LetItSnow!

hillbilly The ultimate poor (modern) summer would be a mix of the three. Imagine a June like 2012, July like 2007 and August like 2008.

WYorksWeather I think there's already been a thread with this concept.

Addicks Fan 1981 I know about the summer of 2007 very well, stats and all, I meant I don't remember it. I was 6 lol.

raz.org.rain I'm not so sure 2019-2021 can be described as a string of overall decent summers though

Summer8906 You're not wrong about that actually. August 1980 is a bit of a prototype modern summer month. Maxima were poor but nights were very mild so the C.E.T. was actually slightly above normal. Very, very dull month. You know it's bad when Lerwick records its dullest August since records began in 1922. A look at the synoptics shows that low pressure often affected the UK but never full on so I'm assuming a lot of trailing weather fronts, cloudy days but warm nights. I'm not a genie or time traveller by the way, thank the Met Office archive!

Summer8906 1935 becomes considerably poorer if you include the extended summer months of May and September though as May 1935 was infamously cold with a snowfall event (uncannily the same would happen 20 years later in May 1955) and September 1935 was exceptionally wet, where as 1934 had a decent-ish May and September (May 1934 was very dry with a decent warm spell but September 1934 apparently was an oddity in that it was generally very dry and sunny in the south/east but extremely wet in Northern Ireland/the north-west).

Summer8906 August 1934 was rather wet and cool whereas summer 1935 had a poor first-half to June and August 1935 was very autumnal from the 22nd onward, but it was generally very warm to hot and sunny with only brief unsettled interludes from the 18th of June to to the 23rd of August. June was spectacularly thundery and the breakdown at the end of August looked very explosive.

cheeky_monkey I hope he has excellent memory.

Peering through the archives, 1935 may apply. Just ignore a ropey first-half to June. I did a thread about it. Three good summers in a row.

damianslaw Spring 2022 was dry. April in particular was very dry. I think down here the second-half of March was mostly rainless and a lot of April had barely any rain, but May was actually rather wet. May 2022 was a strange month in that there was no protracted or notable warmth and it wasn't that sunny but it was consistently mild with mild nights. A flick through the history books do show that while there are some dry springs before bad summers, a lot springs before bad summers do seem to be average to wet. I did find the likes of 1956 and 1974 there though.

Mike Poole The forums will be on overload in five years if that's the case! I can picture it now... 996 mild looking charts and people posting the four that show a beasterly in 12 days time! In all seriousness, I think AI could potentially be a major shift in weather modelling and I can't wait to see the developments in the future. A super smart AI may be able to pick out hard to predict features that currently only pop up at short notice. Also, with a changing atmosphere, AI may have a better tackling at the effects that has.

I don't recall much about summer 2007 but summer 2012 I do have bits and pieces of. I do actually remember the unseasonably cold, dull and wet start. I remember the 28th which I actually remember as a sunny and warm day in the south-east. Most of July is a blur but I remember the 21st really well as there was a local festival we went to and it was a beautiful day but not overly warm. The 29th I remember vividly as it was a very unstable day with thunderstorms moving west to east. There was a major storm that affected parts of NW Kent. I remember driving up the A228 northwards with a very black cloud on the horizon which by the time we got onto the A2 westbound was one of the most menacing cloudscapes I'd ever seen. About two minutes later the heavens opened and the rain was so heavy that the 4 lane motorway grinded to about 5mph. I seem to remember lightning striking somewhere in the distance but my 11 year old memory may be playing tricks on me there. August definitely seemed the best month of summery weather. There was a beautiful spell of weather in the first half. The 9th and the 11th I remember being beautiful sunny days. We got hit with a severe thunderstorm back home on the 13th with torrential rain. I remember the closing days were bright. Early September we took a break to Stratford-upon-Avon which was mostly fair with some bright days interspersed with lots of cloud. On one of the days we visited Warwick which was a short distance away and the town seemed to descend into this thick, gloomy cloud. I also almost got hit by a car! The place left a rather strange impression on us. But I remember a lot of fine, warm weather in the first half before turning very stormy later. The 23rd was absolutely horrendous, torrential rain and localised flooding. We went to Homebase and the sound of the rain on the roof was deafening.

