Summer Discussion!

[J07]

As you say though, in Australia those temps are often the norm day after day. Melbourne's forecasts are often interesting in the summer, it can be 20C one day, 41C the next and then back down to 22C the day after that!

Yes, I love Melbourne's weather patterns. I think it has some of the most exciting weather you can find, and especially has a fantastic claim to the 4-seasons-in-1-day that everywhere likes to claim!

Interestingly, despite Auckland being on the same latitude, it is never subject to the same ferocity of cold blasts that Melbourne gets, thanks to the orographic sheltering.

However, I am currently looking at an interesting forecast for Northland. Normally in southerlies it will carry on ticking away with pleasant temperatures. However, 17-18C maxima are being forecast there for the next two days. It's the first time they'll fail to hit 20C since October.

And you lot, you make me jealous going on about June. Lovely time of the year in the UK. Not so much here...

[Scorcher]

I heard that you have had a good summer in New Zealand though, or so the commentators said during the England cricket tour. Hamilton was the warmest of the venues if I remember rightly, and there was one very chilly day indeed in Wellington. I don't think it was so much the temperature but the gale-force wind, the players and crowd had their sweaters and jackets on. The other venue was Napier which was also quite warm with temps in the low 20s I think. Most of the North Island seems to have slightly higher average maxes in summer than the warmest parts of the UK, but it seems that Wellington is slightly cooler than many parts of England in mid-summer.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Scorcher

[J07]

I heard that you have had a good summer in New Zealand though, or so the commentators said during the England cricket tour. Hamilton was the warmest of the venues if I remember rightly, and there was one very chilly day indeed in Wellington. I don't think it was so much the temperature but the gale-force wind, the players and crowd had their sweaters and jackets on. The other venue was Napier which was also quite warm with temps in the low 20s I think. Most of the North Island seems to have slightly higher average maxes in summer than the warmest parts of the UK, but it seems that Wellington is slightly cooler than many parts of England in mid-summer.

Wellington in summer probably is cooler than many places in the South East of England but is warmer than the rest of the UK and sunnier than anywhere in the UK. A problem with Wellington is that there isn't really a good place to put a weather station which is truly representative. The two that are most commonly used are the airport and Kelburn. I don't know why they use the airport when it's stuck on a little peninsula completely exposed to southerlies. Kelburn is about 100m+ up on a hill and exposed to wind from everywhere. Most people live at lower levels and clustered into valleys and hillsides. But you can't have stations there due to the urban heat effect. Despite being only a stone's throw from the sea, Wellington CBD will exceed 30C relatively often in summer (especially this summer), and this is would be the most representative site but is obviously useless thanks to asphalt and heat trapping buildings.

Commuter towns called Wainuiomata, Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt are all much warmer in summer and much colder in winter- they are also cloudier. Lower Hutt quite frequently is the warmest place in New Zealand for a few hours on summer days. That would never happen at any site around the harbour.

A quick example is 7th Feb this year. Kelburn had a max of 18C, the airport also 18C. Wainuiomata had 26C, Lower Hutt 22C and Upper Hutt 26C. Hataitai which is in the city got to 25C and Eastbourne 23C.

[reef]

Im probably in the minority as far as last summer is concerned. Although it was admittedly too wet the temperatures for me were perfect. I cant stand heat so the highest maxima here of 24.1C in 2007 was just what the doctor ordered. I cant understand why anyone would want temperatures above 30C which make doing day to day tasks next to impossible.

For me, heat makes my life in summer thoroughly miserable as I work night shifts and get next to no sleep when its too warm. Id be quite happy with a summer where sunshine is above average, rain close to average, but temperatures around 18-20C and coolish nights around 8-10C. Im not against occasional warm spells, but definitely not to the extent that some on here seem to want.

[Snowyowl9]

Highest temps I had last summer was 24.1c in June then 24.5c in august.

