Soaring Hawk

Congratulations Lewis, hope your special day with outside ceremony is memorable for all the right reasons - best wishes for Saturday’s weather

Haha was that why the overhead planes seemed to bank in an unusual way this evening? How much rain did you get you lucky lady yet so close to me here in Drysville. Not a spot just horribly humid.

I’d like to report rain from the blob that nw radar had passing directly over my location a short while ago. But I can’t. Nothing has reached ground level here since a very short, sharp shower on 31 July. Currently 29C, heavy cloud, WSW wind has picked up to an occasional brisk breeze, which is most welcome after two days with minimal leaf movement. Humidity recording as dropping significantly but still feels uncomfortably sticky. Hoping for something from the larger and more interesting rain enroute according to radar. Edit: Don’t believe it- the sun has come out. Dark clouds are literally vanishing as I watch.

Absolutely it has! In 1976 I was living in Vancouver in beautiful British Columbia. It was claimed at the time that we’d had the wettest summer for 100 years. (Haven’t searched for verification of that, although I remember it seemed to rain all the time that summer). I would receive photos of UK based friends and family looking remarkably brown and healthy and even some of water queues at standpipes The water shortage was particularly shocking because we didn’t get much news about Blighty, so to see people I went to school with holding large pots and pans out in their streets really stunned me. The photos appeared surreal on on sorts of levels and definitely not the green England I remembered, with the washed out yellow landscape more akin to Malta, where we lived shortly before moving to Canada. This summer is the first time I’ve been able to get a sense of what the famous 1976 may have been like. Currently 28C in my bedroom - it’s definitely felt hotter than yesterday here, with max of 33C recorded in my garden. Longing, fantasy dreaming type longing for Wednesday and a few days of chilly but oh so comfortable low to mid 20’s.

Saw this beautiful sight a couple of minutes ago. As the saying goes...I saw this and thought of you @Crepuscular Ray

Sitting in the garden with a glass of chilled white wine and toes in the dog’s paddling pool. A much nicer evening with; currently 26C with much lower humidity than of late. Bliss. Pity the sun sets so early now (photo taken 35 minutes ago). Lawn’s looking good......

That sounds like a great idea. But. What’s the betting an air con unit now costs eleventy billion pounds? And only available strictly cash from the back of a Mafia drug dealer’s lorry.. Haha CR, our Fathers sound like they’re cut from the same cloth. Mine was, as a concession to the heat, today wearing a short sleeved white shirt. With a vest underneath it You definitely need to come out to the countryside for a sleep. Only 25.5 again in my bedroom tonight. God...

Step away...step carefully away from the vest Tommo

With you @Blazerblueon the feeling lousy and unable to sleep last night. After midnight it was 23 C with 78% humidity in my garden and 25.5C in my bedroom. Today I’m at my Father’s house as part of my regular care routine. It’s 30C in the shade on his weather station, no breeze at all and feels so humid that I’m seriously concerned about him. As I have been throughout this long hot few months. He’ll be 96 in 4 weeks time and until this heat started has managed well to live well in his own home. In the last 6 weeks though he’s suffered headaches and dizziness, loss of appetite, no energy and breathlessness too - all symptoms that older adults and those with health problems are struggling with. He’s exhausted and his poor old heart will be under strain in this heat - not affecting his forensic mind and memory though! For obvious reasons I’d welcome average temperatures (and some regular rain for farmers).

That’s awful CR it’s 25.5C in my bedroom atm and that feels bad enough. I hope you manage to get some sleep at least.

Exactly what I was saying earlier to my, somewhat nervous, passenger while driving and gazing around in wonder Ed! Heavy rain around 6am, although it didn’t last long. Sunny with a few fair weather clouds against incredibly intense blue sky. The countryside looking amazing, trees greener etc. A stunningly beautiful crisp day, if somewhat windy atm. Currently 19C with expected max of 25 Wind: WSW 10, gusting 17 Pressure 1016. Humidity 65% Visibility excellent

You are most welcome. I sensed there was anxiety in your post so broke a self imposed rule and asked for physical symptomatic input on how to phrase my reply. (My clinical background is mental health, not the medicine that he deals with). I hope the therapy helps build on the CBT and understand how easy it is to feel concern with anxiety issues. It’s hard for those who have never experienced anxiety to understand just how challenging it can be to understand what can be an exhausting and debilitating condition and find coping mechanisms to deal with it, so congratulations with the progress you’ve made and I’ll bet your openness helps others too. Wow your rain outcomes sound impressive to me! The only noticeable difference here is that the bird bath hasn't evaporated since refilling it on Friday. Refilling has been a daily ritual lately.

@chrisbell-nottheweatherman I hope this reassures you - I asked my other half (a doctor) as you seemed concerned - that you won’t have suffered neurological damage and it is more likely to have been very mild symptoms of heat exhaustion rather than heat stroke. Blazerblue’s advice is spot on and as it warms up again during this week remember especially to drink lots of (non alcoholic) fluids. I definitely will need to drink more water as I had headaches and light headed episodes too and got told off for not drinking enough! I hope you feel better now Light shower this morning and a fine drizzle for a short time about an hour ago. Was hoping for more rain but seem to be under a giant umbrella here

I always read your posts Blazerblue because you live not far from Laxfield which was my beloved home for 10 years. I know Halesworth and whole area well and imagine your dog walks when you mention them. Can understand your pain, especially today which is horribly hot in your area. (My son reported 37.5 in Norwich earlier.). Don’t know about you but I’ve found today worse than yesterday because lack of even a small breeze where I live. The 10 minutes of rain just now is the most my village has had since early May. At least it beats the very few droplets on 26 May, which was the last time there has been any precipitation, but won’t help our farmers or gardens. Still, we live in hope that later today and especially Sunday will deliver some ‘proper’ rain. If Sunday’s promised rain happens I shall dance in the garden with very minimal clothing as I expect will most of the village! Good luck Suffolk!