Interesting footage (and very low quality of its time!) of a severe hailstorm in south-west London on July 3rd, 2007.

The summers of 1933 and 1934 get brought up a lot in the history book of fine summers but 1935 wasn't without its moments. July 1935 was a warm month with a C.E.T. of 17.1C and it was very dry with an EWP of 27.2mm as well as being very sunny. It came after an exceptionally thundery June. The first half of June 1935 was cool and unusually cyclonic but flipped to very hot, humid and thundery from the 19th onward with some tropical nights. Very similar month June 2019. Some facts about July 1935. "The weather of the month was distinguished by an almost universal excess of sunshine, a large deficiency of rainfall except at some stations in the west and north of Scotland and an unusual number of warm days, particularly in south and east England. Mean temperature exceeded the average in all districts, the excess varying from 0-5°F. in Scotland, W. to 3.0°F. in England, S.E., and 3-1°F. in the Midlands. The warmest period occurred generally from the 9th to 16th, with its peak around the 13th, but it was also warm from the 22nd or 23rd to the 28th. Temperature, on the 13th, rose to 92°F. at Attenborough, 91°F. at Worcester and 90°F. at Wakefield and Huddersfield. The number of warm days was unusual at some places in south-east and east England; for example, 80°F. was reached or exceeded on 13 days both at Rickmansworth and South Farnborough. The coolest spell was from the 17th to 21st, though the first week was rather cool in some parts, particularly in the west and north. Some low minimum temperatures were recorded on the 30th and 31st: at Rickmansworth, the reading 32°F. on the 31st. is the lowest temperature recorded there in July since records began in 1929. The extreme range for the month in England and Wales, 60°F., is noteworthy. The extremes for the month were: (England and Wales) 92°F. at Attenborough on the 13th, 32°F. at Rickmansworth on the 31st; (Scotland) 84°F. at Liberton on the 13th, 34°F. at Dalwhinnie on the 30th; (Ireland) 81°F. at Newcastle, County Wicklow, on the 13th and 37°F. at Markree Castle on the 11th. The general precipitation of the British Isles expressed as a percentage of the normal for the period 1881-1915 was 41, the values for the constituent countries being England and Wales 30, Scotland 75 and Ireland 36. In Scotland, rainfall exceeded the average in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, at a few places in the West Highlands and also around Aberdeen: elsewhere there was a deficiency, which was usually greatest in eastern and central districts. Less than 20 per cent of the average was registered locally in County Cork and at a large number of stations scattered over England and Wales, while less than 10 per cent was received at some places in England. It was the driest July at numerous stations since records are available (e.g., at Eastbourne since 1887, at Teignmouth since 1871, at Newquay since 1893 and at Holyhead since 1871). In marked contrast was the excess in the Shetland Islands, where Baltasound recorded about 300 per cent of the average. Local thunderstorms were reported at times, notably on the night of the 1st to 2nd, on the 11th, 14th, 18th and 20th. Among the heaviest falls in 24 hours or less may be mentioned: 1st. 83 mm. at Exbury, Hants., 57 mm. at Winchester (nearly all of which fell in 2 hours) and 53 mm. at Southampton, during thunderstorms. 11th. 39 mm. in about 14 hours during a thunderstorm at Long Ashton. 17th. 34 mm. at Bidston, Liverpool, mainly during a thunder- storm early on the 18th. 19th. 44 mm. at Borrowdale. 20th. 109 mm. at Baltasound, 86 mm. at Lerwick and 49 mm. at Deerness. One of the most striking features of the weather of the month was the excessive duration of bright sunshine. For districts 1-10 the percentage of the average amounted to 132. The greatest excess was enjoyed in the eastern and Midland districts of England and southern Scotland. (See Table I). On the south-east and east coasts of England from Eastbourne to Lowestoft, nearly every station registered a daily average of more than 10 hours, while Dover had an average of 10-52 hours. At numerous places in Great Britain, it was the sunniest July since records began, and at Yarmouth it was the sunniest month of any name since records were started in 1908. At many English stations there was not a single sunless day." A month of frequent usuable warmth and buckets of sunshine and some decent heat (33C on the 13th) and very few rain days. I think many would happily take a repeat for July 2024. August 1935 was also decent with the month being mostly warm, dry and sunny up until the 22nd though it did turn very unsettled to end the summer. The first week continues the endless summer sun of July with temperatures peaking at 31C on the 7th, then more unsettled for a time before another heatwave with 32C on the 22nd. Autumnal thereafter. A decent summer with something for everyone. The third one in a row. June 1935 (+0.8C / 144%) / July 1935 (+1.0C / 34%) / August 1935 (+0.9C / 78%)

