Philipsfd

To cast a brighter light on this month, I can remember a very decent spell of weather from the 11th-15th. The 14th-15th especially were both beautiful warm days in the West Midlands and North West.

I think 2002 was warmer than 2001 but was also wetter and cloudier. It was poor in the North West, especially July from what I recall. There was also an absolute deluge in Manchester on a Friday afternoon in the middle of June. August was notably warm in the South East from what I've read though. 2017 - the latter half of the summer was a big let down after a good first half (3rd week of June especially). It's worth mentioning too how poor the September was, as September has often brought pleasant weather in recent years, even after a drab July/August.

Would 2001 be a fair comparison with 2009 in terms of the summer?

Most of the days of this summer had plenty of sunshine involved (at least June and most of July) which was good. Plenty of rain too but at least there were some thunderstorms. From memory, there were a handful of shocking spells though - 16-17th July was persistent rain in the NW and I think 26-29th was similar. In fact thinking about it the period from 26th July through to about the 13th August was rather dull from what I remember, albeit with occasional sunny and warm days such as the 8th-9th. The final (BH) weekend of August was also very dull and wet IIRC. The middle couple of weeks of September were warm and sunny.

It was pretty terrible in Manchester, but I vaguely remember the final week from around the 24th being relatively decent, nothing special mind. How does it compare to 97 and 07?

I know as a whole the summer has been warmer and drier than last year, but in terms of heatwaves, have we even matched that amazing 5 day spell of weather from last June? The records say 5 days of 30c and above, the hottest June temperature since 95 and it just felt a little more intense than the heatwaves we've had so far this summer.

The heatwave in early June 2016 seems to be overlooked a lot now, perhaps because of the heavy rain that followed. But it was mainly dry, sunny and at times very warm from about the 2nd-9th. We had evening thundery breakdowns on the 4th, 7th and 8th I think.

Would I be right in thinking this Spring has been similar to 2001 and 2008? Both of them had a chilly and damp April but a warm and dry May and didn't 2001 have a cold March? Would you be happy if this summer is similar to summer 2001? I think June '01 was fairly warm and dry if I remember rightly and the indications are for similar weather now.

Did 2007, 2008 and 2011 get to 30?

Total sunshine and rainfall levels for the month are better than July '95 and even not too far behind August '95. Average temperatures weren't quite so high but still around the same level as August '03. It was glorious for much of the month, but it seems the average temperature is often used to determine if it was a good month or not.

Is it fair to say that July 1999 was the second best summer month of the 90s, after August 1995?

Every reason if you don't like damp and very muggy weather! The June was a washout, July was probably the best month for pleasant and comfortable weather; quite sunny, dry and not too hot or humid. The August was nothing special on the sunshine levels and as said earlier it certainly wasn't dry! Even the top temperature was nothing special; just many days of very warm and humid weather. A very overrated month/summer, although it was a good one for thunderstorms. I'd describe August 1997 as a warmer and more humid version of August 1999, both were quite thundery at times.

In terms of previous good or hot summers from the 90s onwards; is it fair to say that summers 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2005 are hugely underrated, perhaps because they were all either immediately before or after one of the so called 'scorchers'? The 94 and 04 summers produced some intense heat.

In fairness I think there was a bit of a north-south divide in August '98. It was dry and reasonably sunny throughout most of the country but I think the Midlands and the South got the best of it - and in places it was very sunny and very dry. Similarly, the August of 2009 was a very warm month in the south east with fairly consistent mid-high 20s max daily temperatures; it was less so in the north. August 2009 is a little underrated at least for the heat it brought. In fact if you measure that summer as 21st June to 21st September then I'd say it was comfortably the best of the 2007-2012 era.

I'm surprised you have mentioned '91 and '96 but not '98, I would say the latter is above the previous two in terms of a 'good' August. And '97 and '03 are overrated simply because of the heat - after the first 10 days, August '03 was quite mediocre really and as I mentioned above a series of very warm and humid nights ramped up the average temperature for August '97. August '95 was a belter, but '03 always seems to get media plaudits. August 2004 was fascinating in a different way; warm, wet and showery but I'll always remember that month for the run of evening thunderstorms in the North West. This month still stands out as the most thundery I can remember.

