Scorcher

Not sure about the point about darkness- this country is not a bad place to play when sunset isn't until 9.30pm! They played until about 6:45 this evening in bright sunshine and even that would be a struggle in some countries further south.

Related to the solar minimum perhaps? It seems odd to me too, as I don't recall the southerly tracking jet being such a major influence on summers before 2005.

Not bad here today, a lot of cloud around but some sunny intervals as well. Feeling warm with a max of 21C. Temperatures are holding up quite nicely too this evening with all the cloud around. Still 20C at 8pm.

Nothing incredible about it at all, even some warm Julys have had days with maxes in the mid teens. July 2003 is a good example of this.

Actually not feeling too bad here today, there is a lot of cloud about and there have been a few spots of rain, but winds are light and it feels quite warm, especially when the sun makes a fleeting appearance. 21C here, not bad at all temperature wise considering the wind direction.

Day 1: 18C Day 2: 17C Day 3: 19C Day 4: 20C Day 5: 20C Play Lost: 175 mins

Agree about December 2001, it was a superb month, and one the few winter months that I've enjoyed, along with February 2008.

Doesn't look that bad to me over the coming week, and the countryfile forecast was also reasonable. Yes there will be showers but a lot of places will miss them and temperatures look close to average. Then perhaps signs of something a bit more settled for the weekend? I certainly can't see this 'stinker' of a July that is apparently on the cards.

Agree about anticylonic gloom in winter- last New Year's Eve springs to mind as a particularly horrid and depressing day with thick fog and temperatures below freezing. Surely no one enjoys those kind of conditions! I remember playing football on that day and breathing was difficult and it was hard to get warm even when running about!

The exceptionally warm start to the month has actually made me rather pleased with my prediction of 18.5C. Even at the end of next week we should still be well above average despite cooler temperatures arriving. It seems that conditions may be conducive to a hotter spell in the second half of July and if that happens the only way will be up for the CET. Such a warm has start has made a below average month unlikely in my opinion.

Today was easily the best day of the hot spell here, it was absolutely glorious. I actually wasn't expecting too much as people on this forum seemed to be talking yesterday as if the best had been and gone and that the hot spell was over. Also showers had been forecast to develop this afternoon. The sunshine was almost unbroken until this evening, and even then the cloud was only patchy. Humidity also dropped today and the sun felt very strong indeed but there was a lovely soft breeze. Maximum temperature of 29.5C, making it the warmest day since July 2006. Probably the best day since 2006 as well, in terms of a combination of sunshine and heat. I was worried on Tuesday that we would miss out on the heat but the last two days have been fantastic and there has been no rain. Overall it has been a wonderful last 10 days here, with only one day having a maximum below 23C.

Today is also going to come in very high, with widespread daytime heat and some remarkably high minima, particularly in the north. Will be interesting to see.

I'd say it would be about 75-25 in favour of heat, I personally don't know anyone who enjoys cold in winter. I didn't even realise anyone liked cold until I joined this forum!

I don't think it did get below 20C last night in the Manchester area. I know Woodford's minimum temperature was 20C but I think Manchester Airport got down to 19C. You can usually add one or two degrees on to the Manchester Airport figure for the more urban areas just to the north, I always find that Manchester Airport is quite a bit cooler at night than where I am in Denton.

True, but the same goes for many of the winter lovers on the forum. Some good points there, especially about the commuter trains. I can definitely accept that on a crowded underground/commuter train in a suit it would be pretty unpleasant in hot and humid weather. I count myself lucky that I don't have to go through this daily! And I do appreciate the cold sunny mornings too, far better than a combination of dullness and cold, but personally I would prefer it to be warm and sunny as often on very frosty mornings I find I can't get warm even when wrapped up.

