Bottesford

22c is indeed a nice temperature but if humidity is low and max is only 22 it will quickly cool and make sitting out impossible in the evenings. This then gives only two potential days a week to just sit outside... So for me it needs to be warmer than that - or humid - to hold those temps up till 9pm at least. Have to say I find the anti humidity thing surprising - surely working up a bit of a sweat isn't that bad? Fairly normal bodily operation that the majority of the world seems to deal with ok. Admittedly it can get a little too high at times but a nice humid warm evening feels & smells just lovely. You can go from indoors to outdoors without any change in temperature and the garden becomes part of your house a lot more. Any discomfort is far outweighed that horrible feeling of shivering cold when you just can't warm up.

As I set out my garden for the year I long desperately for something decent this year. We really need a dry (but not too dry) and most importantly sunny summer. My ideal summer would be a bit like as TWS described except the wetter/thundery bits really need careful timing. So many times I've sat in the office all week in blazing sunshine for it to turn to crap Friday evening. I'd really like to see some proper heat too- it's been many years now since we've seen any. I intend to move house in autumn so this is the last summer in this place - it'd be nice to finally make use of its fantastic ability to keep cool at all times. Plus this is my second year really getting into gardening - after last year please mother nature gimme a break this time!

Yes good luck with everything and thanks for your input here over the years!

Yes but only if we're not plagued by low cloud. Yes if its sunny it'll be lovely but if not it'll be raw again.

I saw some sun for first few hours of the day - was nice. It's gone now of course. Easterlies are indeed a complicated beast for cloud cover but generally the longer the land track from your location to the sea the better. If I see Ely winds progged I simply assume cloudy then occasionally be pleasantly surprised. Hope to see the end of this vile wind direction soon - been going on far too long now.

That looks cold & dry with ample cloud off the North Sea - yuk! Better if the high was a few hundred miles further SE.

Counted 7 people who separately moaned about the weather unprompted today. People sure are getting fed up! This includes the missus but then she is complaining about it almost none stop as she suffers badly in cold - irritated eyes & painful feet mostly - seen her hands go blue on many an occasion. Luckily I'm hot blooded and often last to feel the cold although standing around on Tamworth station early this morning tested that somewhat!

So a very dull year so far then with both Jan & Feb being very cloudy. No surprise with air mostly being sourced from the east - a cold & cloudy direction. Only the real deep cold spells have brought lots of sunshine. Hopefully a rebalance of stats May to August...

Few things I can glean from all this: - You can like whatever weather you like - your choice. - Liking a particular weather type either individually or as a group does not make it more or less likely to occur. - A lot of people on the forum are interested in extreme weather so there is a bias. - *However* not everyone is after the next ice age/megastorm - some want info for their livelihoods or leisure activities and would prefer weather to suit. The whole "you shouldn't like this cold because its killing lambs" is nonsense. But so is "you should like this cold because its extreme/statistically interesting and if not what are you doing on a weather forum".

Now now lets all calm down a bit eh. People are entitled to their opinion and there is nothing whatsoever wrong in enjoying the current weather conditions. There is a lot of frustration about the slow no start to spring not only on here but in the national media and the public in general so easy to get caught up in it. It's been a tough year for animals, farmers, gardeners and the tourist industry alike but no doubt a good period for all will come along soon to balance things out. Heatwaves, cold weather, storms, snow and wind all cause problems at time but doesn't stop them being interesting and enjoyable. Your not relishing in the suffering of others but in the weather itself!

Yes I'd say last years spring did a lot of damage after a warm March then into soaking cold April & May until the good spell arrived. Nothing has even begun growing yet - only things planted outside are garlic & winter veg I put in during autumn. The waterlogging is an issue and yes even that wonderful white stuff adds to the problem as do low temperatures as nothing is evaporating. One thing different to a winter cold spell is the daylight length - its lovely to see more of the snow true. Downside though as my curtains stay open longer which is letting the freezing wind in (I can feel it now as I type). Soon as the curtains shut it helps keep it warmer and the boiler gets the odd 15-20 min rest from time to time.

Dry yes but often laden with low cloud and can feel cool. Had many a June day with such conditions. True it can burn back by lunchtime but still that's a pain and far from ideal.

More easterlies then... *sigh*. It'll all come good at some point surely...

Can we stick to model discussion in this thread please - the regional threads are the place for the "ooo wow its snowing" and such. Some of us are starting to follow the models ever closer looking for light at the end of the tunnel so need a bit of info!

July 2006 (summer & weather at its absolute best) August 1995 (at the age of 15 I remember this for endless sunny, dry & sunny weather which I decided made for good conditions to play the game Dune 2... hmmm) June 2006 (much like July - supreme good weather.) August 2003 (for the epic heat) Hard to think of any others that I can link to a specific month but I did enjoy Dec 2010 for the extreme low temperatures although there wasn't that much snow at home.

20c! Ha only seen >10c once so far so I'm being realistic and looking for the first high in the teens. I'm living in hope when this dire weather changes it changes rapidly to something decent so I'll go with 13th-18th April with things staying decent right into and across summer.

Lets hope so eh - a decent summer is long overdue!

Yes good to see some power in the sun again. Forget the tanning though - getting sunlight onto your skin is good for you and after the long winter the influx of vitamin D really makes you feel alive again. I've glowed a bit from walking in April although not March before but we'll see at Easter!

Yes last year I'd thrown loads of my plants out only to be caught out a few weeks later. Lets assume things will run the other way this year... and get the cold stuff out the way early.

'95 would suit me for sure... Really its sunshine & dryness (but not drought) we absolutely need this summer so we get a decent harvest and stop food prices rising any further. Personally its late June I'm most interested in as I don't fancy cool, wet weather @ 1400 feet for my wedding day! A complete absence of frontal rain would be a welcomed change.

What about last weekend which was both mild and extremely sunny? That came off a southerly sourced air stream. What about the easterly before it that was persistent light rainfall, no sun and raw cold all the time? Eugene - it isn't as simple as "cold = sunny; mild = cloudy" any more than it is the other way round. I could just as easily argue that all these folk who pine for easterlies are fools since mostly they are so cloudy. But of course I know they're after weather like today in the same way many of us are looking to the south to bring us some spring warmth.

Few posts gone this morning - lets keep it model related peeps!

Overall things might have been warmer but like you say its fallen in spring or autumn when the effect is less pronounced i.e. being 12c in November compared to an average of 8-9c doesn't really register to most people as notable compared to 26-28c in July does. To most folks its felt like a chilly few years because all the summers have been wet or cloudy or cool - or any combination of the three.

Sounds like a classy joint!

You can get bottle conditioned ale yes but its totally unsuitable for walking around in and much be carefully poured to avoid disturbing the sediment. I've never had a bottled beer taste as good as a good proper pint. Lager is less fussy true (although cans inflict a metallic taste onto the beer that bottles don't) and of course you can easily enjoy it (and ale too) walking around - but pubs can be lovely little social places and provide an atmosphere that a 6 pack from Tesco just doesn't.