Only Another Five Weeks.......

[frostyjoe]

only 5 weeks!!! omg!!! We hav'nt even reached 25c yet!! So when does it get bright at 3am and dark at 12am then?? I can't follow them daylight calculator things as they are always wrong they are saying its getting dark at 9pm here and its still bright after 10pm, it gets dark around 10:30. Can't wait to winter again!!

Edited May 15, 2010 by frostyjoe

[noggin]

SAD "in reverse", where depression sets in during late spring and summer, is certainly officially known and recognised. See the Wikipedia article for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

I think it's probably unusual in relatively cloudy climates like Britain's, but it does exist.

Thanks for that link, TWS. It was re-assuring for me to hear Laserguy's "situation", and it is even more re-assuring to learn that the medical profession recognise that some of us actually are "like that" (for want of a better phrase! )

[laserguy]

Thanks for that link, TWS. It was re-assuring for me to hear Laserguy's "situation", and it is even more re-assuring to learn that the medical profession recognise that some of us actually are "like that" (for want of a better phrase! )

Good to know I'm not alone (and us weirdos aren't all that uncommon going by the responses on here!). And thank you for the link TWS - I really do think I need to seek treatment to alleviate this horrendous feeling. Got to go out now just to maintain family peace and harmony - and I'm absolutely dreading it,feel sick and anxious. The flip-side of my condition is of course that I feel vibrant and alive in the dead of winter when most folk feel as I do now...

[SP1986]

I think its possible for people who live in the north with very light unpigmented skin to feel fine in the the dead of winter, whilst the darker skinned people feel particularly depressed by the onset of winter, mostly to do with quantities of Vit D. In theory anyway.

[Winter Warmer]

in the last few weeks of winter i always feel ready for the warmth and light of spring and summer

but in the last few weeks of summer i feel ready for the change to cold and darkness.i look foward to both

[Backtrack]

I love the snow and crispness of winter at it's worst - But come on, a nice summer with daylight till 11pm is awesome! Without that, it would be:

Get in from school, play foot... oh wait, it's dark, sleep. *sigh*

[skifreak]

Late spring, light till 10pm, strong sun....

^CairnGorm Mountain - Sun 16th May.

[Pennine Ten Foot Drifts]

I'm with you on this score, this is the start of my favourite time of year which lasts through to early July and then slowly begins to wane as the inevitable deluges and decreasing daylight set in but usually the heat goes up!.

This is a wonderful time of year especially the next few weeks, with the light nights and we usually don't see too much heat and humidity so doing outdoor things is still bearable. I tend to find the period late august through to mid october the most tiresome, watching the decreasing light, though often very pleasant conditions can prevail it is the most uninteresting time of year weatherwise with few extremes.

I like November and the promise of wintry weather..

Agree 100% with that, this always feels to me like the 'freshest' time of year. I dread the clock change in October because that signals dark dreariness for at least two months before the prospect of genuine winter weather rear's it's head again and enlivens the next few months, leading up to the eagerly awaited Spring clock change. The last few summers, for my location anyway, have been dire - it has felt like Autumn has started in July - remember, when urban more southern areas are experiencing rain, 14c - 15c and a stiff breeze, up here it is blowing a gale and temps are usually 4-5c colder............

[J07]

Even once you pass the solstice, you lose daylight pretty slowly (except northern areas) and it's not really noticeable for a fair while. (That should be consolation!)

[Eugene]

It may start to get lighter slowly in five weeks but the weather in this country is at its warmest from early July to late August with a very slow cooling into autumn, too many people obsessed with the nights getting longer/nights getting shorter, the weather in this country has a lag so the coldest and warmest weather is after the soltices.

Personally i love Spring as its light enough in the evenings to go for long walks in the countryside and it still has that fresh feeling, from mid to late June the humidity picks up and its not as pleasant to walk in, i agree with some the nights are too short in June, i would rather have a more equal share of daylight and darkness.

Winter isnt good for walking as you worry about how quick it gets dark, walking in the countryside in pitch black isnt much fun but i love the indoor cosiness of winter darkness.

[londonsnow]

this is my worst time of year. summer heat in london is mostly hideous give or take the odd storm. so i'm looking forward to the onset of autumn

[Bottesford]

One thing I would change is working patterns.

It seems crazy to waste the first 3-4 hours of daylight then for it to be turning nippy as the sun drops only an hour or so after you leave work.

I'd prefer 7am-3pm during April-August to make the most of the light hours. But it would need the 'default' for everyone to change. No point me finishing at 3 only for my colleagues (with whom beer drinking may occur post work) to finish at 5! Failing that lets go onto BST+1...

[Milhouse]

Winter isnt good for walking as you worry about how quick it gets dark, walking in the countryside in pitch black isnt much fun but i love the indoor cosiness of winter darkness.

That is the one reason why i like the early sunsets in Winter. Because on the whole its most unpleasant being outside in Winter so i'd much prefer to shut out the cold and remain indoors. Any extra daylight in Winter would be totally pointless as the weather conditions make it impossible to enjoy the outdoors like you would in summer.

[reef]

One thing I would change is working patterns.

It seems crazy to waste the first 3-4 hours of daylight then for it to be turning nippy as the sun drops only an hour or so after you leave work.

I'd prefer 7am-3pm during April-August to make the most of the light hours. But it would need the 'default' for everyone to change. No point me finishing at 3 only for my colleagues (with whom beer drinking may occur post work) to finish at 5! Failing that lets go onto BST+1...

