Rip Summer 2009

[Devon-Nelly]

I'd say even though this summer hasnt been great its been almost a typical british summer more so normal than the last two.

June was pretty normal for the UK temperature wise, the last week being pretty impressive for June standards. But July has been awful, extremely wet and on the slightly cool side (dont know where the METO got it being slightly above fromin terms of temps). I'd say if August ended up being average rainfall and temperature it wouldnt be too far off an average summer, and more closer so than last year.

But typical summers are no where near as wet July has been so in my eyes its still a poor summer unless it improves somewhat.

One problem i've had though is the distinct lack of storms here. Iv'e never witnessed such a poor summer for storms, we keep getting what would be almost ideal set ups yet contsantly get bugger all. Not had a storm since April

Good examples of recent near typical british summers i'd say are: 1999, 2002 (maybe) and possibly 2005 although 2005 was slighty above average and so was Aug 2002.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Devon-Nelly

[johnholmes]

I must admit, I'm kind of with weather09 on this one, but for a different reason....This is my 3rd summer living in the west midlands, and to be frank, each one has been poor (plenty of rainfall, too many sunless days) to what I'm used to having lived a good chunk of my life on the South Devon coast....There does seem to be a higher percentage of thunderstorms up here, but the sun was definitely more previlant in Torbay during summer!

which is why Torbay publicity department make a big thing of the sunshine hours-most seaside resorts, even allowing for a bit of over reading sunshine totals do get more sunshine than inland areas.

This is even probably tied in to the remark about more storms where you are now-more heating, more convection!

Edited August 4, 2009 by johnholmes

[DAVID SNOW]

This is my first time posting, so please be gentle with me. I have been lurking for a couple of years though reading the many informative posts.

I would like to offer an observation on the summer of 2009, based on 2 weeks I recently spent on the beach in Cornwall (Lizard & Far West). Whilst I agree that on the whole, so far, the summer has not been particularly good, the actual weather I experienced from 17 - 31 July was in fact very good. Admittedly there were 2 days that were complete washouts (Sunday 26th & Wednesday 29th), but the remaining days on the beach were on the whole sunny & acceptably warm, and I have come back with a nice tan.

I have been visiting this part of Cornwall for the last 6 years now and every year the weather near the coast has been good. Interestingly, the weather there is often better when the models do not look good. For example, much of the recent 2 weeks I was there were showery - but these showers did not, and often don't, fall on the coast - they fall on the moors in land. When frontal systems pass through, they often do so within 3- 4 hours, and the clearance behind is usually dramatic with clear blue skys. Conversely, when the general weather pattern is set fine, it can be a case of dodging the fog banks that form when the weather becomes hot & see breazes set in.

So, in summary, yes the general weather pattern has not been great, but in my experience local conditions in Cornwall are often at odds with the general pattern, and they were in the last 2 weeks of July. I just think this should be borne in mind before we write off the summer from a holiday makers point of view.

Hope this is Ok in this topic.

Oops.. new set up..Very good first post.

[A.J]

which is why Torbay publicity department make a big thing of the sunshine hours-most seaside resorts, even allowing for a bit of over reading sunshine totals do get more sunshine than inland areas.

This is even probably tied in to the remark about more storms where you are now-more heating, more convection!

absolutley John...Time for a house move 'down south' in the not too distant future!.....What I've noticed the past 2 or 3 years is that here, there seems to be more poor weather during the daytime period, the Devon area was more prone to imported overnight convection/storms than daytime rain/storms, but from reading other posts and from family living in Torbay, the last 2 years in particular have wetter & cloudier than normal (during daylight hours) with a distinct lack of overnight imported storms.....in closing, rather than trawl through endless charts and graphs for rainfall/sunshine etc, I base my summer experience on the amount of evenings that I can sit outside and enjoy a nice glass of wine in comfort. Apart from that spell in June, there hasnt been too many

[Thundery wintry showers]

Indeed, there is the issue that if you live near the coast you often tend to get more sunshine as a result of less convection, and less "sunshine and showers" type days, and you also get less thunder in the summer half-year (though this tends to be partially offset by the reverse being true in the winter half-year as the sea is warm relative to the land then).

