Favourite Summers

[Alex]

Im interested to know everyone's favourite modern summers in list format, let's say from

95-present.

Please state your location when posting then when we get enough posts in, we can comply a list of the ideal summers!

Please nothing Pre 95. Thanks.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Alex

[Alex]

My list is - favourite at top, worst at bottom

2012 (hopefully)

1995- hosepipe bans due to prolonged good spell

2003- August heatwave pips 2006

2006- amazing July, disappointing August

2010- excellent end of June and July

2005- good spells and a very decent june

1997- v good August

1996

2009- nice August and the June heatwave

2004

1998- August saved this from the scrap!

1999/2000/2001/2002- nothing spectacular

2011- uneventful apart from 33c in June

2007- awful generally, managed 30c just !

2008 (worst - awful summer!)

[stewfox]

Im interested to know everyone's favourite modern summers in list format, let's say from

95-present.

Please state your location when posting then when we get enough posts in, we can comply a list of the ideal summers!

Please nothing Pre 95. Thanks.

Thats very ageist, so anyone over 22 cant post ?

1976

ps summer 95 in parts good

[Alex]

Thats very ageist, so anyone over 22 cant post ?

1976

ps summer 95 in parts good

Lol, well I'm 27 so....

Just think ppl remember modern Summers in more detail.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Alex

[stewfox]

Lol, well I'm 27 so....

Just think ppl remember modern Summers in more detail.

I was 11 in 76 and remember it well, I think JH was 89 then ?

But its your thread so will respect your wishes

[Guest]

Well to hell with it, I don't care what you say but to me 1959 was the best summer I can remember - it finally ended the middle of October.

[A Winter's Tale]

All I can say is that 2006 would be at the top for my list and 2011 would be at the bottom. Everything in between aren't outstanding but are not rubbish aswell.

[Don]

Definately Summer 1995 for me and after a relatively unsettled September, Summer made a late return to give a very nice October indeed which was then followed by a not too shabby Winter! Better than 2003 and 2006.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Don

[summer blizzard]

1995 and 2006 were the only two that need remembering, they are in a league of their own in Leeds.

[MP-R]

Summers as a whole, my favourites would be:

2006, 2005 and 2003.

Individual summer months would be:

June 2010, June 2009, June 2004, June 2001, July 1999 - before that, my memory gets sketchy.

[phil nw.]

Well to hell with it, I don't care what you say but to me 1959 was the best summer I can remember - it finally ended the middle of October.

What about the long Summers of 1975/1976 MIke-agree also 1959.All famous for heat and drought over many weeks.

[Weather-history]

1995 was the most memorable

1996 is an underrated summer

2007 was a shocker for rain, 2008 was dire for rain and lack of sunshine.

2010 and 2011 had a distinct lack of thunder.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Mr_Data

[Alex95]

2011 - I spent 23 days in Florida, where I had 18 thunder days, and only one day below 90°F, and Newcastle had a few decent thunderstorms in June/July.

2009 - Unusually thundery spell in early July in Newcastle with 3 notable storms, and a couple of weaker ones. I was in Belgium in August, where the all time temperature record was beaten for the country (38°C).

2008 - Great heatwave in France in early August. I had a supercell during the early hours of the 7th after 35°C was recorded near Paris on the 6th, then there were training thunderstorms later on the 7th - I saw about 4 thunderstorms on that day.

2006 - Hot and sunny, even in Northern England. I managed to miss most of the thunderstorms though - I was in Cumbria when Newcastle got one in July, and in Belgium when we had one in August.

2005 - Great June heatwave, spectacular thunderstorms on the 19th June and 31st August in Newcastle, and I experienced a good thunderstorm in Wiltshire at the end of June as well.

2004 - Not so great really, but there were loads of thunderstorms in August. I remember seeing many good lightning displays.

2003 - Fantastic heatwave in the French Alps and the Loire Valley, 40°C.

As you can see I have enjoyed many Summers, even 3 out of the last 4, but my best memories are of trips abroad. 2010 was one of my favourite summers as I spent a long time in Annecy which is my favourite place in the world, but it wasn't due to the weather conditions really (though it was very warm and sunny for the best part of 2 weeks).

My best UK summers would be 2005, 2006 and 2009 for the reasons listed above, but I wasn't here for most of July 2005, August 2006 or August 2009.