Quite a few mentions of summers 94 and 97; but what about '99? The July of that year was glorious and whilst not as hot as August '97, it was sunnier and not as wet. In fact you could even make a case for August '98 being on a par with August '97 in some areas - it was cooler but some areas of had higher sunshine levels. Am I right in thinking that August 97 temperatures had a lot to do with some very warm nights? Of very recent summers (beyond 2014), I'd say 2016 probably comes out on top - a good few short hot spells and satisfactory inbetween more often than not.

Thanks above for the info about 97, 02 and 05-06 Springs. More recent years with a cold March and a mediocre summer could include 2008 and 2010.

It seems the last few times we've had an early Easter, we've also had a cold/cooler than normal early Spring. Along with this year, you can say that for 2016, 2013 and 2008. What were 2005, 2002 and 97 like? Likewise, more or less the last few times Easter has been late, the April has been warm or hot; 2017, 2014, 2011 and 2003. I haven't included April 2006 in this list, what was this one like? Vague memories seem to recall it was quite wet and showery but I can't remember the temperatures.

Funnily enough the February of 10 years ago sticks out for bringing a spell of (good) Spring-like weather as well. It was a cold and snowy start but I think by approx the 4th/5th it had turned mild and in the second week I remember thinking the weather was something more akin to a pleasant spell in May; around the 10th/11th it was particularly warm and glorious. Seem to recall the second half of the month kept to a similar note.

The April was obviously a standout for glorious weather, but was it as good or hot as April 2007? I seem to remember the April being pretty decent every year between '06 and '11 (barring the brief snowy cold spell in 2008), until of course the 2012 washout.

Ah you've reminded me now of the February gale, only in Manchester I think it happened on the 7th; not quite in the league of Doris in terms of destruction though. I remember the brief stormy spell in April too; around here it was Good Friday evening and the heavy rain just seemed to come without much notice or warning, following a number of very warm and dry days; it hadn't been humid. Here in Manchester, May Bank Holiday was warm and sunny for a change, the Spring BH was cool and unsettled and the August BH was an afternoon washout bookended by a bright morning and evening. I seem to remember the December not being particularly mild, like it was last year or the year before for instance, but still not as cool as 2012 or 2014. Scratching the surface of the late Autumn period of November and early December, it was dull in the main but I seem to remember we had a run of warm and sunny Sundays which broke up the grey blanket which covered most of the weekdays.

I've been thinking back over the last few years and is it fair to say that 2011 was one of the most uneventful or uninteresting as far as the weather goes? Every year has its moments and this year isn't an exception; the big thing from what I remember was the glorious final week of September which culminated in the record warmth on October 1st. There was also the warm, dry April (the second half being fantastic) and a very brief and not particularly intense heatwave towards the end of June. Were there any other notable events this year? I'm struggling to remember much snow or cold weather at either end of the year, no notable storms IIRC. It also seemed a poor summer; not much in the way of heat, storms or sun but no extreme rain either like in 2007 or 2012. Mediocre sums up the summer and the whole year itself from what I can remember.

Thanks for the info. I might be remembering the Saturday in early Winter 04/05 as colder than it actually was. But I'm pretty sure it was either in the last two weeks of November or the first couple of December. It just seemed notable for being very cold and windy and cloudy but without any snow.

A couple of questions relating to this era... Firstly whilst I remember 2004-05 as being generally mild, I can recall a very cold Saturday in the North West fairly early on in the winter (definitely before Christmas). The winds were northerly I seem to remember, but I don't think we had any snow. Anyone remember this and have a date? Going back a year, does anyone remember the cold/snowy spell in January 2004? Here in Manchester we actually got hit fairly hard on the snow front and not just on the 'Pennine side' of town, which makes a change - some schools were closed. Does anyone remember this and again a date please? Also was this Jan '04 cold snap from the north or from the east? I do remember it getting quite a lot of media attention in the run up, perhaps because winter 03/04 hadn't been particularly cold or snowy up to that point.

I'm surprised to see how much sunshine August '99 had! I thought this month was a bit of a shocker for sunshine, yet it's around the same as last year and 2013 and ahead of the highly thought-of August '97.