One issue that regularly crops up around North Sea coasts is the cold wind off the North Sea which keeps the showers and storms away but also makes it difficult to sit outside on an evening due to the nippy wind (and in some cases the low stratus coming in off the sea). It does not appear to be as pronounced along the Channel coast where it is warmer.

Exeter was quite interesting in that it sometimes missed out on showers/thunderstorms due to the sea breezes off the Channel, but often when you added any kind of westerly component to the wind, showers would develop over Dartmoor and head straight for Exeter. Sometimes Exeter would end up in the middle of a convergence zone as a result, as happened emphatically on the 15th June when a significant thunderstorm hit in conjunction with torrential rain and even hail.

[djajb]

Basically if you were living in Chelmsford Essex, The weather in July was poor although we had average temps as you can see below slightly above average, Rainfall however I believe was almost 60mm which is terrible for this part of Essex which is meant to be the driest part of the UK however alot of that came from one storm system midmonth.

Month Avg

July

Max 22.57333333

Min 14.24

Avg 18.40666667

(see my temperature analysis of the month as an attachment - this is for Great Baddow, Chelmsford) Unfortunaely I was away for some of the month so I used Andrewsfield readings which seem to be a bit cooler than what Chelmsford would get - Probably due to Chelmsford being a large town.

Some people up north may say this is a good summer for them but a good summer down here would be temps averaging 25-26c and rainfall to be below 20mm which has happened before quite a few times.

[Nick.F]

I don't hold to anything, the stats bear it out, experience does too. For here in NE Essex

July 2009

24 days equalling or exceeding 22 degrees, 2 others very close.

22 days with 5 hours or more sunshine, 11 with 8 or more hours.

Pressure did not fall below 1000mb

Avg mean temp 17.9 (slightly above average)

Avg max temp 23.3 (above average)

Avg min temp 12.7 (average)

Avg humidity 71%

70.7mm of rain (above average but 25% of that total fell on two days), in admittedly 19 days where rain was recorded, but most of those less than 2mm

so all in all fairly good :winky:

Just to re-emphasize that one's location taints the way one perceives the summer. Here in NE Essex the summer so far has been nice; not grey, not too wet, not to hot, not too dry, some great storms.

I know that it hasn't been the same everywhere, but I do wish people wouldn't make statements that imply that the weather everywhere this summer has been bad. It's tiresome as well as inaccurate.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I think it probably depends on whether you're talking south-west vs south-east, or north-west vs north-east.

North-eastern Britain was the only region not to have above average sunshine or significantly above average temperature during June, and some parts were quite wet as well.

[Derp Patrol]

Ok, from my point of view, Summer so far has been bad in my area which is in the SE, and when I recently went on holiday to Devon for 1 week, it was a washout. June was not too bad, up untill the last 3rd it was probably decent at best, a lot of people are forgetting that in the middle of June some places recorded very low temperatures, down here we recorded some cool day time temperatures, but it was dry at least. The last 3rd was very good for us, with 5 consecutive 30C+ days, but that has been it. After that, we have been plagued with cool breezes and cloudy skies, with quite a bit of rainfall, although not as much as western areas, it was still quite considerably above average. It has now been 4 weeks since we last recorded a 25C+ temp, which is quite astonishing for July.

The older members will always complain that this is an average British summer and that we have been spoilt with recent summers prior to 2007, but that is not the case. Even my mother has said how poor the weather has been compared to her childhood days in the 60s, and how the grass always used to have a tint of brown to it in mid summer. I think everyone knows that 2006 was a one-off, just like 1995 and 1976. Noone is expecting this every summer unless they are mad, but a typical summer as someone said does contain both cooler, wetter spells and warmer and drier spells. This summer has lacked warmer and drier spells, and rainfall has been above average to well above average almost everywhere, so how anyone can call this a typical summer is beyond me.

[TEITS]

My view on this summer is simple.

If I was going to use a scale from 1-10 with 1 being crap like 2006 and 10 being a scorcher like 1976 I would say this summer rates around 4.

So this isn't your typical summer as IMO it rates slightly below in my scale.

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

Why has everyone started writing in bold?

[Eugene]

LOL, nothing like a RIP or summer is over thread to improve matters, same happened when people say winter is over in January a few years back and we got an excellent cold spell in February, not sure why people do it to be honest.

