Heatwave

[SunnySouthCoast]

It was 30C+ here today but when i went to a beach near Portsmouth only about 60 miles away i was surprised how very cool it was, there was a cloud that literally didn't move that stopped any sun heating and the sea still has a massive cooling effect in these hot times.

Well I live near the beach IN Portsmouth :lol: Today was disapointing, it started sunny, then the cloud came in & stayed there for most of the day At around 2pm it cleared briefly & the temp went up to 25C, but then clouded over again & the temp stayed at 23C all afternoon, mind you last night only saw a low of 19C ... It was purely the cloud that kept it cooler today though as yesterday it was sunny down here & 28C & even now it is still cloudy & 21C... :huh:

[RichardW2]

It reached 27.8c in Lincoln today. The hottest since 5th August 2007 (28.7c). I wonder what today 1st July can do? 29c perhaps?

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

Hasn't got below 20C yet

[andy_leics22]

According to the Oadby weather station which is 3 miles away from me.. The highest recorded temp yesterday was 32.7c!! I believe it aswell because it felt so hot yesterday it was unbelievable. Right now at 2am it's currently 20.1c, that is defanitly heatwave type of temperatures right there. Even if The PIT thinks it isn't Might not be in Sheffield but 32c max and 20.1c at 2am is certainly in the heatwave catagory for me.

It seems like it's hot and dry in the southeast, warm and humid further west. London's air was even drier today than yesterday, with 30/12, but I saw Bristol had a muggy 26/18 which is probably more unpleasant. Still not exactly "tropical" or similar to the US deep south or southern China though.

Trust me though, here in the UK we aren't built for heat. The houses aren't built with hot weather in mind, they are built for the winter weather. We have carpets on the floors, rugs on the floors in some houses. Wall insulation, loft insulation, double glazing windows to keep the cold out. No air conditioning unless it's in an office building.

The temperature in my bedroom has been between 29c and 33c for the last 48 hours. Right now it's 2am, I have the windows open and the current reading in this room is 32c. When it's 32c in the middle of the night, believe me that is VERY uncomfortable lol. In America and hot places it's nice and cool in the houses because of the air con. Not so here in Britian!

Edited July 1, 2009 by andy_leics22

[Scorcher]

It seems like it's hot and dry in the southeast, warm and humid further west. London's air was even drier today than yesterday, with 30/12, but I saw Bristol had a muggy 26/18 which is probably more unpleasant. Still not exactly "tropical" or similar to the US deep south or southern China though.

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.

[The PIT]

According to the Oadby weather station which is 3 miles away from me.. The highest recorded temp yesterday was 32.7c!! I believe it aswell because it felt so hot yesterday it was unbelievable. Right now at 2am it's currently 20.1c, that is defanitly heatwave type of temperatures right there. Even if The PIT thinks it isn't Might not be in Sheffield but 32c max and 20.1c at 2am is certainly in the heatwave catagory for me.

Certainly not a heatwave here. The notable thing is the humidity. Everyone saying the same thing round here it's not a heatwave it's humid wave. 25.4C without any sun is pretty impressive so if Sheffield was a few miles further South east 28 to 30C would have been a cert.

[Tucco]

Certainly not a heatwave here. The notable thing is the humidity. Everyone saying the same thing round here it's not a heatwave it's humid wave. 25.4C without any sun is pretty impressive so if Sheffield was a few miles further South east 28 to 30C would have been a cert.

None event so far in NE England and not just on the coast. Perstiant fog and some drizzle will be the most notable feature of this spell. Highest temp so far here 21.3C, only a few hours of sunshine since last Thursday. Tommorrow looks like it will the best day of this spell with higher temps and sunshine.

Mark

Teesdale,Co Durham

[Coast]

[magicpatch]

It's been warm here this week, not as high as the BBC National Weather has been harping on about, although I'd imagine areas of London have reached 30-31c. It's been around 28c here most of the week, cloudy start this morning too.

Looking at everything we have today and tomorrow left of the "hot" weather, then cooling down on Friday to around 25c then cooler into the weekend. Although it has been hot at times, around here at least calling it a "Heatwave" is a bit of a push.

Although I guess its what people define a heatwave as ...

[Scorcher]

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.

[Coast]

Although I guess its what people define a heatwave as ...

There is no universal definition of a heat wave and the term is relative to the usual weather in the area or local threshold. The definition recommended by the World Meteorological Organisation is when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 5 °C, the normal average period being 1961 to 1990 (which corresponds to the UKCP09 baseline period).

ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk

The Heat-Health Watch system comprises four levels of response based upon threshold maximum daytime and minimum night-time temperatures. These thresholds vary by region, but an average threshold temperature is 30 °C by day and 15 °C overnight

www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/heathealth

[Coast]

The weather may have made Britain feel like a tropical jungle for much of this week, but there could be even steamier heatwaves to come. As most of the country was sweltering yesterday, with the temperature in London higher than in Bangkok, NHS Direct received 378 calls from people suffering symptoms related to the heat. More than 100 related to insect bites, 69 were about breathing difficulties and 21 were about fainting. The weather even prompted the Government to set up a heatwave advice page on its Directgov website.