Each to their own I suppose, but I just don't get this argument that cold lovers put forward that when it's cold you can just put on extra layers/heating etc. Heated air is just horrible and always makes my skin dry and gives me sore throats as well as being more stuffy than the natural heat in the summer. I much prefer summer, and it's not that difficult to cool down at all- you can always use a fan, go for a cold shower etc. The heat we get in this country is hardly ever unbearable. I can't remember a time when I've felt too hot in this country when wearing just shorts and a t shirt. Summer is just a happier time of the year for me when people spend time outdoors as nature intended (without coats of course). Winter on the other hand I find to be miserable with darkness at 4pm, no lovely green leaves on the trees and no pleasant scents in the air. There really is no biological reason for wanting cold weather with weak sun. On the other hand our bodies naturally do need sunlight as Vitamin D is a requirement for a healthy body. The body struggles to generate sufficient levels when the sun is low in the sky. I think another thread I've talked about there being some afflictions which are limited to more northerly latitudes, MS being the one that springs to mind and has been strongly linked with levels of Vitamin D.

Why such a big downward correction? Anyone know? 14.8C seems too cool to me considering the very warm last 10 days.

Strangely it seems to have been less humid in London and the South East than elsewhere. Dew points have generally been lower there and night time mins not quite as high. Elsewhere temps haven't been quite as high but the high humidity has certainly compensated for that.

True, the real reason for them wanting it fresher is because the tube becomes a sauna when temperatures are this high. If there is a heatwave just in London there is a heatwave, we don't need to know any more! Fantastic day here, a lot better than expected. Mainly sunny since this morning with only a couple of cloudy intervals and a temperature of 28C. Humidity is around 60% as well, it feels wonderful! Warmest day of the year so far here and could still get higher.

Look at those temps in Sweden and Norway, there is a 32C that is further north than the Shetland Islands! Looks like they did quite well in the Shetlands too, 22C is very warm for that part of the world. Also interesting to see warmer temperatures here than in southern Italy, quite surprising really.

It is similar to the US deep south, just not in mid summer. I spent a year in northern Florida and this kind of weather is common there in May and also early October. The US deep south is not tropical of course. It's just the feeling in the air that reminds of Florida, I know it's not as hot as it is there in summer but the scent in the air and general feeling in the air does have similarities. We've just had a minimum temperature of 19C here overnight, very warm indeed for this part of the world. In fact it's probably the warmest night since at least the summer of 2006, and I'm doubtful that we actually had a night as warm as this during 2006. Of course that spell had far lower dew points and I don't recall a night higher than 18C.

I agree with this completely, that's why I am concerned when I hear the word 'fresher' on the weather forecast as in this country it often means cooler with a strong breeze and this is rarely accompanied by wall to wall sunshine. It's also why I rarely look forward to a thundery breakdown- yes I enjoy the thunder but only look forward to it if I know the warmth is going to return promptly. 2006 was ideal for this as even when thunderstorms did occur the heat returned very quickly. Yes it felt most unusual today in the showers as the temperature barely seemed to drop at all when the rain fell. It's not common to have rain and temperatures of 24C here but that's what happened today. It reminded me a lot of Florida, every time I walked out of a building the humidity was instantly noticeable. I know humid conditions are relatively common in the UK but certainly not with temperatures in the mid 20s and almost total cloud cover.

It looks like we will probably get another hot spell, the more knowledgable members of the forum have suggested the latter part of July though, so we may have to wait a while. I just hope we just don't get too many northerly or north westerly winds in the meantime, I dislike 'freshness' in mid summer and these wind directions bring exactly that. I would take south-westerlies over winds with a northerly component any day, although north-easterlies can be pleasant at this time of year.

I must admit although I initially disagreed with those who suggested there was no heatwave outside the South East, I now realise that this spell has been a big disappointment in my area. It seemed we would reach at least 28C today or yesterday but neither day has really delivered. Yesterday the cloud arrived just as temperatures were heading towards the high 20s- we reached 26C by about 1pm but then the cloud arrived and the temperature actually dropped. Today there has been way too much cloud around all day and we've maxed out at 25C. Not heatwave standard by any means. One thing I would say is that the combination of temperatures in the mid 20s, with cloud and very high humidity is extrememly unusual in this part of the world so it has certainly been interesting. I'm now not looking forward to the weather cooling off over the weekend and the dreaded word 'fresher' appearing on the weather forecast. It has to be the word I hate most in all weather terminology! I would quite happily take this warmth and humidity every day of the summer, it's lovely!

Not much sunshine here today but very warm and humid temperatures, currently 24.5C. A fair bit of cloud about but some sunny intervals. Even during a period of rain at 8am the temperature was 20C, and we had a minimum last night of 18C.