Don I have a sneaking suspicion it's possible, even if March ends up mild. If we see a potent warm spell in the second half we could come in or above it but a non-descript month as its panning out could mean we do it. If the SSW caused the worst possible outcome for spring lovers and we saw a cold spell or just generally depressed temperatures than just a rather cooler than average March would already be about 2.5C below February. Fascinating.

Metwatch The ultimate troll year really. Imagine the September heatwave occuring in July after the hot June. Would have made 1976 crawl into a hole out of despair. Kind of glad it didn't happen. A 17C June and a possible 20C July is just ridiculous. Then July's deluge coming in September instead. That part would have been believable though. Many a classic hot summer ended with a very wet September (1975, 1976, 1983, 1984, 1994, 1995, uncannily common actually).

There was an unusual run of notably dry Februaries in this time period. February 1929 was a notably dry month with an EWP average of only 31.5mm. It was also a very cold month, part of one of the few genuinely cold winters between 1895 and 1940. It had a C.E.T. of 0.4C. The first eleven days saw high pressure to our east gain a foothold while an increasingly severe cold pool grew over the continent. It wasn't until the 12th when winds veered east and the coldest period of the month began. While we escaped the worst of it, uppers of below -15C were marching in from the east. Your eyes don't decieve you, that is the -25C line to our east! Unsurprisingly for a dry month, the Atlantic never takes hold and we end up with battleground synoptics for the rest of the month, but mostly dry. The Met Office report for February 1929 with all figures and notable weather events (I will be posting these to save time writing): February 1930 would be even dryer with a EWP average of 26.1mm. It was also rather cold with a C.E.T. of 2.5. Unlike the previous year, it came off the back of an extremely wet period. October 1929 through January 1930 was exceptionally wet with November and December in particular being amongst the wettest ever recorded. The winter had also been very mild up to this point (5.8, 5.6), so things changed drastically. A very unsettled start but high pressure built in by the 6th and remained in situ for the rest of the month. Unlike 1929 there were no great cold pools, just one big frosty high. The Met Office report for February 1930: February 1931 would prove to be rather wet but the next one was the driest of the run and is one of the driest months ever recorded. February 1932 has an EWP average of a meagre 8.9mm. To put that into context, that's slightly drier than August 1995 (9.1mm). The winter of 1931/1932 was bizarre in that it had been very mild up until now (5.3, 6.3) but turned colder in February with a C.E.T. of 2.9. It was a very bizarre year overall with March almost 2C colder than January, a cold spring and an indifferent summer with an extreme heat-spike in August reaching 36C (1932 sounds like the long lost cousin of our current era climate!). It was also a year without a winter across NA. The month begins as it means to go on: with high pressure dominating. It's in a mild position at first but then builds into Scandinavia and we get a particularly bitter easterly spell into the 10th. After that, high pressure meanders around the country aimlessly before a second bite of the cherry at months end and while this was also very cold it was more tame than the initial easterly. The Met Office monthly report for February 1932: February 1933 would end up being very wet but the following year would see yet another bone dry February. February 1934 remarkably has an EWP of 11.9mm, just fractionally "wetter" than February 1932. The winter of 1933/1934 was exceptionally dry and came after an extremely dry year (1933 annually only has a EWP of 717.7mm) which also had a very hot summer. 1934 would also go on to be a very dry year with a hot summer of its own, a very intense drought period for the UK. The month starts with a near-miss of a cold spell in which we escape the brunt of the easterlies but still manage -10C uppers. There were some blink-and-you-miss-it-lows at times but most of the time high pressure was bloated over the continent. The month wasn't especially mild (3.8C) due to the north/south divide in temperature. It was exceptionally mild in Scotland but in the south it was rather cold due to cold nights despite mild days. Not too dissimilar to January 2022. The month ended how it began, with a cold spell, though it was a rather weak affair. Lack of cold uppers happened then too, more often that you think! The Met Office monthly report for February 1934: In contrast, the next three Februaries were all wet with February 1937 one of the wettest on record and not too far off February 2024's total.

