Summer 2002 as bad as people say?

[Summerlover2006]

There are a lot of forums that say 2002 was a terrible summer for the uk and the summer just gets a lot of hate but is it deserving of it? 

June was the main stinker of the summer with it being dominated by low pressure and it being a very dull month despite this there was mini heatwaves throughout one at the start of the month and one mid month but still a disappointing month overall 

The opening of July was by far the worst part of the summer the first 12 days being extremely wet and very dull with some places having less than 15 hours of sunshine in the first 10 days. Despite this period being probably one of the worst summer periods since the 80s in my opinion July wasn’t a total disappointment after the 12th some places had no rain until the 30th and there was a heatwave at the end with 32.6C on the 29th. 
 

August began the same as July did with it being very wet but things settled down by the 12th and then it was very pleasant until the end of the month with some places having no rain for the rest of the month. It was also hot at times with 31C on the 17th

I think the reason this summer is so hated is because it’s bad periods were pretty terrible and some of the worst since the horrific 1980s summers but it was not without its pleasant periods but this is just from reading people that lived through this summer what do you think of it.

[SummerShower]

Not a bad summer at all I'd say.  By no means a 'good' one though either.  This is how I remember the summer:

June started off with a very warm weekend then was changeable for the rest of the month, there was a short fine spell around d 25/26th and Eastern areas had a hot day on the 17th iirc.  It wasn't overly wet, just non descript.  June 2000 and 2008 was similar to it.

July was poor until around the 12th and as you say it was the worst part of the summer and wouldn't have been out of place in July's of 2007 or 2023.  It quickly flipped around the weekend of the 13th and I remember many warm days and the heatwave at the end.  Many areas got great storms iirc around the 29th/30th, although we missed out here.

August wasn't unlike 2004 in many respects.  The month started off warm, and thundery with flooding rains in some areas.  The mid part was quite hot and sunny then the rest of the month was fair and mainly dry but not that hot.

I think there may be 2 reasons why the summer gets a worse rap than it deserves.  The first is simply many summers around this point were pretty good (bar 2000, which is probably on a par with this one).  The second I suspect is the heat that did occur was quite often east-uk based.  I think the west missed out on most of the heat and was notably cloudy when the 30C days hit the east.  People loving in the west may therefore have a worse perception of it.

Edited April 11 by SummerShower

[LetItSnow!]

Anomaly maps (using average maxima)

June 2002

July 2002

August 2002

Summer 2002

Stats suggest it was a very dull summer even when it turned warm in August. That dullness probably stopped it from being notably cool due to mild nighttime minima as even by the 1961-1990 average temperatures in the west struggled.

This east/west split can be explained by persistent Scandinavian heights that gave them a very hot summer (August 2002 was exceptionally hot there which ironically a year later they would miss out on most of the August 2003 heatwave). 2002 perhaps an example of how blocking to our east isn’t a guarantee of a good summer if the link with the Azores fails to link. We were on the very periphery and explains the warm August.  

 

Must have been quite a miserable, dank summer for the most part with such poor sunshine totals. 

Edited April 11 by LetItSnow!

[hillbilly]

Yes a poor summer,as a farmer trying to make hay it was garbage for July and the first half of August,yet another year when we had to cut grass 5 weeks later than we should have.

[MP-R]

June and July were almost like carbon copies here. The first half of each month was unsettled (although the first weekend of June was good), but the unsettled weather was worse in July, yet the fine weather in the second half was also better in July. June overall was just a bit non descript but after the 14th wasn't that bad really in my locale. I was abroad for the second half July but the weather was often fine and warm and briefly hot but not always sunny. 

August's unsettled start was of a more summery nature i.e. slack thundery weather rather than the autumnal Atlantic garbage in June and July. This persisted until the 09th, then the month improved and was mostly warm or briefly hot and better where sunshine is concerned. The Atlantic didn't properly move in until the very end of the month.

So, I'd say there have been far worse summers but it was certainly not a good one. The second half definitely the half that resembled the time of year.

[B87]

Summer 2002 at Heathrow. It was a poor summer, but better than 2000, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2021. A cool, wet and dull June/July, followed by a dry and dull August with average temperatures.

June: av max 20.1c, 71.2mm on 9 days, 191.5 hours

July: av max 22.3c, 67.2mm on 11 days, 193.9 hours

August: av max 23.3c, 36.3mm on 6 days, 190.4 hours

[Summer8906]

No, it wasn't terrible. Just a little below par. (Location south Hampshire)

June was unsettled, dull and cool for the first two weeks but then, following a warm, humid weekend, became mostly dry and bright for the rest of the month, but slightly cool at times. There was a short wet interlude on the 21st and it then turned wet again on the 30th.

July was similarly unsettled, dull and cool for the first 12 days before becoming warm on the 13th. It was sunny until the 18th, then more changeable but still rather dry until about the 25th. Then a brief hot spell followed by a thundery end to the month, and on the warm side still.

August started with a week of warm, showery weather with a slack low, and some sun at times. It was then very cool and dull for a short period from the 8th-11th before becoming much warmer with variable cloud, eventually hot on the 17th/18th.

Then around a week of slack pressure conditions, warmish with some showers, and finally cooler with a northeasterly setting in but still mostly dry. The final day of the month featured a strong anticyclone (though with some Sc sheets around the middle of the day), which gave a foretaste of September's typical conditions.

So not the most terrible summer, and it helped that none of the three months were truly dire. Just a little bit below par for the 1989-2006 period.

First half could be considered poorish (but 2nd half of June still OK), second half was persistently warm though not always sunny and not always bone-dry. August was unseasonably blocked with little in the way of Atlantic W-lies: slack pressure patterns were frequent.

From 1989 onwards, I'd place it above 1992, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

Edited April 12 by Summer8906

[A Face like Thunder]

This was Pickering in North Yorkshire on the morning of 2nd August 2002 after 115mm of rain fell at nearby Fylingdales on the North Yorkshire moors in the previous 24 hours 

[Harry233]

Don’t remember much about that summer but looking back at my records 2002 was definitely a poor summer for me especially during June and July. However unlike some recent poor summers there was still some decent spells of useable weather. Most of June was pretty poor but I do remember quite a warm and summery spell probably around the 22nd but I’m not too sure. The first half of July 2002 was absolutely shocking, probably the worst spell of July weather until 2012, but around midmonth it was very pleasant and quite warm, there must of been another cool and wet spell after then before it improved again before the months close. July 2002 was the coolest, wettest and dullest July I had until 2012. Locally as well it was probably the wettest since 1988. August 2002 was rather wet and unsettled but I do remember it being quite a warm month. I remember the 11th being a very wet day especially. A similar month to August 2004.

definitely a summer in the top 5 worst but I would say 2007, 2012 and 2020 were worse.

[Weather-history]

Countryfile gave its summary of summer 2002

 

[Don]

I remember folk complaining at the time that summer 2002 was poor.  I thought it was ok (albeit unremarkable) with an average June and July, followed by a pleasant August, after a wet start.