Sunny76

August is a mix of summer still hanging on, and the early indications of autumn approaching. I hope this year will provide us with a decent August with some hot days and maybe some thunderstorms.

1991 was the last time we had a snowy February nationwide, before this year(excluding 2010), and August 91 was fairly warm and sunny. Maybe we will have a poor start to summer 2018, with a cool June and mediocre July, then the heat will arrive in August.

1990 anyone? That was part of the 1989-90 period of decent summers.

I think August 2013 was decent, and although 2016 was ok, it wasn’t memorable. I just remember a few nice warm sunny days here and there. Augusts of 1995 and 2003 were probably the last good ones.

97 shouldn’t be even mentioned in the same paragraph as a good summer. It was hot in the August for a little while, but all I remember was some humid and cloudy periods during June and July and lots of damp weather. It certainly wasn’t a classic summer. 1999 was better, and we had some good storms in May, June and July of 1999. Think it was close to being one of the most thundery summers, since the early 1980s at the time. July was hot, August was a slight let down, but September was also warm that year.

Maybe 2014 comes close also. I forgot about that summer. July was quite hot that year.

I remember 2013 took some time to get going, in terms of warming up. Right up until late May, it was still quite chilly. Then the heat arrived in June, but with still some coolish days. July and August 2013 was brilliant though. We haven’t had a decent summer since. 2017 was probably the closest one to match it, if we compare sunshine levels. But 2017 had a poor August.

Despite recent mild days, the cold has always been a regular feature throughout March this year, and this looks set to continue into early April. My question is, are we looking at potentially a poor summer, in terms of colder than average temps, and less sunshine, but with some humid weather with storms in the mix. A summer similar to 1980 or 81 would be a nightmare. On the storm front though, it could be a positive.

Like 79/80, winter 80/81 seems to be another forgotten one. Another snowless one for down south if memory serves me well. I was only young at the time, but don’t recall any snow for London, and this was the second year in a row during this point. Anyone else have any memories of this winter? Apart from ABBA having their last number 1, and Ultravox appearing on the music scene.

I remember it well, and it was one of my least favourite weather events. Mild sunny weather in Feb just seems plain weird. It happened in 1990 and 2004 I think, but the 98 one felt really warmish. The depressing thing about it though, was how bad the summer was that followed. April was cold that year, and the summer was dismal and cool, apart from some warm sunny weeks in August.

82/83 was much milder than 81/82. And wasn’t 83/84 even milder, with a very mild December?

I think that was one of the better years of the early to mid 1980s period, in terms of music. Still has a 1970s feel to it, while the gradual transition was happening with the New Wave bands coming through.

It was indeed. The last number 1 of 1979, and the first of January 1980. The weather looks dull and grey, but mild, in the music video.

Following the severe winter of 78/79, can anyone remember if the following winter had any cold spells? Looking at weather archives, it looks like an average to mild winter, with a mild February.

Staying with 1981. It seems that most decembers since then have been milder than average.

I was hoping for another 1981-82 winter. A winter that has only been bettered by January 1987, Feb 1991 and the 2009-2010 winters.

Despite the mild week running up to Christmas, including Christmas Day itself, it has been anything but mild throughout December. This felt like the coldest December overall since 2010. I work outside, so noticed it more than others, but the windchill at times made it feel very cold. I work in London.

I often thought 82, 84 and 85 were cold ones for some reason.

That’s true. Mild weather is almost always accompanied by cloudy dank weather.

I just remember one Christmas from my childhood being sunny and very mild, and at the time it felt strange. My family made a big deal about it though. Think it was Christmas 87 or 83.

I was having this discussion with a co worker earlier this week. I told her I much prefer the winter weather, when it’s either cold and sunny( my favourite), or cold and cloudy. Both provide fresh crisp air, and although I like snow, I still prefer cold, dry and sunny. My co worker disagreed and said she likes mild and sunny. Not for me thanks, during the December to Feb period, as it feels unseasonal. Mild and sunny is worse than mild and cloudy for some reason. What’s does everyone else think?

I wouldn’t go that far. Octobers of 1985, 1995 and 2011 had warmer temps. October 2017 was mediocre at best, for any attempt at an Indian summer. Most of this month has been cloudy and dreary, with very brief warm spells. I’m also glad it’s turning colder as fresher now.

Maybe the mid July thunderstorms on the 18th of that month, was the start of a shift to cooler weather. Since then, warmer spells have been less frequent, and even the sunny warmer days have been in short supply. This could have been the start of a new climate shift, without anyone noticing. Temps have been lower than normal since, despite the slightly warmer October.

Even with the post 1987 mild phase, the country had another cold snowy event in Feb 1991, which lasted for quite a few days. It was very cold.

I remember this event, and wonder if this was one of the earliest signs of a shifting climate. We had a run of milder winters after 1987.