Reviving this. Since @Summer8906 mentioned anti-seasonal years being flipped, here's 1974 flipped using my "special methodology". I'm just flipping the Met Office Monthly Weather Report and the C.E.T./rainfall as well as inversed 500mb height anomalies. The anti-1974 (or 4971!): January: Cold and anticyclonic. The month was mostly, dry and with high pressure. Freezing fog became widespread on some days, particularly the 8th and the 12th when cold air aloft combined with high pressure readings led to a spectacular Hoar frost. Winds were often light and blew from the north and east with no great gales during the month. Nonetheless, the month started mild with the 1st being bright, sunny and mild with a false sense of spring. Temperatures anomalies saw the biggest departure from normal in the south-east where temperatures ranged from 2.5°C to 5°C below normal, meanwhile across Scotland frosts weren't as frequent due to milder air making inroads at times. The mid-month period was very cold across the country and notably so in the south-east with temperatures falling below -10°C on several nights peaking on the 17th as temperatures fell around the -15°C mark in sheltered areas. It was driest January across Scotland in almost 50 years and in 14 years for the UK as a whole. Parts of central Scotland saw less than 30% of the average rainfall. Meanwhile, some northern, eastern and southern England were rather "wet" due to persistent, though mostly light snowfalls. The 6th to the 11th was particularly snowy with the south coast seeing significant accumulations on the 8th leading to people being trapped in their cars with main routes becoming impassible. Further heavy snowfall, this time focused on East Anglia gave some significant totals on the 17th and 18th. It tended to be dull in most places though not exceptionally so and there were no extended gloomy periods. It was sunny in western Scotland. (0.3 / 53mm) February: Dry, cold and anticyclonic. High pressure dominated until the 17th but more unsettled weather took place for a time after that. When high pressure dominated, the weather was mostly settled, frosty and foggy with frequent but light snowfalls. Some days were pleasant in sunny spells but nights were cold. After this it became windy and showery with these being of hail, sleet and snow. Pressure was particularly high from the 6th to 12th and this created disruption due to thick freezing fog. Temperatures were below average everywhere though it was less cold in the west than the east with temperatures ranging from 1°C to 4°C below normal. The 21st was a freezing cold day with a notably cold airmass from the east giving the coldest day of the century across the south. It was very dry with large parts of the south only having a quarter or so the normal rainfall. The month was mostly bone dry up until the 17th apart from light snow showers. Snowfall became more widespread and heavier thereafter. Sunshine followed the same pattern as January and was mostly dull but sunny in parts of Scotland. (2.0 / 36mm) March: Sunny but unsettled with infrequent settled periods. The first half of the month was rather mild but it became colder later. Wet and windy weather dominated, especially in the third week. Eastern and southern areas were often dull after the 21st. Winds were often strong to gale force in the first half but became more easterly in the second-half. A taste of spring from the 9th to the 11th with temperatures into the mid-teens widely. Colder in the second half with some particularly raw daytime highs. The closing days were particularly cold with temperatures falling into double digits in places. Some isolated parts were dry but most areas were wet. Most areas were sunny. (5.5 / 93mm) April: Extremely wet. Dull in the west, sunny in the east. Low pressure was over the country for virtually the entire month bar some higher pressure in the south on the 27th and 28th. The first ten days saw lots of cloudy, wet weather with low temperatures by day but mild minima, though parts of the east that were sheltered from the westerlies were sunnier. Winds were often quite strong and mainly from the west, though some days in the south were sheltered from this at times. Rainfall was around double the average in every region, though anomalies were extreme in parts of the north-west and across East Anglia where anomalies exceeded 400% in places. Much of northern England/Scotland saw rainfall every day of the month. The 11th and 12th were the only mostly dry days of the month. It was mostly dull to very dull, but isolated eastern coastal districts enjoyed a sunny April. (8.0 / 160mm) May: Unsettled. Dry in some western areas but exceptionally wet in the east. Despite pressure being relatively high, several very wet spells that occured throughout the month made it very wet overall. Winds were mostly westerly but turned easterly in the final ten days. There were no strong gales but it was rarely settled. The first half was very warm at times. The 8th was the warmest day so early in the year for almost 40 years with temperatures widely into the mid/upper 20s. Another notably warm day on the 12th. Temperatures plummeted in the second half and there were air frosts as far south as East Anglia by the 18th. Away from Northern Ireland, western Scotland, western parts of Wales and the south-west which were dry, everywhere else was wet. It was particularly wet across East Anglia and north-eastern coastal regions. Tynemouth had its wettest May for 48 years and the usually dry East Anglia saw totals of over 100mm, even more notable for following an extremely wet April. Where it was dry it tended to be sunny but most places were dull. There were some long dull spells mid-month and towards the closing days, mostly in the east. (11.8 / 116mm) June: Changeable. Mostly fine but punctuated by some wet spells. Winds were mostly easterly from the 1st to the 11th and were mostly light leading to some beautiful conditions, especially inland and out west with temperatures widely in the mid/upper 20s away from eastern coasts where fog could be hard to clear. The 6th saw a notably high pressure readings. Settled, warm conditions were replaced with cool westerlies mid-month and it became unsettled, wet and windy at times. It became cool mid-month with temperatures pegged back into the mid-teens Celsius in many places and again in the final ten days, though no exceptionally cold weather occured. Rainfall varied somewhat but it was generally wet further north-west and dry further south-east. Sunshine totals weren't exceptional in