My worst UK summer would be 2008 for the lack of sunshine, and I gather August was pretty dire in the North especially.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Alza 2

[Harve]

2011 is probably my favourite summer. Reasonably sunny and showery with temperatures rarely too hot. There's certainly room for improvement, but that's for a different climate. I imagine summer high up in north-western USA would be fantastic.

[Aaron]

2003 was a very good summer here, I dislike hot weather and there were only a few hot days in August, other then that it was generally pleasant a lot of the time between 21C - 25C with low humidity, perfect!!!

1990 was pretty good, too, one day reached 34.4C (yikes!) but other then that again it was very good with pleasant temperatures throughout.

2005 had 17 storms here - fantastic stuff.

I agree with Mr_Data 1996 was pretty good too.

I didn't really like 1995, a bit too warm for me, and way too dry.

[Summer Sun]

2003, 2006, them are the only 2 which had proper summer heat during my lifetime

Edited March 6, 2012 by Gavin D

[damianslaw]

Lake District

1st - summer 1995 in a league of its own despite the chilly start in June.

2nd - summer 2006 despite the cloudy August

3rd - tough one 2005 just

4th - 1996 - plenty of lengthy dry sunny warm spells interspersed with cool showery interludes.

5th - 1999, a great July and some decent warmth in August and June.

6th- 2003

Most other summers have been average affairs such as 2000, 2001, 2010 and 2011, wet warm affairs such as 1997, 2004, or very wet ones such as 1998, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Worst of the lot probably 1998 quickly followed by 2007 and 2008.

[slaphead]

Not sure about favorites, but 1999 in the east midlands seemed largely forgotten. I lived in Leicester and we seemed to have days of pleasant warmth and sun but rarely too hot or humid- also this summer I was going camping with friends almost every weekend and the hottest weather always seemed to coincide with the weekends all summer. No idea how much I drove but was off to West Wales, Norfolk, Kent, Dorset, South Wales- and every single weekend was fanstastic sunshine. I don't remember the exact date but I remember a cloudless weekend of scorching heat in West Wales in July, and its not often you can say that!!

Otherwise 2003 was a good one in West London where I am now, lasted much longer than 2006, seeming to stretch from April to the end of September and it was a time I had a lot of good friends and got out n about a lot. Good memories.

I agree with the consensus that 2007 and 2008 were appauling!

[danm]

Being 26, I was not around for any summers pre-1986, I do not remember any summers from the late-80's and have relatively vague recollections of the early 90's summers. 1995 was exceptional and I remember it well, so I will summarise all the summers from 1995 onwards for London, and comment on which are my favourties.

1995 - Stunning summer. Probably the best summer overall that I've ever experienced. Day after day, week after week of hot and sunny weather. June was relatively average/cool for most of the month - until the end.

The temperature's at Heathrow from the 26th to the 30th of June were 25.5, 27.1, 31, 29.3, 32.3. July started off cool, but from the 4th the temperature did not drop below 23c for the rest of the month in London.

11 days recorded 28c or above. 6 days recorded 30c (rounded) or above. The temperature peaked on the 10th at 32c, the 20th at 31.8c, and the 31st at 32.6c.

August was brilliant. One of the best summer months I can remember. Heathrow recorded 11 days at 30c (rounded) or above (!) and 17 days where the temperature was 27c or above. The 1st of August recorded 34.3c at Heathrow.

It was 33 on the 2nd and 32.2 on the 3rd. In fact the maximum temperature did not drop below 30c at all between the 29th of July and 3rd August.

1996 - Nowhere near as good as 1995, but it was still a good summer with 3 spells where the temperature got above 30c in London, and several long stretches where the temperature was in the mid to high 20's.

A hot spell at the start of June saw Heathrow recording 30.6 and 31.8 on the 6th and 7th respectively. The temperature hit 28.5 again on the 17th. Other that that, June was largely average. The 2nd two-thirds

of July was notably warm, with the temperature not dropping below 24c (rounded) all month from the 10th onwards (except for 2 days: 22.6 on the 16th and 19.4 on the 24th). The temperature peaked between

the 18th and the 26th, with these temperatures recorded at Heathrow: 27.4, 26.5, 28.6, 30.7, 31.6, 28, 19.4, 25.4, 28.9. August recorded 10 days with temperatures of 24c or higher. They peaked on the 18th and

19th when Heathrow recorded 30.6 and 31.4 respectively.

1997 - June was quite cool with just 4 days recording temperatures of 25c (rounded) or higher, the highest being 26.7 on the 5th.

