In Absence of True Seasons

Funny thing is, when we have a few days of 5c above average temps in April or May, all the doomsayers come out the woodwork with "See - global warming, look, 22c in MAY! This isn't normal. Give it 15 years and our weather will be like Spain!" But then when its 5c below average, those people are all "This is perfectly reasonable and normal weather in May, nothing to worry about. We're an island in the Atlantic, what do you expect!? A Mediterranean climate!??" Obviously we are generally trending to more milder overall but it just makes me laugh when people use 'above average' spikes as undeniable indicators of 'global warming and climate change', but then dismiss the flipside of 'below average' spikes as just "the weather".

Russia Spent Millions on 'Cloud Seeding' Tech to Prevent Rain on Its Public Holiday WWW.SCIENCEALERT.COM Check the forecast. Then, you know, try to change it. Judging by the rainy forecast this weekend, clearly our government are not bothering to do this for the King's Coronation bank-holiday... Shame on them, think about all the BBQs and garden parties that'll be ruined!

Yeah, effectively the same pattern that we've been in since April, just a tad more milder due to the time of year. Tbf, the temperature isn't even bad. 15-17c or so is fine in May if there's sufficient sunny spells.

The conspiracy theorist in me is inclined to say it all seems a bit tooooo coincidental. I did see an article not long ago about the Chinese government creating "cloud forming" technology to affect the weather.

Definitely. The air isn't warm at all, it's just when the sun is out that it's pleasant. Just passed a big group of Spanish kids obviously on a school trip. Half of them wearing coats and scarves,.a few in bobble hats and the rest in hoodies. Poor things, probably come from lovely 25c in Madrid to this

Yeah that would be a saving grace, but it's not not the same as having warm weather in June or July, or even May, as the daylight is alot shorter in Sept and Oct.

Not sure how regional it was, but in my area, 2020 was a long hot summer. Admittedly not as dry as the spring and a bit cloudier but it was certainly "summer like" for the most part. Me and some friends went camping around the Scottish Highlands in July and it was solid weather for 80-90%. Warm enough on 2/3 days to sunbathe on Loch Morlich beach in the Cairngorms.

Definitely "cool" is the trend. And cloudy. Even today, which in London is one of the warmest days this year so far statically (18c) doesn't really feel very warm at all as it's mostly thick cloud, quite a cool breeze and there's a distinct lack of warmth / humidity in the air. It feels "fresh" - like early April fresh, not early May. The entire feeling of the weather feels about a month behind tbh. Usually in 18c in May I can comfortably wear a t shirt. But I'm still in 3 layers atm. Many people around the city still in thick jumpers, heavy jackets etc. Tourists in full on winter coats lol.

The lack of consistency in temps is a pain. There's no 'usual weather' - it just "is what it is". 11c and thick overcast in May? Sure. 22c and not a wisp of cloud to be seen in May? Also yes. It makes planning for as anything outdoors super difficult until basically the morning-of, and it means you can't relax/transition into an "X season" wardrobe with any peace-of-mind. Because you can be in shorts and t-shirt one day and then back to a jumper and light jacket the next. Or moreover, you need a completely different set of outs one year vs the next year. Some people may find this unpredictability and randomness "interesting" or "varied", but it mostly just manifests in annoyance for day-to-day life tbh. It was such a joy last year to have a Spring that felt like Spring, then a Summer that felt like Summer, from a perspective of clothing and for planning activities / day-trips, hiking and camping, sports etc. It gave me good insight into what it must be like to live in countries that aren't at the mercy of the gulf-stream, aka countries that have clearly defined season with true weather disparity that acts in accordance with how you'd expect it to act at X time of year. As opposed to potentially 14c and cloud & drizzle in December, and 14c and cloud & drizzle in June (the meme that was 2020 Winter Solstice and 2021 Summer Solstice).

The SE is a weird one, historically it's definitely warmer and sunnier than average than most other areas of the country, but the years from 2010 or so onward have been quite random. From perception, it certainly seems cloudier from April - Sept than It did when I was younger (outside of outlier years like last year or 2018). Even during the summer heatwaves that have hit London (which the news go wild about), they often don't manifest in many sunny/clear days, just cloyingly hot and overcast weather. Then you have the regional 'flips' that keep happening. Aka, whenever we're having a good run of settled sunny, warm weather, other parts of the UK (such as the South-West and the North), are wallowing in cloud and cooler temps. Then vice versa, we get Springs like this year or 2021 where big parts of the North, North-West and particularly Scotland have a decent run of things whilst the SE remains cloudy and cool. It's almost as if one area has to sacrifice good weather, in order for another area to have good weather lol. It'd be asking too much for the entire country to have favourable conditions at the same time... Definitely enjoy it! Honestly I'd be happy with just the current temperature of 12c but clear skies. Admittedly, 12c is pretty shocking for daytime max in May, but I'm at the stage where I'll take any blue skies I can get. Sod the elusive 18-20c, I've given up - 12-15c with sunshine by this point is fine.

