What Is The Coldest June Day In London?

[mulzy]

Apologies mods for starting this - feel free to move to an appropriate area.

Just wondering if anyone knows what the official coldest day in June in London is. I belive the temperature was 11.7C on Coronation day (June 2nd 1953) in London - anything colder than that?

[Weather-history]

Greenwich recorded 9.4C on the 19th June 1903 as a maximum.

[stewfox]

Apologies mods for starting this - feel free to move to an appropriate area.

You could move it to 'have you put your heating on yet' thread.

Mine is back on again

[ZONE 51]

Just wondering if anyone knows what the official coldest day in June in London is. I belive the temperature was 11.7C on Coronation day (June 2nd 1953) in London - anything colder than that?

I was told that it snowed around the London area on one June decades ago, 50s or 60s i think, and settled in parts of Surrey,

Mr Data? thanks.

Can i ask if London has recorded a frost in June or July?

[Terminal Moraine]

According to Brazell's 'London Weather' there has never been an air frost in London in June or July. Ground frost occurs in about 14 years out of 20 ( or it did up to 1965 when the book was published ) and there were 7 ground frosts at Greenwich in June 1918 and at Southgate in June 1962. The latest ground frost at Greenwich was on June 27th 1919.

The only record of snow in London during any of the summer months is for July 11th 1888 when snow is reported to have fallen at Norwood, it should be remembered however that in those days the distinction between snow and soft hail wasn't widely recognised, and nor is it now in some circles.

[reef]

According to Brazell's 'London Weather' there has never been an air frost in London in June or July. Ground frost occurs in about 14 years out of 20 ( or it did up to 1965 when the book was published ) and there were 7 ground frosts at Greenwich in June 1918 and at Southgate in June 1962. The latest ground frost at Greenwich was on June 27th 1919.

The only record of snow in London during any of the summer months is for July 11th 1888 when snow is reported to have fallen at Norwood, it should be remembered however that in those days the distinction between snow and soft hail wasn't widely recognised, and nor is it now in some circles.

Its was almost certainly soft hail. There was a northerly airflow then on the back of a depression, but upper air temps never really dropped below 3-4C in the London area:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1888/Rrea00118880711.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1888/Rrea00218880711.gif

Its an interesting question though, how does one differentiate between soft hail and snow? If such a shower fell in spring it might be considered a 'snow day'. I suppose the only real way of telling is by looking at upper air temperatures as above.

[Terminal Moraine]

Its an interesting question though, how does one differentiate between soft hail and snow? If such a shower fell in spring it might be considered a 'snow day'. I suppose the only real way of telling is by looking at upper air temperatures as above.

The basic rule of thumb is, if it bounces when it hits the ground it's hail, if it doesn't it's snow. Even snow grains, which are frozen drizzle, are technically hail not snow

A more difficult problem is differentiating between true sleet ( partially melted snowflakes mixed with rain) and partly melted hail mixed with rain. I've occasionally seen sleet reported in summer during thunderstorms when it was almost certainly partly melted hail. There is a distinct difference between the two when looking at their impact on a car windscreen but it's very difficult to describe it. Sleet is more of a splat whereas partly melted hail is like a raindrop with a small piece/ pieces of ice in it.

[cheeky_monkey]

Surely sleet is a mix of snow and rain..here they dont have sleet its called a snow rain mix. Sleet is clearly discernible in my eye...other stuff you describe to me is iced rain.

[Don]

The only record of snow in London during any of the summer months is for July 11th 1888 when snow is reported to have fallen at Norwood, it should be remembered however that in those days the distinction between snow and soft hail wasn't widely recognised, and nor is it now in some circles.

What about the 2nd June 1975?

[Slowpoke]

June 02, 1975 seems like it was rather nasty looking at the charts:

[AderynCoch]

Cricket commentator John Arlott reported snow from Lord's that day. Snow was also reported falling at Colchester.

Meanwhile, this was the scene at Buxton (courtesy of Cricinfo.com):

[Terminal Moraine]

Surely sleet is a mix of snow and rain..here they dont have sleet its called a snow rain mix. Sleet is clearly discernible in my eye...other stuff you describe to me is iced rain.

I agree, it's all down to differences in terminology in different places. Even in this country I know plenty of people to whom sleet is small hail ( graupel ) falling with or without rain, although they aren't meteorologists, amateur or otherwise. I'm pretty sure the term sleet is used in the USA too for small hail rather than a mix of snow and rain.