any regard in most places, with the north-west tending to be dull and further south-east it tended to be sunny. Despite cool and unsettled spells in the second-half at times there were no protracted dull spells and sunshine was never far away. (15.1 / 64mm) July: Changeable but hot. High pressure was often in the vicinity, but positioned just far north to allow frequent disturbances to the weather, these usually being of a humid and thundery type rather than typical Atlantic dominated weather. Pressure was often weak with little in the way of big low pressure systems. It was a humid month with frequent thunderstorms meaning that it had the unusual distinction of being very warm but wet. Winds mostly blew from the east and were slack leading to slow moving downpours which lead to very high rainfall totals in places. Temperatures ranged from 1°C to 2.5°C above normal. There was There was a cooler spell around the 8th and again around the 20th but for most areas in the south the temperature exceeded at least 21°C every day of the month and no notably low temperatures occured. The north-west tended to be driest and avoided the brunt of convective activity so it was dry here but it was very wet in parts of East Anglia and the south-east with totals over double the norm. Flash flooding was commonplace. Sunshine was above average in most areas but it tended to be duller in the north and very dull in the north-west. (17.5 / 94mm) August: Warm and mostly settled but dull. High pressure was in the ascendancy for the most part but low pressure interludes did occur at times though they weren't overly potent. Most of the month was mostly dry but punctuated by normal wet spells at times meaning rain was rather infrequent. For a settled month it was rather breezy at times with winds often from the north and east. It tended to be warmer (relatively) the further north and west whereas some eastern coastal locations were slightly cooler than average. There tended to be a lot of inoffensive weather with pleasant days. There were no notably cool or dull spells and this helped boost the average, but likewise there was little in the way of excessive heat. East Anglia and the southeast were rather wet, but most places were dry. (16.7 / 70mm) September: Very warm and settled. High pressure dominated all month with very high readings at times. Any troughs were very weak and short lived. The month was mostly dry, settled and mostly very warm/hot at times. Rainfall was scarce and even in the more unsettled spells many places stayed dry. There were some isolated thunderstorms in the south at the end of the month. High pressure built in and by the 2nd it had turned hot with the first week having hot sunshine and very high pressure. The month was warm everywhere, ranging from slightly warmer than average in the far north to as much as 4°C above normal in parts of the south and west. After a cooler phase it turned very warm again during the final two weeks and by the 27th temperatures were back in the upper 20s Celsius across southern England. Plymouth saw no measurable rain all month. Despite the settled weather, parts of Scotland were rather dull, but England was sunny. (15.6 / 27mm) October: Warm and changeable. It was settled in the south but unsettled in the north. Winds often blew from the south-west and the south-east and were mostly light. Temperatures were above average everywhere but especially so in the south-east where anomalies were as much as 4°C above normal. Except for a few cooler days warmer than average weather persisted the whole month and many parts of the UK failed to record a single frost. It was wet in the north-west but in the south-east corner it was exceptionally dry with less than a third the normal rainfall in parts. It technically was an official drought as some places saw no rainfall for a month. Away from the SE there wet weather at times with unusual intensity aided by very warm air often associated with it, but there was some fine weather inbetween the deluges. The dry conditions were met in some places in the south-east with severe thunderstorms on the 28th. The north-west was very dull due to moisture laden air bringing lots of cloud, but elsewhere it was a sunny October. (12.8 / 105mm) November: Dry and settled. High pressure dominated the month and while there were unsettled spells, they were mostly short-lived. In a change from the autumn so far, it was quite chilly as winds tended to blow from the east and north though mostly gentle winds. The 11th to the 14th was very foggy with freezing fog in places causing disruption, an abrupt change to the abnormally warm frost-free weather that had dominated so far. Further foggy anticyclonic gloom dominated from the 24th to the 26th. Temperatures didn't stray that far from normal anywhere with anomalies being around 1°C, mostly cold across England but rather mild in the far north. In the south-east that escaped the rainfall in October it topped off an extremely dry autumn as November was very dry. East Anglia and the south-east saw less than half of the average rainfall. Sunshine varied due to the persistance of fog in places, but it tended to be dull in the south in and sunny in the north. Parts of Essex had the dullest November of the century. (5.9 / 65mm) December: Extremely cold and snowy. Exceptionally cold weather prevailed. Snowfall occured at times, especially in the south and east where falls were significant at times, meanwhile it was very dry in Scotland. Fog often formed inland. Winds were from a northerly or easterly quadrant almost all month. London was inundated with its heaviest snowfall in years on the 11th where rapid falling snow and light winds created a winter wonderland scene quickly. A week of heavy snowfalls created travel mayhem for Christmas as roads were impossible to navigate by the 17th as snowfall made roads dangerous and trees and branches snapped from the weight of the snow. It was the coldest December for 40 years and contrasted with the exceptional warmth of September and October. Severe cold set in on the 20th after a brief thaw mid-month and temperatures fell so low that it was enough to kill some plant life. The temperature didn't get above freezing after the 20th in snow covered parts. While Scotland saw little in the way of disruptive snow, snow was heavy enough to collapse roofs in Kent on the 11th. Sunshine followed the usual pattern in blocked months with Scotland and sheltered western parts being very sunny but the east being very dull. (-0.3 / 109mm) Annual CET: 9.27°C Annual rainfall: 996mm

