c. That isn't much above average but it will feel decent.

Plenty of good sunshine today, a touch fresh but its far better than the dullfest seen before this weekend. Worth noting that 22c was breached on Saturday, making a super late first 22c for the UK. Still at least we weren't waiting as long as in 83...

Breached 20c here, first day to do so this year. Feels pretty late though I've not no evidence to prove it. Either way a lovely day out there

I think a 5/10 maybe a little on the harsh side, I think given its quite likely we will see 19-21c across the region (2-4c above normal even in the warmest climate spots) and pretty decent sunshine levels I think a 6, maybe 7 seems fairer, imo.

I suspect London will see 21c today, we are actually running a little ahead of schedule vs most models, the closest in terms of cloud cover is Icon and that gets to 20-21c in London today. Not to be praising it too highly, but at least this a legitimate May day weather wise versus most of the last 30 days offerings.

Agreed, we can get caught up with stats and ignore the good weather we've bemoaning about happening right in front of us. The morning has been more than decent now the cloud has broken up, and I bet we see fairly widespread 19-21. Yes that is only modestly above normal but in May with decent sunshine it will feel more than good enough away from the coasts.

Very good sunshine now here, cleared about 90 minutes earlier than yesterday. Should be a pleasant day now, with some showers a risk down the line. Most places should be seeing sunshine within the hour.

The key difference from yesterday is a wind shift between 925-850hpa. Its not just internal cloud breakup like yesterday as moisture levels drop higher up but the whole lot should be shifting slowly eastwards from now on. I'm pretty confident more will see sunshine in areas its been badly lacking so far. still cloudy here mind you but lots of clerance just west of here.

It's actually breaking up quite well close to London, I suspect there will be considerable sun by midday. Admittedly even today will end up only a little above average on most metrics..

Yes and the winds at 925 should be starting to shift from a NE/N to a W very soon which should help to clear the clag back towards the north sea, so we aren't just relying on sun strength this time. I suspect it will be a much better afternoon than yesterday for most, especially if you stay clear of any showers that might try and form.

Another very cloudy and cool morning. Models are quite keen on breaking it up but then we see showers developing in the breaks. Of course that depends on the models being correct on the cloud cover, they did a poor job yesterday qfterall. Hopefully they do better today.

Especially the case with such warm ssts pretty much across the Atlantic right now. It does feel very 2021 right now though, even including the large heat dome in W.Canada like summer 21 as well.

Nothing yet on the models to suggest 25c is coming soon. We do seem to be slowly getting more 20c though most are away from places you'd typically associate with warmer weather.

I'm about 40 miles SW of London center and the difference between whats going on rhere and the sunny weather here is quite impressive, not overly warm mind you due to the late start, but reached about 17c which in strong sunshine is more than good enough.

I must be luckier because probably 2/8 cloud, cloud broke up about 12pm and never looked back. Looks like it has proven far more stubborn a little further north and east though. Even Winchester which is further west seems to be unlucky based in reports.

Upto 17c here in some decent sunshine, though only a little above average mind you! I do suspect later this week will be a relative improvement though I bet the clag will still be an issue in the morning. Bit high pressure aloft, temperatures probably near average