[Spurry]

LOL, nothing like a RIP or summer is over thread to improve matters, same happened when people say winter is over in January a few years back and we got an excellent cold spell in February, not sure why people do it to be honest.

Bloody typical , awful summer and then just as i'm about to jet off to Spain for 3 weeks , the weather improves

[Wynn D Woo]

Ok, from my point of view, Summer so far has been bad in my area which is in the SE, and when I recently went on holiday to Devon for 1 week, it was a washout. June was not too bad, up untill the last 3rd it was probably decent at best, a lot of people are forgetting that in the middle of June some places recorded very low temperatures, down here we recorded some cool day time temperatures, but it was dry at least. The last 3rd was very good for us, with 5 consecutive 30C+ days, but that has been it. After that, we have been plagued with cool breezes and cloudy skies, with quite a bit of rainfall, although not as much as western areas, it was still quite considerably above average. It has now been 4 weeks since we last recorded a 25C+ temp, which is quite astonishing for July.

The older members will always complain that this is an average British summer and that we have been spoilt with recent summers prior to 2007, but that is not the case. Even my mother has said how poor the weather has been compared to her childhood days in the 60s, and how the grass always used to have a tint of brown to it in mid summer. I think everyone knows that 2006 was a one-off, just like 1995 and 1976. Noone is expecting this every summer unless they are mad, but a typical summer as someone said does contain both cooler, wetter spells and warmer and drier spells. This summer has lacked warmer and drier spells, and rainfall has been above average to well above average almost everywhere, so how anyone can call this a typical summer is beyond me.

Yes everyones summer was warmer, drier and sunnier in their youth as was the winter colder and snowier

You say the summer has lacked warmer drier spells, but thats not true (see your own post which you describe June as decent to good). In Gloucestershire June had cool and warm spells and it was fairly dry - I had to water the garden just about everyday, July has been quite poor and I hardly had to water the garden. August will decide for me whether this year has been good bad or indifferent.

People have been spoiled by a few exceptional summers and further influenced by talk of Medtype summers, by the media take on AGW.

[johnholmes]

nice to read a balanced post after so many post rather more media hype type comments about how they see summer.

it is very rare, believe me, for all parts of the UK to have a good summer (if good means heat and some storms), very rare.

2006 was an exception along with a couple of others I posted yesterday to try and illustrate that this summer is a touch above the long term average in terms of temperature, and, thanks to July, above average summer rainfall, for many.

[Thundery wintry showers]

July 2006 was widely the hottest calendar month on record and also the sunniest July, particularly in eastern / north-eastern districts. In Leeds it was like spending a month on the continent (and having been on holiday to the near-continent once a year for the past decade I have a good idea of what the summers over most of France/Germany/Belgium are like).

Despite the anti-climax in August, in Tyneside Summer 2006 was the hottest since 1976- even beating 1995, though 1995 remains the driest and sunniest summer in the area since I started my records back in 1993.

The Met Office has not yet updated its monthly summary for July, but it has one up for June on its website www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk . Philip Eden now has summaries up for both June and July at his website www.climate-uk.com . Both sources provide pretty balanced summaries of what the weather was like.

[TEITS]

I posted yesterday to try and illustrate that this summer is a touch above the long term average in terms of temperature,

That means absolutely nothing though John when it comes to our interpretations of the summer. Plenty of cloud cover can result in increasing min temps thus increasing the overall CET. Obviously temp/rainfall is measured in a 24hr period whereas we only notice the weather whilst we are awake.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Maybe my perception of the summer is influenced by the fact that I spent most of my earlier years living on the Tyne & Wear coast, where summers are cooler and cloudier than in most parts of central and southern England. June 1997 there had a mean maximum of 15.5C, about 100 hours of sunshine, and 130mm of rain. July 2000 wasn't quite as wet but was similarly sub-par temperature and sunshine wise, with about 100 hours sunshine and a mean max of 17.4C. It should also be noted that the Norwich area also had a pretty naff month with sunshine of 110 hours and a mean max of about 18.5 compared with the normal of 21- this compares with July 2009 which had rather more rain, but nearly twice as much sun and maximum temperatures a good 2-3C higher.