We have rain and thunder Rain started 10 minutes. Heavy enough for my young lab to be scared to go out! Several loud rumbles of thunder. Oh. That dratted sun is back out. And the rain has stopped. I feel like crying now.

MetO says 26 for my nearest station although that seems a lot cooler than it feels and temp in my garden reading at 29c. No rain unfortunately from last night’s anticipated stormy weather. Now day 62 without rain and May 26 only gave a smattering enough to dampen conservatory roof. Last significant rain shower was early May. Chatting to local farmer early this morning when out with my dog; he’s really stressed and said his water levels for livestock are now “dangerously low” and his winter feed has taken a big hit because there is no grass. Please rain ?

After 3.5 hours sleep last night, driving to Norwich (29.5c at Baldock 10:15; 33.5c as I drove north on A11 towards Thetford at 11.15 but lower at 32.5 once I got to outskirts of Norwich. That coincided with a brisk breeze for which I was truly grateful. Left my car with son (it’s his now ) and sampled the hell of a very delayed train with NO air conditioning from Norwich to Cambridge, except it terminated at Ely because the announcer said “it is a very, very poorly train”. I rather suspected he’d then muttered something about ‘it was fuc**d’. Or that may have been just the voices in my head by then. Train to Cambridge was at least cool but managed to be slow enough to miss train from there to my nearest town. The next one was, unsurprisingly, cancelled.. Waiting for almost an hour squeezed on hideously overcrowded boiling platform, as at least 6 trains had either been cancelled or had broken down, with cross, sweaty crowds and suddenly realised was having murderous thoughts towards people, young people who can cope with extreme temperatures, that continue to claim this summer heat is great, fantastic etc. Finally, nearly 5 hours after I started idiotic idea of using public transport on hottest day, arrive home to my oven of a Devil designed house in Hell, with garden shade temperature still at 31c (sunny here) and find that we are likely to get blasted thunderstorms, strategically timed to ensure no one in that red area sleeps tonight. Dehydrated, headache, swollen feet and dizzy. God. Where’s the gin....

Yuk. Feel for the poor folk living nearby. 24C here at the moment and that’s bad enough. A breeze has picked up in last 15 minutes “thank you weather God” so hoping for some sleep tonight. Day 61 without rain in my village

@Katrine Basso Definity empathise with your YouTube preference! I’ve been obsessively staring in glazed and slightly hysterical fashion at March blizzard photos in Scottish and North regional threads today. Hit 30C here (shade) nearly three hours ago. Which in fairness we’ve had more than a few times since May, although that was before my house turned into a permanent award winning Devil designed des res in a sought after area of Hell...

The darkest clouds we’ve seen since May. Could today be the day....? My lawn says please please please. As do the green woodpeckers who haven’t found a worm in the iron ground for two months and, sadly, have vanished.

I’m pretty certain from your comments Twiglet that May 26 must be the last time it rained here. Your garden sounds identical to mine; grass isn’t growing but the dandelions certainly are and the footpaths around my village have similar cracks too. My young Labrador spends a lot of time standing or carrot bobbing in his paddling pool and I haven’t let him out without his cooling coat for weeks. I’m only walking him through the woods at Weston Hills once it cools a bit in the evening as our farmland walks have no shelter and it’s miserable after about 15 minutes in the strong sun. Today was more pleasant but it’s very warm tonight, hence still not asleep. Must try harder...night night

The utter bliss of a shade temperature of only 22C today! Sunday was so hot that visiting family and I dared to venture outside around 9pm and, looking for something to do other than moaning about the heat, had to eat cheese, olives, crackers and drink wine and beer until nearly 1am. We were forced to do it as house was unbearable. No, really.. Cannot remember when it rained last. Recall taking photos of a very lively lightening show on May 27th but unfortunately only a few drops of rain fell, enough to make conservatory roof look even dirtier but no help to the parched ground. The front and back grass is yellow and patches of cracked earth have pushed through the burned grass - I think someone was asking about whether anyone else had that? @Dami can you remember the last time it rained? I think you may be one of the nearest nw members to me. Unless anyone lives in Baldock/Stotfold or even Biggleswade. Definitely not this month, I don’t remember any in June and not sure when/if there was anything in May but that seems too long! (maybe it’s heat related sleep deprivation). My sister, who lives in Australia, is asking because there was mention on their news about our heat wave.

Into week eleventy billion (ok, so have lost track of how many weeks, due to sleep deprivation) of this unrelenting heatwave and am giving up the will to live because of west facing garden and sadistically designed house. With all bedrooms on west side of house. Sat outside all evening because it was relatively cool at 22C (at 23:30) after another shade high of 29 degrees. No idea how hot it was in the sun, except awful. Kitchen is 24C even with fan on, where my poor young lab has to sleep and my bedroom is currently 26.5C despite curtains closed all day and fan on highest setting. Don’t know how others in our region feel but I’m desperate for forecasted mid 20’s on Tuesday and been having increasingly desperate fantasies about rain for more than two weeks now. Is it an age thing I wonder?

Sun came out at 5pm. Gone again now but at least temperature has struggled up to 17.5

With Sunday and yesterday such beautiful days it has been a bit of a let down today with this heavy cloud and a high, thus far, of 15C. Think the weekend and yesterday was the first time this month we've had consecutive sunny days. Phone's MetO app changes hourly with sun symbols vanishing quicker than Trump from the G7 meeting.