July was warm with temperatures often in the mid to high 20's. 14 days were 25c or higher. The highest temperature at Heathrow in July was 27.7 on the 23rd.

August was fantastic - The temperature in London did not drop below 25c between the 6th and the 24th of August, and there were 10 days during that spell

when the temperature was 28c or above. 6 days recorded 30c (rounded) or above. The temperature peaked on the 10th with 31.5c being recorded at Heathrow.

1998 - I remember this being quite a poor summer compared to the previous 3 years. June was cool, with the only hot day being the 20th when Heathrow recorded 28.4c.

July was another poor month with the maximum temperature being 26.3c on the 20th.

August was slightly better. There was a hot spell between the 5th and 11th, with these temperatures recorded at Heathrow: 26.6, 27.2, 29.2, 29.9, 26, 31.2, 29.7. The rest of August was rather non-descript with average temperatures.

1999 - June was cool and wet, but July and early August were warm (sometimes hot) and sunny. July had 19 days in London where the temperature was 25c or above, and 7 days when the temperature was at least 28c.

The hot weather reached its peak between the 29th of July and the 2nd of August, with these temperatures recorded at Heathrow: 28.6, 29.4, 31.3, 32.7, 31.9.

2000 - An average summer. Not much hot weather. There was a brief hot spell in June when the temperature reached 30.8 and 31.4 on the 18th and 19th.

July was largely cool, with the top temperature only getting to 26c.

August was marginally better than July, but the top temperature was only 27.4c, reached on the 12th. It hit 27c again on the 24th.

2001 - We don't often think back to 2001 as a particularly great summer, but there were some frequent hot spells in London. June was quite average for most of the month, but there was a hot spell from the 24th to the 27th

with the temperature at Heathrow peaking at 32c on the 26th. July had two hot spells, one at the start and one at the end of the month. Between the 1st and 6th of July the temperature stayed above 26c and peaked at

31c on the 5th. The 3rd and 4th recorded temperatures at Heathrow of 29.5c and 29.2c respectively. Between the 23rd of July and the 1st of August, the temperature stayed above 25c (except for the 24th when it dipped to 23.2).

The temperature's from the 26th of July to 1st August were: 28.7, 29.3, 31.6, 31.9, 28.8, 26.6, 26.7. The temperature then dropped away to near average until the 13th. The 13th to 23rd of August was warm, sometimes hot, and

sunny. The temperature did not get below 23c (rounded) for the entire 11 days, with Heathrow recording 30c on the 15th, 28.4c on the 23rd and 31.5c on the 25th.

2002 - Nothing exceptional by any means, but some decent warm weather at times. A brief hot spell at the end of July saw a peak of 32.5c at Heathrow. August was quite a warm month with 18 days recording temperatures above 23c (rounded).

A brief hot spell mid month saw a peak of 30c on the 17th.

2003 - This summer is remembered for the exceptional August heatwave. Not as good as 1995 for the longevity of the hot weather, but better (obviously) in terms of temperatures recorded.

June was average, with the highest temperature at Heathrow being 27.5c on the 16th.

July was a warm month, with a few days of hot weather. 10 days recorded 25c (rounded) or above, with 6 of those days recording 28c (rounded) or above. The July temperature peaked at 30c and 33c on the 14th

and 15th respectively.

August, as well all know, was exceptional. Maximum temperatures were 29c or above at Heathrow every day between the 3rd and the 13th. 6 of those days recorded 32c or above. Heathrow saw 35.2c on the 6th,

35 on the 9th, 37.9 on the 10th and 33.7 on the 11th. Central London was slightly hotter than Heathrow on the 10th, with the 38.1c recorded at Kew. The top temperature, as well all know, was 38.5 in Faversham, Kent.

I remember having to sleep with 3 fans simultaneously on me at night during that spell. It cooled down considerably after the 13th, but temperatures were still 23c or above until the 27th (except for the 25th when it dipped to 21.3).

2004 - A massive step down from 2003, but there were still a few hotter spells. 30.5c was recorded at Heathrow on the 8th of June, 29c on the 14th.

The hottest spell of an otherwise disappointing summer was between the 28th of July and the 8th of August. These were the temperatures at Heathrow during that spell: 27.3, 30, 25.5, 28, 26.7, 28.1, 27.9, 28.1, 27.3, 28, 29.2, 30.5.

The rest of August was average (temperature-wise) and wet.

2005 - 2005 was a step up from 2004, and I remember this being quite a warm summer overall. June saw a heatwave between the 17th and the 24th.