Cheekily going to copy what I just wrote in another thread but it far more applies here: With the global reserve for warmer than average conditions being off the scale I personally think a cool spring is unlikely, but it happened in 2021 so it’s not out of the question it could happen again. We are somewhat similar globally to 1998 and that saw a dramatic flip to cool conditions in April so, along with an SSW, I do think wintry spells are likely this spring, but whether they are isolated spells within a mild season or it turns genuinely colder than average, we will wait and see. Scandinavian countries have seen a notable period of well below normal temperatures for the most part since October last year so it goes to show you it is possible if all things land in our favour and seasons like spring 2021 and also the first half of December 2022 are big reasons why I refuse to accept the notion that UK cold is confined to history — however I would like to see our luck pay off for winter 2024/2025 instead of spring 2024! Advanced vegetation after a very mild winter could negatively be affected by a cold spring.

With the global reserve for warmer than average conditions being off the scale I personally think a cool spring is unlikely, but it happened in 2021 so it’s not out of the question it could happen again. We are somewhat similar globally to 1998 and that saw a dramatic flip to cool conditions in April so, along with an SSW, I do think wintry spells are likely this spring, but whether they are isolated spells within a mild season or it turns genuinely colder than average, we will wait and see. Scandinavian countries have seen a notable period of well below normal temperatures for the most part since October last year so it goes to show you it is possible if all things land in our favour and seasons like spring 2021 and also the first half of December 2022 are big reasons why I refuse to accept the notion that UK cold is confined to history — however I would like to see our luck pay off for winter 2024/2025 instead of spring 2024! Advanced vegetation after a very mild winter could negatively be affected by a cold spring.

