Warm/hot Spell Discussion 22nd May Onwards

[Slowpoke]

Well temperatures above 25C for many days in May occurred in 2008 and 2010.

Yeah maybe where you are, not in Scotland, Ireland, Wales or NW England. This warm spell was much more widespread!

[AderynCoch]

Today has turned out to be another winner. Not as warm as previous days but with mostly clear skies and light breeze remaining.

I think this warm spell has shown us just how significant a factor the strength of the sun is at this time of year - get it shining and it makes a big difference in the feel of the weather.

[Slowpoke]

im hearing all these report of 21c 22c up north

Correct, NW is definitely best in this spell. Tomorrow looks much better now too. We were originally forecast showers though sunny spells and 20/21C looks more likely.

[Bottesford]

Another lovely day with a bit more cloud around taking the heat out of the sun a bit.

But with 23c max and still 21c now it's still a decent summers day.

[Thundery wintry showers]

The May 2010 spell was similarly hot and sunny but for most of us it lasted just a few days, not a whole week.

The second week of May 2008 was comparably exceptional for warmth and sunshine- that's why the month came out as the warmest since 1992 despite only modest warmth in the second half, and why sunshine totals over England and Wales were mostly above normal despite a very dull second half.

Before that though you'd have to go back to the 1990s for anything comparable in May. There was a spell shortly before mid-May 2001 which was comparably sunny for many of us, but generally somewhat cooler. In the 1990s we had the exceptional hot spells at the beginning of Mays 1990 and 1995, the exceptional second half of May 1992 and the last week of May 1997. In the 1980s, I don't think any May other than 1989 (which was one of the driest and sunniest on record almost nationwide) produced anything comparable.

[Backtrack]

I think the fact that I am sat looking out the window right now, with crystal clear blue skies still in place is exceptional. That's the 8th day of blue skies, consecutively. The max today has been 23.8C, so almost 4C above the forecasted maximum.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Backtrack

[johnholmes]

In terms of consecutive days of 24C or more in May this year beats any in my records going back to January 1997, 8 in this spell, 4 in 2010 and 2008 and 3 in 2004.

The highest temperature of this spell with 28.4C yesterday is the 2nd highest over the same time scale in May. The highest was in 2010 with 29.9C on 23rd.

[damianslaw]

The last 7 days have been quite exceptional for the Lake District with hardly any cloud and temps on 5 days exceeding 25 degrees. May has produced similiar conditions of similiar duration in years gone by but not quite the same consistency of high temps, though we have seen higher very recently in 2010- often forgotton..

However, despite the superb conditions since the 20th, the recent spell doesn't cancel out the lacklustre first 20 days which in the main were dissapointingly cloudy and cool, as recently as the 18th I was going to work with my winter raincoat on..

I'll be very surprised if we manage to see a 5 day spell similiar to that which has just occured between the 24th-28th at any stage during June, July or August not in terms of temps, but in terms of level of sunshine, very warm/hot spells in July and August normally mean much haier skies and greater threat of thundery showers thanks to higher temps.

Today felt lovely with high teen maxima, much less oppressive and I have closed my windows for the first time since Thursday evening.

[conor123]

I notice a slight increase in temperatures for the end of the week with every run with the high holding more ground, e.g Thursday originally meant to be down to 14-17c now 19-21c being shown widespread!

Edited May 29, 2012 by conor123

[Milhouse]

I notice a slight increase in temperatures for the end of the week with every run with the high holding more ground, e.g Thursday originally meant to be down to 14-17c now 19-21c being shown widespread!

Could be a nice weekend for western parts with eastern coasts staying cooler but still some lengthy dry spells to be had with low pressure staying far enough away. Could be a lot worse.

[conor123]

Yeah it looks like Fridays weather front will fizzle out and then clear south westwards with clear skies following on behind.

[Costa Del Fal]

Yep, thankfully a fairly decent outlook now. Probably will stay below 20c though not too far away.

[ZONE 51]

It was another hot day on tuesday, watching the cumulonimbus build up, eventually the skies became thundery although nothing broke out here. The heatwave lasted longer then was expected for some.

It wants to stay another day i think.

[ZONE 51]

Looking at NAE it has 24C in the SE for today, could we get to a 25C? we shall see..

[AderynCoch]

Another warm one. Much more humid than previous days and with hazier sunshine, but those showers are nowhere to be seen so far.

This is certainly a tenacious spell of summery weather.

[Bottesford]

A warmer day than yesterday with a max of 24.3c. Got quite used to these great summer temperatures - going to be an unpleasant shock the next few days, especially for the holiday weekend. Just hope the latent heat in the ground means I won't have to turn the heating on again - be a horrible thing to have to do in June!

[Costa Del Fal]

Very warm and muggy at 23c here. Some 3c higher than expected yesterday!

[Slowpoke]

21C here but with no wind at all, feels incredibly warm and muggy!

[Backtrack]

A max of 24.0C, it's currently 22.6C with the sun shining, cloudier than as of late, but it's feeling very warm and muggy out there.

[Bottesford]

24.7c today - and there was me thinking the warmth would be fading away by now!

If only it would last into the weekend...

[Backtrack]

Oh, so this spell was NOT exceptional? The Met Office say otherwise.

Met Office â€@metoffice

May summary: Average overall, with a cool start and then the longest warm spell in May since 1992

[Robbie Garrett]

26*C at Heathrow today....

[Slowpoke]

Up to 23C, 4C higher than forecast. No wind and extremely humid! Last day of it though for a while so on the park now enjoying the final day of this amazing setlled, hot spell!

Humidity approaching 70% and a dew point of almost 15C, feels considerably warmer than 22.8C!

[Weather-history]

Oh, so this spell was NOT exceptional? The Met Office say otherwise.

Met Office â€@metoffice

May summary: Average overall, with a cool start and then the longest warm spell in May since 1992

If its exceptional, it is only in terms of longevity and not absolute values outside the north of Scotland. As I pointed out before there were 4 consecutive days in May 1922 where maxima was above 30C.

[Backtrack]

If its exceptional, it is only in terms of longevity and not absolute values outside the north of Scotland. As I pointed out before there were 4 consecutive days in May 1922 where maxima was above 30C.

Hmm we've not done bad, Mr.D. I will take my 8 consecutive days of 24C + over 4 days of 30C.

London has managed 8 days of 26C +, so it has been an amazing spell.

Best May spell in 10 years is fine by me.