What about the 2nd June 1975?

Yes, I'm fairly sure sleet at least fell in London that day. In my earlier post I was quoting from Brazell's ' London Weather', which goes only as far as 1965.

[ZONE 51]

(please note this below was in paper/on line on 10th august 2009)

BEST SUMMERS

1887

The driest year of the 19th century. A quarter of the average rainfall fell in parts of the country in June with none in Devon and Cornwall. But the drought meant streams and rivers dried up and crops suffered.

1893

Mile End in East London clinched the record for the longest run of days without rain. From March 4 to May 15 - 73 days.

1911

July was hot and constantly sunny with Epsom notching up 36C and Hastings enjoying 384 hours of sun. August saw Raunds, Northamptonshire notch up 36.7C and even on September 8 it reached 34.6C.

1976

Standpipes in the street and adverts telling us to share a bath. The hottest summer since records began brought drought but a glorious summer. From June 23 to July 17 there were 15 days of 32C.

Heathrow saw 52 days above 25C. There was little rain until the end of August.

2003

The hottest day in British history was notched up six years ago today in Faversham, Kent, when 38.5C was recorded. But a dispute over the reading means that the 38.1C at Kew Gardens on the same day stands as the official record. Scotland notched up a new record high, too, with 32.9C set at Greycrook in the Borders, beating a record set in 1908.

WORST SUMMERS

1816

There were no bikinis on the beaches of Worthing this year (not that they had been invented, mind). 1816 saw temperatures that would make a penguin reach for a muffler. Averages were 12.8C for June, 13.4C for July and 13.9C for August. Cold spells around the world were thought to have been triggered by low solar activity and volcanos spewing ash into the atmosphere.

1879

One of the coldest summers for the previous 160 years, the warmest it got was 26.8C in Norfolk. It was also the wettest summer in the North East until just two years ago.

1903

London suffered the wettest month on record with a third of its rainfall dropping in two weeks in June. In Camden, rain fell continuously from 1pm on the 13th to 11.30pm two days later - 58 hours and 30 minutes. The record still stands.

1909

The coldest June for 230 years, dropping to 10C. July wasn't much better and from May 23 to August 6 temperatures didn't climb above 27C.

1954

At Tynemouth not a single ray of sun was seen from August 16 to 24.

WEIRDEST SUMMERS

1906

A scorching day on September 1 saw Manchester City take on Woolwich Arsenal in 32C heat. The part-time players, on a diet of beer and cigarettes, soon began to wilt under the heat and three City players were out of the game before half-time. The team finished with just six players - but sporting Arsenal kept the score low at just 4-1.

1913

The saying goes that the weather on St Swithin's day, July 15, will set the tone for the next 40. But in 1913 15 hours of rain was followed by 31 days of sun from 40 in London.

1936

The temperature dropped to 1.1C overnight on August 29 in Rickmansworth, Herts. But by the middle of the afternoon the thermometer had soared to 29.4C.

1975

The latest snow storms recorded fell across Britain in early June, as far south as Surrey. The Derbyshire v Lancashire cricket match at Buxton was cancelled due to snow.

1982

Newcastle managed to go from June 17 to 26 with just 20 minutes of sun.

STORMIEST SUMMERS

1843

One of the worst storms to batter Britain happened on August 9. Hail stones as big as pigeon eggs fell, forming huge drifts. Small tornadoes uprooted trees and wrecked roofs. Crops were flattened which led to a poor harvest.

1906

Britain basked in a heatwave during July. But on August 2 the weather broke in Guildford and the storm saw almost continuous lightning and fierce wind, uprooting trees, knocking holes in the bridge and demolishing houses. At the station trains were lifted off their tracks.

1912

A devastating flood hit Norfolk when a quarter of average annual rainfall fell on August 25. The previous high water mark in Norwich was exceeded by 15ins. Three drowned. 8,000 made homeless.

1939

Lightning killed seven people and injured 19 when storms swept London. The dead were on a day out in Ilford's Valentines Park when they sheltered in a hut. But lightning struck the iron roof with devastating consequences.

1958

The biggest hailstone recorded hit West Sussex in Horsham, creating a 60 mm crater. It weighed nearly five ounces and was 10cms across.

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http://www.mirror.co...-in-june-411705