Heathrow recorded these temperatures during that spell: 26.4, 29.9, 33, 28, 26.1, 29, 31.1, 26. It warmed up again between the 27th and the 29th with 26.2, 27.3 and 26 being recorded.

July started off cool and dull, but warmed up from the 9th onwards. It was very warm/hot between the 10th and the 18th: 29.3, 28, 27.3, 30, 31, 28.2, 24.3, 29, 26.4. The rest of July was mixed. Some warm sunny days with

temperatures of about 25c, and some cooler days in the high-teens/low-20's.

August was a warm month. 14 days recorded 24c (rounded) or above. 29c was recorded on the 18th. There was a warm/hot spell between the 28th of August and the 4th of September: 24.4, 26.1, 27.6, 31.8, 24.5, 24, 26.3, 29.1.

2006 - Remembered for the record breaking July. One of the best individual summer calendar months I can remember. Rivals August 1995.

June was also quite a warm month. 14 days recorded 25c (rounded) or above. 5 of those recorded 28c or above. The 10th, 11th and 12th recorded 29.4, 28.3 and 31.4 respectively. 29.1 was also recorded on the 30th.

July recorded 17 days with 28c or above. An amazing 15 of those recorded 30c or above! Quite exceptional. 8 of those were 32c (rounded) or above. The temperature at Heathrow peaked at 35.5c on the 19th.

Amazing month by all accounts. Travelling by Tube during that month was torture at times.

August was much cooler and wetter. The only hotter days were the 5th and 6th when 27.1 and 28.2 were recorded.

The first half of September was beautiful, with temperatures often in the mid to high 20's. 30.2c was recorded on the 11th and 28c was recorded on the 21st.

2007 - The less said about this summer the better. Only one truly hot day to speak of - 29c on the 5th of August. Utter crap otherwise.

2008 - Another poor summer, only one decent spell of warm/hot weather was between the 23rd and 31st of July: 27, 28.2, 25.5, 27, 30, 30, 23.1, 26.2, 26.

2009 - Not a vintage by any means, but a step up from 2007 and 2008. The best spell of weather was between the 23rd of June and the 5th of July: 24.7, 25.2, 28, 24, 27, 27.6, 31, 31.2, 30.9, 30.6, 26, 26, 25.3.

The rest of the summer was average with the temperature hovering in the low to mid 20's. The temperature did reach 27.9 on the 5th of August, 28.9 on the 19th and 27.7 on the 23rd of August.

2010 - 2010 was marginally better than 2009 down here in London, mainly due to a very dry and warm June and July. August, though, was poor. Summer came slightly early this year with 28.1 and 28.8 being recorded at Heathrow on the 23rd and 24th of May.

The first two thirds of June were generally average in terms of temperatures, except for a brief hot spell on the 4th and 5th when it reached 28c on both days. From the 6th until the 20th it was cool/mild but largely dry.

The period from the 21st of June to the 12th of July saw an extended period of warm/hot and sunny weather. The temperature during this period did not drop below 24c (rounded). 11 of those days were 27c and above. 2 were 30c and above.

Heathrow maximum temperatures, 21st June - 12th July: 24.7, 27.3, 27.3, 26.3, 27.8, 27.6, 30.6, 28.7, 28.6, 26.4, 27.2, 25.8, 26.1, 24.5, 24.2, 23.8, 24, 27.1, 31.2, 29.1, 27.5, 23.9.

It cooled down between the 13th and the 17th of July, but warmed up again between the 18th and the 21st: 25, 29.5, 29, 25.1. From the 24th of July until the end of the month the temperature fluctuated between 23c and 26c.

August was relatively cool and wet.

2011 - 2011 will be remembered more for it's warm Spring and the exceptional hot spell during the Autumn, than it will for the summer. 28th September to 3rd October Heathrow temperatures: 25.9, 28.1, 28.5, 28.8, 28.3, 26.6.

The traditional summer months were largely average with no extended periods of hot weather. The temperature got above 30c on only two occasions - 31.2 on the 27th (33.1c in Gravesend) and 30.1c on the 3rd of August.

Edited March 6, 2012 by danm

[knocker]

Well to hell with it, I don't care what you say but to me 1959 was the best summer I can remember - it finally ended the middle of October.

I can go along with that. And guess where I was. Dunstable! I agree there is a very ageist slant to the forum.