Okay, here’s my set up. I’ll allow your creative juices to flow BUT this time within the realm of normality and no bonkers extremes. The annual max is no higher than 31C. April is a very convective month which really elevates the saying of April showers. One of the wettest Aprils ever recorded with conveyer belts of low pressure doing wonders for spring flowers. A cold snap with a decent snow event but also a warm spell with notable diurnal range of temperature. A real mixed bag and very thundery. May is high pressure dominated but with frequent interferences of spoiler lows at times which bring a mixture of cloudy easterlies and also thunderstorms, but conversely some very warm and sunny weather so something to please everyone. June shall be a rare dry but cool month with a high dominance of northerly airflows, but also thundery spells at times. No heatwaves. July will be mixed. There will be one explosive episode where a hot airmass to our south meets and unusually cold airmass to our north which forms a bomb area of low pressure which sees one of our most intense thundery spells for years and a throwback to the golden days of storms of the ‘80s and ‘90s with damaging hail, lightning strikes and even some tornados (but since it’s a fantasy no one gets hurt). The month is changeable but with fairly high pressure at times so it’s not a washout by any means and fairly bright. August will be high pressure dominated and the warmest month of the summer. The days will be warm but the high pressure will be homegrown so the uppers aren’t exceptional and the nights end up cool. It won’t be bone dry though and there will be unsettled spells at times but mostly week. Towards the end the heights are shunted east by low pressure and we end the summer with a battleground which draws up hot southeasterlies and another thundery spell which commemorates the end of summer. September will buck the recent trend of turning hot and dry for the return to school and will turn proper unsettled, windy and grotty and overall will be a very autumnal month with an exceptionally cool northerly plunge in the second half which sees a drastically early taste of winter.

Are we allowed more than one set up because my thinking cap is going off at the moment

I am so glad we do not dictate the actual weather!

In Absence of True Seasons I am aware that 30C was commonplace. In fact, 30-35C was commonplace. It was just a remark how much our climate has changed since that time and how a lot of our infrastructure may be rather uncomfortable in the future. And summer 2023 did indeed show us that, whilst also providing the warmest June (UK wide) and September on record with the longest spell of 30C weather in September ever. Meanwhile the 40C we saw only came 2 years after nearly 38C (from a heat spike) then a multiple day long heatwave of 34-36C in 2020 and the year before that the then-record went in 2019. While these past couple of years may turn out to be a fluke, I think the global situation and the past few years has shown that it could very well be becoming a norm. I hate to say it but I would be surprised if we don’t tackle the 40C again in the next ten years, maybe even five. I hope it is a fluke! I’m excited to see what summer 2024 has in store… and scared too!

CryoraptorA303 Colder than July 2023 yet a 15 day hot spell. The 1st-14th and 25th-31st must be positively Artic!