I like to see some heat and more especially humid conditions (but not too much) to get those thunderstorms otherwise fresher SW-lys air is no good well when is it any time of year although last year produced the goods anyway with lows piling over top of us in June, instead and one lovely warm evening SE-ly plume giving some cracking thunderstorms.

And a warm or hot spell/ week to get the hay in also. :lol:

[Thundery wintry showers]

Some people just enjoy extremes, and/or can tolerate very high temperatures. At a personal level I'm okay with the odd very brief spell with temperatures above 30C (mainly for the sake of variety and the chance to experience something extreme) but if it goes on for upwards of a few days I start to get very drained by the heat. For instance I was in France during the infamous August 2003 heatwave, and felt ill whenever I spent more than ten minutes outside, while sleep was very hard to come by. I find low 20s ideal, high 20s just about manageable, but low 30s draining.

I reckon an 'ideal' summer for my reckoning would be dry/sunny/mostly low 20s for 50% of the time, convective sunshine and showers conditions with the odd storm thrown in and temperatures mostly high teens/low 20s for 30%, and high 20s/occasionally nudging low 30s with thunderstorms for 20%, and the three would alternate through the season. In many respects more like a typical 'continental' summer than a typical British one (d'oh!)

Incidentally, while June 2007 was a complete write-off in the North East, July and August saw the North East fare particularly well relative to other regions, with July having close to average sunshine and temperatures, and August being mostly sunny and dry. It's not that unusual in unsettled "westerly" summers, for instance the summers of 1988, 1992 and 1993 were all sunnier than average in Tyneside but duller than average for most of the rest of Britain.

[valiant]

mike,i think that is hopecasting rather than a backed up opinion. at the moment, a hot and wet summer is favoured, and a summer to beat 1976 is still some time away imo.

I passed my driving test in '76 and foolishly got a summer job driving an ice cream van! I was on 18% commission with cornets 8 p each - but didn't earn a higher weekly wage until I was 35

Edited April 20, 2008 by valiant

[Bottesford]

I enjoy the extremes of heat (>30c) not especially for intense daytime heat (although a bit of that is nice) but for the warm nights that follow. I'd be happy with maxes of 25c if it were still comfortable sitting outside t-shirt weather at midnight. Seem to remember a June day like that last summer - max of 25c and min of about 18c but quite humid - only nice day of the whole summer as I remember!

But generally, lower maxes mean gorgeous days (when I'm often stuck inside) but then somewhat too nippy out to sit comfortably later on - especially if the humidity is low (aka early July 2006).

[SP1986]

Yes I tend to find that hot weather can really boost my energy meaning I can do alot more in hot weather. I'm happy running around very fast none stop in hot temperatures, yet I know some people who break down into exhaustion after a around 10 minutes of running around with a ball in hot sun and temps of about 27°C

I like night temperature being warm too for the special atmosphere it creates, but it's natural for night temps to fall so I dont mind cooler night temps.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I have to admit the warm evenings are nice. The period 1-12 June 2006, and the month of July 2006 generally, were good examples in Leeds- at times I found it a bit hot during the warmest time of day, particularly when the temperature approached 30C, but the warm evenings more than made up for it.

During the France August 2003 heatwave, though, even the evenings were too hot!

[J07]

Yes I tend to find that hot weather can really boost my energy meaning I can do alot more in hot weather. I'm happy running around very fast none stop in hot temperatures, yet I know some people who break down into exhaustion after a around 10 minutes of running around with a ball in hot sun and temps of about 27°C

Yep that's me! That sort of heat renders anything physical too difficult for me! Simply horrible.

I like night temperature being warm too for the special atmosphere it creates

"Special atmosphere" really sums it up very well. I recall staggering through the streets of Wellington at 1AM in January as the cyclone approached. It was 23C with dewpoint 18C. Pretty odd feeling at that time of the night, but special yes.

[azores92]

Yep that's me! That sort of heat renders anything physical too difficult for me! Simply horrible.