Edited March 6, 2012 by weather ship

[Supercell 89]

I can only vaguely remember parts of 1995 so discounting it from my list, being only 5 at the time and living in Gosport. But what i do remember is it being frequently hot and sunny (first memory of hot weather really) with crystal clear skies and the ground being all dry and cracked, would love to see a summer like that again.

That aside i think 2003 has to take the crown for me, closely followed by 2005, 2006 and 1999.

2003 just seemed like endless warmth from March to October.

June 2003 was persistently warm and mostly dry save the rain from the couple of thundery spells to we had (missed one of them and it was a corker apparently). Temps were mostly between 20c - 24c from the 2nd week onwards hitting 25c on the hottest day perfect early summer weather not too hot.

The first two weeks of July were very warm with us even reaching the high 20's in the 2nd week for a couple of days, then it did turn very wet and cool.

August was nothing short of brilliant. First week temperatures in the high 20's peaking at 32c which to this day is the hottest temp i've experienced in the UK, beach every single day was like being abroad. We had no proper rainfall for 4 weeks either and it remained consistently warm to very warm for the rest of the month and a thunderstorm brought an end to the very dry period of weather on the 29th.

2005 i'd rank 2nd, if every UK summer was like this one i think most people would be happy, including myself as it had pretty much everything. The last two weeks of June with temps in the low to mid 20's before having two of the most violent Spanish Plumes i've ever seen, 6 storms in one day on the 24th! after reaching 27c the day before.

July again had a notable fortnight of dry, sunny and at times hot weather. A whole week of temperatures in the mid 20's peaking at 29c and 28c a couple of days later. Slightly cooler the week after with temps in the low 20's but still dry and sunny.

August this is a month that nobody ever remembers but for South Devon it was a perfect lazy summer month. After the initial gloom of the first few days it soon brightened up and for the rest of the month bar two days, we had dry sunny weather with a few clouds and temps between 22c - 25c every day, was amazed at how persistently warm it was. Only one day where it failed to reach 20c. The month closed with a final brief warm spell with 26c and another nice Thunderstorm.

The fine weather lasted well into September with temps in the low to mid 20's for at least the first half of the month and another round of thunderstorms.

Best June: June 2005 - purely for the 2nd half.

Best July: July 1999 (I would have chosen 2006 but i was on holiday for the 2nd half of the month so cant make comment)

Best August: August 2003

Edited March 6, 2012 by Supercell 89

[Milhouse]

Unfortunately i dont remember much about 1995 apart from staying in the Yorkshire Dales during August when it seemed to be endlessly hot and sunny. I also recall there being a lot of talk of drought at the time.

Since 2000 its a very tough decision for what summer i would place number 1. I think 2003 just takes it due to the longeviety and quality of the summer as well as being the one that holds the record for highest ever temperature. Summer 2006 petered out in August whereas in 2003 August carried on very warm even when the main heatwave had ended.

In 2nd place it would be 2006 and 2005 would come in 3rd, 2010 is 4th.(bearing in mind this is just summers since 2000). Im sure 1995 and maybe 1997 would rank very highly if only i remembered more about them.

[stewfox]

Being 26, I was not around for any summers pre-1986, I do not remember any summers from the late-80's

Unfortunately i dont remember much about 1995 apart from staying in the Yorkshire Dales during August when it seemed to be endlessly hot and sunny. I also recall there being a lot of talk of drought at the time.

I can only vaguely remember parts of 1995 so discounting it from my list, being only 5 at the time

This thread is making me feel very old :cray:

Edited March 6, 2012 by stewfox

[Guest]

What about the long Summers of 1975/1976 MIke-agree also 1959.All famous for heat and drought over many weeks.

Yes but 1959 lasted longer whilst in 1976 the dry spell ended abruptly on 26.08.1976 just after a minister for drought had been appointed.

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/philip-eden/Summer-1959.htm

[damianslaw]

If we used 1987 as a cut off I'd be placing 1989 in second place ahead of 2006 - it was a cracking summer. Summer 1990 probably would edge out summer 2003.

I am rating my summers based on levels of sunshine and dry settled weather. Summer 2003 whilst very warm saw rather alot of hazy humid conditions. Summer 2005 though cooler than 2003 was generally much sunnier. August 1997 was very warm but also very wet.

Going further back summer 1984 was a very good dry sunny warm summer up here in the Lake District - I have pictures of our local park all brown grass- very rare for the Lake District. Similiar conditions occured during summer 1995.