Warm May Of 1918

[Weather-history]

May 1918 was the 2nd consecutive warm May with a CET of 13.0C

The 2nd half of May was very warm with maxima reached 84F at Manchester and Bristol on the 22nd

An account by Leo Bonacina

"The month of May 1918 was very true to type, the first half being cool with an occasional suspicion of sultriness in the afternoons and the second half full summer. The first advance of the summer in May is always an impressive phase of climate and this year it took the form between the 15th and 22nd of an unbroken spell of sustained warmth during which the rich tones of the sky and the refulgence of the new foliage in the fierce solar rays were magnificent. As is invariably the case in early summer such conditions meant electrical disturbance, and in the London district violent thunderstorms on the 17th and 22nd. The first indications of the evening storm of the 22nd were apparent on the 21st and it often happens that heat thunderstorms take a couple of days to develop. Thus thundery looking cumulus on the afternoon of the 21st died down at dusk and it only wanted another day's heat for the storms to burst the following evening. In the Hampstead district, considerable damage was done both on the 17th and 22nd and on the latter occasion ball lightning is reported to have been seen. The ordinary flashes on the 22nd were of blinding intensity and were followed on more than one occasion by instantaneous crashes. There was rather more general wind motion during the storm of the 22nd than is usual in heat thunderstorms. The year 1918 serves to confirm my impression that the month of May is the most constant in character and in some ways the best and most reliable of the summer months. How often does June fall back in May!"