July 2009 was quite a thundery month actually, especially in the east, consistent with the emphasis on convective rainfall. At Cleadon, Tyne & Wear, they normally get 7 thunder-days per year, and July 2009 produced 6 days- probably the highest monthly total since June 1980 going by Newcastle Weather Centre's records, and certainly the highest since before 1993. The Norwich area had 7 thunder-days. Some people have had few if any storms during July 2009 but this is merely a reflection of the fact that even in a thundery month some areas will largely miss out.

[Weather-history]

The summers of 1972, 1979 and 1981 were on the dry side for England and Wales, this summer is already wetter than those summers.

1981 was actually one of the driest summers on record. July 2009 rainfall total was only 5mm off from overtaking the whole of that summer's rainfall total.

Edited August 5, 2009 by Mr_Data

[mushymanrob]

This is my first time posting, so please be gentle with me. I have been lurking for a couple of years though reading the many informative posts.

I would like to offer an observation on the summer of 2009, based on 2 weeks I recently spent on the beach in Cornwall (Lizard & Far West). Whilst I agree that on the whole, so far, the summer has not been particularly good, the actual weather I experienced from 17 - 31 July was in fact very good. Admittedly there were 2 days that were complete washouts (Sunday 26th & Wednesday 29th), but the remaining days on the beach were on the whole sunny & acceptably warm, and I have come back with a nice tan.

I have been visiting this part of Cornwall for the last 6 years now and every year the weather near the coast has been good. Interestingly, the weather there is often better when the models do not look good. For example, much of the recent 2 weeks I was there were showery - but these showers did not, and often don't, fall on the coast - they fall on the moors in land. When frontal systems pass through, they often do so within 3- 4 hours, and the clearance behind is usually dramatic with clear blue skys. Conversely, when the general weather pattern is set fine, it can be a case of dodging the fog banks that form when the weather becomes hot & see breazes set in.

So, in summary, yes the general weather pattern has not been great, but in my experience local conditions in Cornwall are often at odds with the general pattern, and they were in the last 2 weeks of July. I just think this should be borne in mind before we write off the summer from a holiday makers point of view.

Hope this is Ok in this topic.

hi and welcome to the forum yep of course your post is ok!

I`ll wait until the end of august because if we get a good settled spell like august 2007 then this summer won`t of been so bad,besides the extremely wet July which is out of the ordinary by far, but at least it was a very interesting month for thundery torrential showers.

sorry but i dont agree that august 07 was anything that good, but id settle for that over what we are currently enjoying! lol

I'm sorry but your wrong, this summer is what an actual British summer should be like, some warm and dry spells, interupted by cool, wet/showery, interludes. It's only the younger members, who think every summer should hot and dry, well them and the MetO!!

im 52, worked outdoors since 73, these past 3 summers are NOT what ive been used too in terms of rainfall. ok you can massage statistics to prove this/that/the other, maybe temps have been 'normal' but the rainfall hasnt, and thats what people will remember.

Please, I know we have opinions and I respect that, but don't try and make it sound like this Summer along with the last two have been "average" or "not that bad", because they have been a joke. That's my opinion which I'm sure is echoed by alot of other members (not just the young ones)

i agree with you, but tbh its ONLY the rainfall totalls that are out of sync, imho temps, sunshine levels, wind, have been pretty much in line with 'normal'.

I take the point about rainfall and I have not got that to hand. Just returning to the temperature alone and to show how 2006 really was pretty unusual

from CET data

sum up the 3 summer months for a total number of 'means' for each month

2006=51.7

only beaten by 19756 with 53.3 and 1995 with 52.1

other 'notable' summers were

1947=51.1

1959 and 1997=49.7

and 1949=49.5

I may well have missed out other summers which had similar numbers. It was done quickly just to try and illustrate, how 2006, temperature wise, was fairly unique, even in our warming climate.

this summer scores so far

so is extremely unlikely to figure anywhere in the table above!

14.8

16.1

summers though john are not valued by temeratures alone. what use are 'above average temps' if you are sat indoors watching a tropical deluge? the constant rain and associated cloud cover has spoiled this summer regardless of what the temp statistics might show.

