B87

I remember Atlantic 252 Tiree is the sunniest place in May in the NW. I think Tiree is still worse than London or Shanklin in May though. Tiree: av max 13.1c, rainfall 66.4mm on 12.8 days, sun 240 hours London: av max 18.4c, rainfall 45.9mm on 8.0 days, sun 208 hours Shanklin: av max 15.9c, rainfall 52.2mm on 7.9 days, sun 248 hours

BlueSkies_do_I_see July with average days, warm nights, dull and very wet could be 2017 or 2021. Mean temps of 19.4c and 19.6c respectively.

danm That doesn't account for places like Reading and Warsaw recording more with the KZ than the CS. Warsaw averaging an extra 400 hours seems highly suspect.

Summer8906 Both were duller than average here as well. 2015: Jun 222hr, Jul 214hr, Aug 152hr 2020: Jun 199hr, Jul 195hr, Aug 181hr

Derecho It was taken from London alone in 1833 though. May average in London now is 13.8c, so you are saying we would need to have a 17.7c mean in May these days for it to equate to 1833?

Scorcher Here are the 15c+ May mean temps in London in recent years. 1989: 15.5c 1992: 15.6c 2008: 15.2c 2017: 15.1c 2018: 15.3c 2020: 15.1c 2022: 15.2c It isn't such an anomaly when you only use one station to record the CET mean.

Alp But this is very bad for the UK, which normally isn't consistently this bad in spring. We would have expected a few dry and sunny weeks by now, at the very least.

CoventryWeather Now 3rd May and London has had 1 hour of sun for the month so far, and 25% of the monthly average rainfall. The sustained sunny spell that was due to happen has now been replaced by cloud in the forecast. Feels like another dull and wet month on the way. What will it take for the weather to actually settle down this year?

LetItSnow! I'd expect to see things leafed out by late April in an average spring. The picture from the 12th is what I'd expect it to look like on the 1st. The picture from Primrose Hill I'd have guessed 15th April had I not known the year. May 2013 had 184 hours of sun, so quite a dull month as well. February and April had average sun, but then nothing sunny until July and August that year, before it then turned dull again. November was sunnier than average, December was average. Overall a dull year. Do not want a repeat of that!

LetItSnow! A very late leaf out in spring 2013. Not what I'd expect when I think of spring colour. Heathrow stats suggest just 3 days of 20c for the entire month, closer to a typical April than May.

LetItSnow! Didn't spring 2013 still have bare trees at the start of May? April 2013 may have had a sunny spell, but that spring was still very dull overall. Of course June 2013 was still cool and dull, and it didn't really get going until July. I'd rather have a spring with average temperatures, rainfall and sunshine. I'm sure such a season would be appreciated by most, and shouldn't be too difficult to ask for. March: 12c, 35-40mm, 120-130 sun hours April: 15c, 40-45mm, 175-180 sun hours May: 18c, 40-50mm, 200-215 sun hours

SunSean Even normal British sunshine levels would cheer everyone up compared to the absolute rubbish we have had for months.

SunSean There's definitely a depressing feel in the air when the weather has been this bad, this far into the year. Then you get people saying it's been normal, when it has been anything but! A normal British spring has plenty of sunny and dry days throughout all three months. This year, barely a handful of sunny days.

WYorksWeather It happened in 2021 (the dullest year on record). The last year not to see any 200+ hour months at all was 1987, so it is an extremely rare occurrence, yet I just feel like it'll happen this year. It feels like the weather is just not going to settle down into its usual warm season state this year.

It seems a safe bet that the summer will be duller than average. Possibly with not even a single month getting 200+ hours here.

cheeky_monkey The absolute last thing we need after the past 18 months - cool, wet and dull.

Summer8906 June and July 2015 were pretty average temperature and sunshine wise, although in July's case the heat spike masked a poor 2nd half. August 2015 was absolutely awful; cool, very dull and exceptionally wet. In summer 2020, every month was slightly duller than average. June and August were warm, with a slightly below average July. Mid-July to mid-August was dry and sunny though.

Summer8906 Hopefully May. Realistically July or August.

Summer8906 We could get 2 good Junes in a row. We had 6 dull Julys in a row between 2007-2012 remember.

Summer8906 Nov 2021 and Dec 2016 were selected because they were both very dry and slightly sunny here, without being too cold. Nov 2021: 10mm, 73 hours Dec 2016: 10mm, 60 hours Dec 2015 was ridiculously mild and dull, but it was also dry here.

Don Hope we get a sunny and dry repeat of September 2023, with a 20c dry and sunny October and a dry and sunny 15c November. Then 2025 following 2003. At least 2012 had a decent March, 2nd half of May and September.

In Absence of True Seasons As long as the dry and sunny summer months actually feel like summer, as in August 2016 or 2019, and not like September or a warm October, as in August 2007.

danm I never mind when October-December is wet and cloudy, I expect it. I don't expect to see 11-12 months of the year being wetter and duller than average though. The only way this year could redeem itself is the following: May 2020 June 1976 July 2018 August 1995 September 1959 October 2011 November 2021 December 2016

danm I would usually be happy with a 1996, 2001 or 2005 style summer. This year it needs to be, at a minimum, something like 1959. Ideally 1976, 1989, 2018 or 2022. I don't want to see any of the summer months cooler, wetter or cloudier than average.

danm We need <5 rain days per month from now until October. Even that would probably not be enough to stop us from having an exceptionally wet year. We still have October, November and December to come (1st, 2nd and 4th wettest months of the year). Ideally at least one of the summer months to have no rain at all.