Sunny76

Yes most of them did, even 1993 had a decent June spell, and some warm sunny days in August. I remember 93 being poor and 98 being the worst of the bunch. 91 took time to get going, but improved from mid July onwards. 92 started off well with a hot May and warm June, early July, and some hot periods in August, but things went downhill as summer progressed. 1990, 94 and 95 were the best, for longer spells of sunshine, with 99 and 96 not far behind. Didn’t rate 97, because it was always cloudy and wet at times.

I enjoyed summer 94, despite the fact that August ended up being a slight disappointment, after the hot second half of June and hot July. It was a very thundery summer. The June 24th storms were one of the most memorable for severity and longevity. They moved in around 8pm into the London area, and rumbled on into the night.

I’m mixing August up with June. I vaguely remember some hot weather during that summer. We spent the whole day in the park, then I came back to watch Planet of the Apes on LWT. Why I have memories of that, I will never know lol.

Someone mentioned how summer 82 was on the cool side. Didn’t we get a decent August that year? Or was it just a slight improvement on 80 and 81.

All those summers were great, and I would gladly welcome any of those. 2013 was probably my favourite out of the 3, because the August was better, and it was the best August since 03. 1995 was one of those rare occasions, when the sun just seemed to shine for days and weeks on end. I just remember London being very sunny from mid June until about mid August, apart from a couple of dull days. And this followed a decent summer in 1994, which had a hot July. Most people forget 1994 though.

June 1995, people were wondering if we would get a summer, I remember. It was cold during most of May, after the hot start to the month, then we had to wait until mid June until the real heat arrived, and from that point on we had weeks of warm to hot sunny weather. Just the odd one or two days of rain in between. That summer hasn’t been bettered since.

80-82 seems to be the period with the most thundery activity. I think 2018 could be the year we see the return of more frequent thundery activity, going by how the weather has been so far this year. After the cold winter, and early part of spring, and steadily rising temperatures since late April(in between the colder days), the storms will start appearing. I would love a June 1980 or 82 for the thunderstorms, but minus all the crap weather that followed those events. 82 was hot at times though.

Yes, and July was very poor that year. But, I also remember a couple of thundery periods, one taking place on a Saturday afternoon if memory serves me well. August wasn’t too bad, but it was cloudy at times, and June was the best month of the whole summer. Which is ok with me, because we benefit from the longest days, but it’s just a shame that summer seems to peak in June sometimes and falls apart for the school holidays. 2009 was also the last time February had an extensive cold snowy period, and wasn’t it the first winter to buck the trend of mild ones. Also 2009 could be classed as the best summer from that 2007-12, which was mostly dominated by poor summers. 2010 wasn’t too bad in retrospect, but the cool August let it down.

Strange, how both those years were World Cup years, with a cool August. 2010, another World Cup year, also had a cool August. I think this summer might buck the trend, with a warm June, and a cooler July followed by a sunny and warm August. Hopefully similar to 1981, with thunderstorms.

The April was cold. It had a lot of chilly days, especially during the first half.

I wouldn’t have wanted to be a passenger flying into Heathrow or Gatwick during that storm lol.

Yeah, the hottest April day or marathon day was a little overdone. The April of 2011 was much warmer, but the marathon day that year may have fallen on a day when the weather happened to be cooler, in between the warmer spells. April 2018 was still cold overall, despite the few days of warmth.

The first weather event I remember is with my mum in Hyde Park London. It was August 1979 I think, or maybe 1980. We were caught in a sudden thunderstorm, which became torrential. We had to run into The Serpentine cafe in Hyde Park.

11 miles high? I can’t imagine how scary that must have looked over London. I work near St Paul’s in central london, and sometimes think about that picture in the newspaper, where the skies are pitch black and St. Paul’s is covered in darkness. Also reminds me of the Pink Floyd video and A Guide to Armageddon(nuclear war doc on bbc early 80s)

Followed by the coldest July and August since 1980

Yes, it was pitch black for an hour or so. It must have been something unusual. Haven’t seen anything in London as dark as that since.

Yes, and this is even better than the April warm spell.

Cloud tops must have been 40,000 feet that day. I wonder if flights were diverted?

We are lucky by one day. Had May 1st fallen on last Monday, the bank holiday would have been a very cold affair.

I think 84 was hot wasn’t it. I was too young to remember 81 or 82, although I do recall June being hot at some point, and some thunderstorms, and also the daytime darkness of August 81. I thought it was the weirdest thing ever to witness as a child. Felt like midnight around lunchtime. It’s a shame there’s no footage or pictures of the storms of 81 around the London area. I wonder if we will ever witness something like that again. The closest thing recently was the sand cloud from the Sahara last October.

Wasn’t there another daytime darkness event during that summer, similar to August 81 in the London area?

I have read the metoffice website for 1980, and that summer still had warm to hot periods in early June, late July and early August, with thunderstorms, and some severe storms in June. Just how bad was it? Does anyone here remember it first hand?

Think we’ve entered a new cooler phase, similar to the 2008-13 era when most uk winters were colder than average. 18/19 will most likely be similar to the one just gone.

Still felt cool this morning, but last night was milder compared to the last week or so. Hopefully this is the start of warmer temps and long spells of sunshine until September. Nice and sunny, with low humidity. Would be perfect if it stayed like this all summer.

I kind of classed the early March snow as a continuation of winter 17/18, which actually seems a long time ago already. March was very cold and duller than expected, and while I can live with that, April has been a major disappointment. Not enough sun and lack of mild temps. The brief warm spell wasn’t really long enough to enjoy it.