You'd hate my working patterns then Bottie

I do 06:20 - 19:00 and 18:20 - 07:00 shifts on an alternating basis. Its only light on a morning when I get up for around 8 weeks of the year! I prefer my night shifts in winter aswell as it's still dark when I get home - at this time of the year I find the sun in the morning wakes me up and I struggle to sleep. No drinking beer between shifts either as if I have any in my system I can be sacked!

BST+1 would mean Id never get up to daylight any time of the year!

Despite all this, I am a lover of longer days though.

[Terminal Moraine]

Failing that lets go onto BST+1...

Aaaaaaagggggghhhhh nnnnooooooo!!!!

[Bottesford]

Aaaaaaagggggghhhhh nnnnooooooo!!!!

Not a fan then?

[Thundery wintry showers]

I'd prefer us to have a narrower range of daylight hours, like they do at 30-40 degrees north and south of the equator. A range from 10 hours of daylight in midwinter to just over 14 in summer. We could keep the GMT/BST system or maybe even do away with BST and shift default working patterns to earlier (as is common over many parts of continental Europe).

For me, the issue of being stuck in an office throughout daylight hours is dependent on how many windows there are, and how good the view of the sky is- the more so, the less of an issue. It also helps if employees are allowed to pop outside once in a while, even if it's just going from one part of the building to another. The Met Office was excellent for this while I was there, and I rarely felt I was missing out on daylight/weather from that office. In contrast I remember that in October-December 2004 I was placed in an en-suite flat in Lancaster University that had no view of the sky at all, and that I found it psychologically draining, and I could see being stuck in such an office having the same effect. It is the main reason why I avoid working in university libraries which are usually shut off from the weather- as an undergraduate I did nearly all of my work from home, and as a PhD student alternate between home and my own office.

Many people think it's "stupid" caring about whether a workplace has decent opportunities to experience daylight and see the sky from because "all that should matter is that you're being paid"- an attitude that really gets up my backside- but I imagine some meteorologists might share my sentiments.

[J07]

the weather in this country has a lag so the coldest and warmest weather is after the soltices.

That's essentially true for every country in the world.

[noggin]

Here http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/longestday.htm is an interesting article which gives some precise days/times re the solstice/longest day and so on.

An extract, regarding London (although there are other places in the UK ha ha!) is....

"London's sunrise on June 21 is at 4.42am and sunset is at 9.20pm. Sunrise at 4.42am is London's earliest, from June 11-22, but the sunset maximum is 9.21 from June 22-28."

So, I suppose one could say that we have only 3 weeks to go until the earliest sunrise, although I tend to think generally of June 20th or 21st as being the longest day.

Just being a bit nit-picky I suppose, but I do find these details interesting. :blush:

[laserguy]

So, I suppose one could say that we have only 3 weeks to go until the earliest sunrise, although I tend to think generally of June 20th or 21st as being the longest day.

Four weeks and counting..... June 21 is very,very close to my birthday. What should be a happy time is rendered miserable by the inescapable light and warmth. I wish so hard it could be January all year round.

[londonsnow]

i concur laserguy. hate the heat, unless i'm by the sea.. roll on autumn

[noggin]

Four weeks and counting..... June 21 is very,very close to my birthday. What should be a happy time is rendered miserable by the inescapable light and warmth. I wish so hard it could be January all year round.

I have made a note to send you birthday commiserations. I am blessed with having been born in February. 1956. Devon.

Birthday weather doesn't get much better than that!

However, at this time of year I am an absolute misery to be with. I am heartened by the Meto forecast though, which mentions Northerlies and rural groundfrost for the end May /start of June.

D'you know, it is a relief to find "others" and to know that it ain't just me........

So far, on this thread, there seems to be 4 of us :

laserguy

noggin

Gordon

londonsnow

What a bunch of misery that would be for a Summer get-together!

Bloomin' 'orrible, this Summer lark...... :blush: But by the same token, don't we get more pleasure out of our snowfalls? Even having to trudge to work at 6 o'clock in the mornings this last Winter was an absolute joy. I can't get enough of the stuff!

[Backtrack]

I don't get it.

BBC weather says sunset for my area is 21:13pm, but yesterday, I was out with the dog at 21:40pm and the sun was still visible, still in the sky. What's going on there?

[Bottesford]

Four weeks and counting..... June 21 is very,very close to my birthday. What should be a happy time is rendered miserable by the inescapable light and warmth. I wish so hard it could be January all year round.

Christ that'd be the most horrible nightmare ever! Being one of my least favourite months (along with November) the idea of January all year round is about as appealing as Monday morning all week long!

Wish my birthday was in June as there's so much more to do than in October when mine is. My missus has hers on Jan 16th - the absolute worst since no one has any money, no one is bothered about doing anything (all partied out) and the weather is vile.

Have to say I do find it hard to get in the head of you summer haters. Understand everyone is different and I can definitely understand people don't like heat but to just hate light & pleasant conditions is something I can't understand. So please do enlighten me on what is terrible about a sunny day at 20c...

[Thundery wintry showers]

Wish my birthday was in June as there's so much more to do than in October when mine is. My missus has hers on Jan 16th - the absolute worst since no one has any money, no one is bothered about doing anything (all partied out) and the weather is vile.

My birthday is in June- I've had all kinds of birthday weather over the years, with some notable highlights (e.g. small tornado in 1999, cloudbursts in 2000, thunderstorms in 2003, a notably warm sunny day in 2005).

21st February 1956 was right in the middle of the biggest wintry spell of that frozen easterly/north-easterly dominated month. There have been a few 21st Februarys in recent years that have been snowy for some, e.g. 1994, 1996, 2005, 2009- thundersnow was reported at Newcastle in 1994.

I imagine it must be very difficult to suffer from, in effect, "SAD in reverse" partly because it is so strongly at odds with the majority view and so results in very little sympathy/empathy.