Thanks for posting this. You can see the pockets where its been really bad. The SE in and around London being some of the worst, which is where I am - a solid degree or 2 colder than average, 150-200% of average rainfall and 25-50% below average sunshine hours. Bear in mind this comes off the back of a very dull March as well. The sky outside currently is so solid grey, and 11c. Could very easily be November. But nope, we're in May.

This is actually quite telling about max temperatures for this time of year. Reading this old article, you can see that 19.4c was the "lowest maximum" recorded in May for many years, and this was decades ago. Which, I'd say is a temperature that many people would be quite happy to see currently. I say this, because there seems to be this perception, both from many people on here, but also generally in our society, that we never used to have warm temperatures in April / May (such as 18-20c), and people are "spoilt" nowadays by the fact that we get far warmer Aprils and Mays than we used to, and as such, and as such we shouldn't 'expect' temps like 18/19 or 20c in April or May. However, its quite clear that 19.4c was considered a 'low' maximum temp for May 40 years ago. So, given our supposed trend of warmer spring seasons, we should 100% definitely be expecting some 19cs, a 20c or two, and even a bit beyond by this time of year. The fact that we haven't hit that for even a single day yet in London/SE, is very telling (max thus far in these ends has been 18c, on the Saturday just gone over the long-weekend). And judging by the forecast for the first part of May, we aren't going to be getting any 19 or 20c anytime soon...not even another 17 or 18c for the foreseeable...

30-35% of average sunshine in my ends for March, and 65% for April = "it's just average". Hmm...

Yes, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Western Norway and some parts of Newfoundland & Labrador. Perhaps the Netherlands at a push. That's about it. Lol.

Everything Is "just average" and "normal", unless you get a few days of hot weather in Summer, and then it's a sign of the impending apocalypse and indicative that in 20 years, Britain's climate will be Mediterranean!

Really dire, just a continuation of the pattern that has dominated this whole Spring tbh, especially in the South. My "hope for the best" mindset towards this is that the sheer, unwavering inaccuracy of the forecast in this country could mean that the weather over the next 10 days may end up being very different to what's predicted. But admittedly, I've had it countless times where when the forecast looks to be pleasant, it'll end up being wrong and then gets downgraded at the last moment, and when the forecast is bad, it ends up being an accurate prediction.

Saturday was a great day, first day in so long that felt genuinely Spring lake. Yesterday was not bad either, but clouded over thick by afternoon and then showers in the evening. Today, thick cloud blanket and potential showers and looks the same over the next couple of days. When I checked yesterday, the forecast actually had a few consistent days of partial sun coming up, but its now changed overnight to now be cloud and rain. Hence why there's no point paying much attention to what's predicted for next weekend. It can all change in the space of a 12 hour period lol. More value in sticking your head out the window than looking at the British weather forecast.

Zero % sun in London and feeling a few rain drops on my head en route to the pub. Why is the SE jut unable to remain at least partially clear skied for more than 30mins? Genuinely frustrating. Its a little more mild than it has been for much of April, just is more comfortable I guess, but the sheer lack of sun continues and looks like the long weekend is more or less just a repeat of today but a tad warmer. Yeah I don't hold out for anything now tbh, seeing as multiple times this month they've forecast sunny weather the evening of for the following day, then it doesn't materialise. Even this morning my forecast had the clouds clearing up completely by this afternoon but they've fully thickened back up with zero blue visible....

Most definitely

It lasted all of about 20 mins lol hence why I went to sit outside with my tea when I appeared

Yes!!!

I think its clearing up guys....!! (Not). Apparently it's 16c but feels bloody cold still without the sun and a chilly breeze. Reaffirming what I was saying earlier about air temperature during this time of year. 13c and sunny legitimately feels warmer than 16c and overcast.

My phone forecast must be completely wrong then! My bad. However I don't see how this thick blanket of cloud can clear

I'm really confused as to how the Met Office just consistently gets its predictions so wildly wrong on the actual day-of. They are currently claiming 19c and partly sunny in London / SE by 2pm...considering it's nearly 1pm and I'm sitting at 12c and fully overcast (looks about to rain tbh), I honestly can't fathom how they post things like this. I can just go outside and feel the weather, right now, and it's so radically different to what this shows. But heyho, apparently it's going to warm up by 8 degrees in the next 60 minutes

The sun being out is incredibly important this time of year for warmth perception. It's been overcast for the vast majority of the month here in London / Essex which makes it feel significantly less warm than it actually is. The days where its actually been clear, has felt noticeably warmer as a result, even if its like 12/13c air temps, because I'm like "oh wow, so thats what the sun is meant to feel like on my skin!" So, yes whilst the mean temps are important to a degree, the sunshine levels are more impactful in April overall. A good example of this is April 2021. A really, really sunny month but also colder than average...however, felt lovely during the daytime even if it was only say 11/12c. So jealous The SE continues to wallow in cloud, actually where i am in London looks ready to rain, its so bloody dark. I do genuinely think that England has flipped in recent years, SE and London is often way more cloudy than everywhere else, even if it is 'warmer'.