"Special atmosphere" really sums it up very well. I recall staggering through the streets of Wellington at 1AM in January as the cyclone approached. It was 23C with dewpoint 18C. Pretty odd feeling at that time of the night, but special yes.

60 mm in one hour?. theres torrential and then theres 60mm in one hour!! a downpour is 16mm or more within an hour, so 60mm means that flooding would occur probably within 30 minutes and visibility would be at a minimum. back to the summer topic, and, at present, there seems to be a tendancy to go towards a wet june, then a drier july and august. personally, as much as i hate to say it, i have an inkling to go with a wetter july and august, and a drier june. i agree with everyone on the temperature front. hotter than average temperatures, but i think mugginess is a factor aswell. thats my thoughts, and i think droughts and persistant anticyclones are a no.

[Scorcher]

I also find physical exercise easier in warmer temperatures, some people hate playing football in temperatures over 20C for example, but I find breathing a lot easier when the air is warm. On the subject of warm evenings, in my opinion minima of about 16 or 17C would be ideal in summer, with the temperature staying above 21C until about midnight. I know some people wouldn't like that because it might be hard to sleep, but when the weather is warm I go to bed later generally anyway. When I was in Miami in September 2006 though it was still about 30C at midnight and that is just way too hot, and it was humid too. With those conditions you are just relying on air conditioning to allow you to have any sleep at all. Even though I enjoy warm weather I can't understand why places like Miami are renowned for their weather- it is just oppressive there from May to October and there is always a surprising amount of cloud in Florida, which is why I wonder why they call it the 'sunshine state'. I would like summer nights in the UK to be warmer but I prefer what we have to to the oppressive nights that they get in subtropical climates.

[J07]

60 mm in one hour?. theres torrential and then theres 60mm in one hour!! a downpour is 16mm or more within an hour, so 60mm means that flooding would occur probably within 30 minutes and visibility would be at a minimum.

What thread are you picking up on here?!

I also find physical exercise easier in warmer temperatures, some people hate playing football in temperatures over 20C for example, but I find breathing a lot easier when the air is warm. On the subject of warm evenings, in my opinion minima of about 16 or 17C would be ideal in summer, with the temperature staying above 21C until about midnight. I know some people wouldn't like that because it might be hard to sleep, but when the weather is warm I go to bed later generally anyway. When I was in Miami in September 2006 though it was still about 30C at midnight and that is just way too hot, and it was humid too. With those conditions you are just relying on air conditioning to allow you to have any sleep at all. Even though I enjoy warm weather I can't understand why places like Miami are renowned for their weather- it is just oppressive there from May to October and there is always a surprising amount of cloud in Florida, which is why I wonder why they call it the 'sunshine state'. I would like summer nights in the UK to be warmer but I prefer what we have to to the oppressive nights that they get in subtropical climates.

Florida still gets heaps of sun thoug, definitely above 2500 and I seem to recall that it pushes towards 3000 in places (could be wrong here).

It certainly is sunnier than the likes of Singapore, which rattle by with about 2000 hours per year, and of course it's even hotter and more oppressive than Florida.

[azores92]

JO7 i was not picking up on anything and i do not adhere to such tactless comments as that. the point i was making was that 60mm is a substantial rainfall total.

[Mark Bayley]

I don't mind the odd very warm spell with temperatures exceeding 30c. Especially if there’s some good storms with it as well. What i don't like is though when its very warm and humid at night. I can't stand it. My favourite summer weather is sunny days with temps getting up to around 20c to 25c and nights around 10c. I don't mind a FEW very warm spells. So maybe a 2 days every summer month where temps get up to or past 30c. I would enjoy quite a few thunderstorms as well

[SP1986]

I think the Azores is a perfect climate really for this country and a potential model for near future climates if climate change was to occur (in the summer rather than the winter)

The Azores is typical of a cool subtropical climate and actually is not that must removed from some of our southwest coasts (apart from the strength of sun)

daytime maxes in summer in the Azores range from 23-24°C and minimums of around 16-17°C

In winter, daytime maxes around 14-15°C and nighttimes mins around 11-12°C

[azores92]

well an azores summer means sun sun and more sun so sounds good haha.