Records show that the past month has been the hottest, driest and sunniest since July 2006. David Whiffen, the ice cream buyer for Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re expecting the best week for ice cream since the heat wave of 2006.” He added that ice cream sales in the company’s outlets had doubled compared with the same week last year and had increased by 75 per cent from last week.

Britain’s highest temperatures usually come in late July or early August, when the seas have reached their warmest. If the ground also becomes dry, it behaves like a furnace and sends temperatures even higher. If hot air drifts across from Europe, serious heat can build up. This happened in the heatwave of August 2003 when the highest temperature in Britain was recorded — 38.5C (101.3F) at Brogdale, Kent.

Yesterday the Met Office reiterated its long-range forecast for a “barbecue summer” of above-average temperatures. Provisional figures up to June 28 show that temperatures across Britain were 0.7C above normal. “We were expecting spells of weather hitting 30C, and that’s come true,” said Helen Chivers, from the Met Office.

It has also been a dry month, with 59.5mm of rain, 82 per cent of normal, and 198 hours of sunshine, or 17 per cent above average. However, the temperature and sunshine figures are expected to rise higher once the last two days of June have been included. Even with some fresher weather on the way in the next day or two, temperatures are still expected to be near average for the time of year. The key date to look out for now is St Swithin’s Day, July 15. In folklore, if it rains on this saint’s day the weather will be wet for the next 40 days, but, if it is dry, then 40 days of sunny weather should follow.

Although the prediction never strictly comes true, this ninth-century bishop and his long-range forecast has some sound science behind it. Around the middle of July the weather in Britain tends to settle into a pattern that can last into August, which is true for about seven out of ten summers. This persistent weather is caused by the jet stream, a ribbon of wind that blows high around the globe, formed at the battlefront between Arctic and tropical air.

In high summer, the position of the jet stream tends to become fixed. If it takes a southerly track then Arctic air can sweep down and make a miserable summer, and when the jet stream is close to Britain it drags wet depressions off the Atlantic — which is what made the summers of 2007 and last year so bad. When the jet stream flows north, Britain basks in fine, warm weather. This lends some credibility to the St Swithin proposition. Economists say that productivity could drop by up to a third as staff take unauthorised days off to enjoy the sun. Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to have taken at least one “sick day” by the end of the week.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research said that a repeat of the sweltering temperatures over the next few days would result in lost productivity worth up to £162 million every day.

www.timesonline.co.uk

[Joneseye]

What an unpleasant night that was! Would have liked to have known what the minimum temp was here... however having a flat roof with black felt really isn't conducive to a good night sleep..

at 0900 some impressive temps again, particularly in parts of Scotland where a few places are already up to 23C. Clear skies here and I would imagine if they stay that way we will see some high temps in the Thames Valley.

[Bottesford]

Even for me that was a pretty sticky night. 21.5c min this morning at 0834 so for good part of the night it was above 22c with a dew point around 18c.

My usually cool house was very warm and sticky not helped when rain began falling through my open skylight!

Now clearing for an even hotter day I'm thinking...

[Weather-history]

I personally think that May spell was better than this current spell. More cloud amounts around, we've had showers on occasions but no thunder during the current spell.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Mr_Data

[Stargazer]

What an unpleasant night that was! Would have liked to have known what the minimum temp was here... however having a flat roof with black felt really isn't conducive to a good night sleep..

I believe minima in the Thames Valley were generally around 17-19 last night (I recorded 19.2 in central Reading). 32 looks quite possible if it stays sunny today.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes it was sticky even in Exeter last night. As for the Times, it is wrong- August 2006, August 2007, July 2007 and August 2008 were all warmer than June 2009.

[chionomaniac]

The warmer temps seem to be further north this morning with Aboyne leading at 10.00am with a reading of 25.2C. Heathrow lagging behind at 23.4C!

[Birkhill saints]

24.2 here just north west of dundee.MiLD for us then.

[The PIT]

Now heatwave has arrived just when I didn't want it. Room with 40 computers all on no aircon only two windows that open a little.

[RichardW2]

Got down to a comfortable 15.3c in Lincoln. Now a cloudy day so temperatures may not see the likes of yesterday.

[andy_leics22]

26c here at 11am, I've got a feeling 30c will be breached here again today.

Now heatwave has arrived just when I didn't want it. Room with 40 computers all on no aircon only two windows that open a little.

Now you know how I have felt for the last 2-3 days lol. I have had my PC on most the day and the heat off that coupled with 30c heat outside means that it's extremely uncomfortable in here. We don't even own a fan and theres no point me trying to buy one now because everywhere around here will be sold out! Was 32c in my bedroom last night, I had to sleep next to the window because the sweat was dripping off me Crazy heat.

[Methuselah]

And I thought Latvia was hot! After 10 days of sweating profusely, I get home to an outdoor botanical garden!

[Liam J]

24.6c here with a dew point of 20c its very uncomfortable

[sunny scunny]

Got down to a comfortable 15.3c in Lincoln. Now a cloudy day so temperatures may not see the likes of yesterday.

Im only a few miles north of lincoln, and although it's rather cloudy here aswell, it's already warmer than this time yesterday.

yesterdays max temp was 27c and it's already 26c here currently