The older members will always complain that this is an average British summer and that we have been spoilt with recent summers prior to 2007, but that is not the case. Even my mother has said how poor the weather has been compared to her childhood days in the 60s, and how the grass always used to have a tint of brown to it in mid summer. I think everyone knows that 2006 was a one-off, just like 1995 and 1976. Noone is expecting this every summer unless they are mad, but a typical summer as someone said does contain both cooler, wetter spells and warmer and drier spells. This summer has lacked warmer and drier spells, and rainfall has been above average to well above average almost everywhere, so how anyone can call this a typical summer is beyond me.

excellant post!.... yes indeed grass growth is directly linked to rainfall amounts and as a grass cutting opporative since 1973, these past three (07,08,09) have produced 'record' amounts of grass growth duing july/august, the time when traditionally its quite dry and the grass eases off. this is why i have this week off for holiday, so i dont return to a jungle... (bah! not looking foreward to resuming my rounds ). many summers have had wet periods, but non as persistent as these current years.

is it too late now to get a summer?... knife edge but the chances arnt looking that good.

[Paul]

Is it just me or could we end up going round in circles until next summer in this thread?

For me it's pretty simple - you can look at the weather from 3 perspectives:

• Using recorded measurements - this is the only way that the weather can be monitored in a scientific way - eg with actual figures for rain/sun/temperature etc whether it be nationally using averages, regionally or indeed for single sites. Does this give a true reflection of the weather? Yes it surely has to as it's factual data, so on that basis then it's the only real method that can be used to judge a period of weather.
• Local perception - good, bad, hot, dry, sunny etc etc - everyone has their own idea of what good weather is, everyone interacts with the weather in different ways - eg some work outdoors, some don't venture outside for weeks on end. So from a personal perspective the weather during a season could feel and seem very different to what the stats show. This doesn't make the perception wrong but on the same hand this doesn't make the the stats/recordings wrong either.
• National perception - often this one is created by media coverage, take 2007 - the news was dominated by flooding but parts of western Scotland and Southeast England had below average rainfall, so talk of summer 07 being incredibly wet, whilst true when looking factually at many parts of the UK and of course true from many people's perspectives locally, you can't say it was true for the whole of the UK.

So my point is this really - if you're talking pure facts based on recorded data then it's hard to argue, but people's perspectives of the weather will always be different - there's nothing wrong with discussing that but trying to use a personal perspective as a method of apparently 'disproving' factual data is pushing it a bit imo.

[Anti-Mild]

I'm not sure if I classify as an older member (I'm 34), but as far as I am concerned this summer, just like 2007 and 2008, will be remembered for the rainfall totals and as such they are not average summers. They do remind me of the summers in Scotland during the mid 80's when it seemed to be a procession of rainy day after rainy day (summer 1985 had 453.6mm of rainfall against 284.9 for the 71-00 average, 1988 had 374.9mm)

No doubt that 2003, 2005 and 2006 were better than average - which makes the last 3 seem all the worse. To find a truly average summer I reckon 2002 fits the bill most closely in recent times, temps +0.2, -0.5, and +0.8 relative to 71-00, and rainfall very close to average.

[Snowyowl9]

The lawns are certainly growing very quickly,too fast these last 3 summers,earlier in June it was growing alot slower slowest in summer for 3 years as I remember,another thing is the ash trees,I`ve never seen them so heavy in leaf before as they are this year.

Today is the best sunniest day since late June/early July.

[Uncle_Barty]

To me, a typical british summer resembles those of 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005.. all mixed summers with good and not so good spells.

2007 and 2008 were not, in my opinion, typical British summers, and this one isnt either. Not here in Bournemouth anyway (see my earlier post).

We had 3-4 decent days early in June, and a decent week at the end of that month, but apart from that it has been cool, windy - and in July - damp as well. August hasn't improved, and I've not seen any sun since Monday lunchtime, just a lot of drizzle.

[Anti-Mild]

To me, a typical british summer resembles those of 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005.. all mixed summers with good and not so good spells.

2007 and 2008 were not, in my opinion, typical British summers, and this one isnt either. Not here in Bournemouth anyway (see my earlier post).

We had 3-4 decent days early in June, and a decent week at the end of that month, but apart from that it has been cool, windy - and in July - damp as well. August hasn't improved, and I've not seen any sun since Monday lunchtime, just a lot of drizzle.

I was i Bournemouth in early June and it was very hot and sunny. My brother lives in a flat above Borders in the town centre.

Back on topic: I reckon these last 3 summers show the cyclical nature of weather in this country. It's possible that winter will start to show this as well.