[La Bise]

The 2003 heatwave started in late May on the continent, I was in Geneva for the weekend at that time and it was 30c+ outside during the day. It stayed cool at night so it was really the best of both world. However when I got back there in late june, it was rather different. Very luckily the first night was cool as they had been a thunderstorm during the day but by the next day, temps were up to 35c+ during the day and barely going below 25c at night, I remember walking home at 1am and the temp in the city was still 29c. It made it near impossibly to sleep properly, everything was going slower, commercial output must have dipped as most people simply adopted survival pattern, there is far less aircon offices in Geneva than in Manchester ironically. The heatwave only started to die down in august...

Anyhow, the day I flew back, it was 37c when I left in a baking hot sun. In Manchester it was 16c and left trouser leging it down, the relief lasted about 5 mins then, sitting outside a cold pub, looking at the rain falling, I shrugged my shoulders and got on with it...

My own longuest period of hot weather was in 94, I was still living in Geneva back then and we had over a month of relentless 30-35 c temps by day and hot nights although there was a thunderstorm every 4/5 days to clear the air for a short while and allow you one night of decent sleep (which in my case was even more compromised having just met a lovely girl...)

[MP-R]

This is just my opinion but I think a perfect summer, including May an September would include:

May 2004: A mix of heavy rain spells and long spell of warm or hot sunshine, we don't want hosepipe bans too soon.

June 2003: Warm for most of the month or even hot with thunderstorms and some frontal rain to wet dry areas.

July 2003: Generally quite dry and warm with more than one heatwave and some heavy downpours.

August 2005: Again quite dry with any rain near the end of the month and during the week with hot and sunny weather at weekends.

September 2006: Warmer than average with the allowance of tee-shirts into early autumn as well as heavy thunderstorms.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I would certainly go along with your suggestion of June 2003.

[Devon-Nelly]

I love hot and thundery weather in the summer, something along the lines of the last two weeks of June 2005 would be perfect summer weather for me, Temps starting of in the low 20's then slowly rising into the high 20's low 30's and then some big thunderstorms for a couple of days then it goes back to square one again.

Though i do really fancy the summer weather they get in Minnesota in America :lol: ( though a tad too hot at times )

[William of Walworth]

Indeed, 2005 was a fairly good summer. Particularly the end of June, never seen thunderstorms like it for intensity and duration!

Yes I remember that one ... in Somerset! :o

Calm calm WoW not every thread is about Glastonbury.

I know, I'm wishing for plenty of nice weather in July and August too ...

Hot weather : bring it on. 27C or 28C daytime maxes would be ideal for me ....

I enjoy the extremes of heat (>30c) not especially for intense daytime heat (although a bit of that is nice) but for the warm nights that follow. I'd be happy with maxes of 25c if it were still comfortable sitting outside t-shirt weather at midnight. Seem to remember a June day like that last summer - max of 25c and min of about 18c but quite humid - only nice day of the whole summer as I remember!

That was Saturday June 2nd wasn't it? The Sunday was pretty pleasant as well.

Weather didn't return to anything even approaching nice after that until early August ....

Edited April 21, 2008 by William of Walworth

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes, I'd happily go along with something along the lines of the last two weeks of June 2005 as well- I remember really enjoying that spell. I was surprised that averaged nationally it failed to raise the month's sunshine totals substantially above average, clearly the first half let it down.

The 19th had particularly spectacular thunderstorms in the Tyne & Wear area which rarely happens.

[tcc]

Azores92, you quoted the wrong person! hence JO7's confusion!

I believe you were supposed to quote the one where the poster (Michael-Prys?) showed the events of a particular year, incluidng the 60mm in an hour!

Anyway I'm going to go with the Metoffice and go with an average year, I don't really mind what happens for the last 2 weeks of June as I'll be in Orlando! B) Storms here I come!