Your Wishlist For Summer 2013 (a Light Relief From Winter Thread)

[William of Walworth]

Hello weather watchers,

As someone who rarely enjoys much UK weather in autumn, winter and early spring, especially not out here in wet and windy SW Wales,, and who's not even much of a fan of out-of-summer anticyclones ('wrong time of year'), I thought I'd try a bit of not too serious escapism, indeed light relief, in this new thread.

Very much not intended as any kind of 'attempted forecast' thread, because anyone sensible knows that would be a mug's game ...

After this largely wet and unsettled summer 2012, what would be on YOUR wishlist for the prevailing weather conditions/types between May and September 2013? (ie the 'summer' period as defined at its most broad possible)

Here's my blatantly 'warm and sunny fantasies' list :

1. NO anticyclone dominated spring month such as March and April ('using up our quota')

2. Many more anticyclone dominated periods between May and September, with several lasting for 10 days or more. Ideally one of these to cover the second half of June, so that the famous Glastonbury Festival, where we work and play and stay for over a week, gets a very benign and unmuddy festival on its return next year from its Olympic year off (very fortunately timed this year given our washout June!). There to be no talk at all of 'June monsoon' -- we had 2013's level of this in 2012, on top of 2012's!

3, The Jet to track North, as was once rumoured to happen in some summers years ago, and stay there most of the time.

4. Thus, Atlantic LP influence over most of the UK to be weak, Continental influence to be high, and the Azores High to play somewhat more of an active role at times too. There to be much talk of High Pressure areas 'reloading'.

4. Rain to fall at much below average levels, and mostly at night, except during exciting thunderstorms. The latter mainly to happen early or midweek, and NOT AT WEEKENDS.

6. Historians on here to start making comparisons with 1989, 1995, 2003, and 2006. Possibly even 1976!

7. Excitement seekers on here who are 'bored' by anticyclonic and settled summer conditions to feel bored for days and sometimes weeks on end.

8. Didactic types on the Model Output thread who in an unsettled summer, even when they see the most mildly and desparately expressed hope for the odd sunny day or two in ten days time, in July, in the face of relentless Jet driven, Atlantic driven rain and showers, yet who STILL insist on delivering their annual lectures about how 'you can't expect warm and sunny dominated summers here in the UK!', when we damned well know you can't expect it and very rarely say so, to fall quiet.

7. Summer 'writer offer' types ('gloom and doom merchants', albeit heavily justified in their pessimism over this and recent summers), similarly to be forced to have to admit that this summer (2013) is hardly to be written off at all ('on all current and FI output')

8. Those to whom wamth and sunshine are simply not agreeable, to have to accept that this year simply isn't their year in 2013. And to get some relief with cooler conditions occasionally interrupting the summer from time to time, as opposed to the opposite in 2012 -- occasional warm and sunny spells briefly interrupting the rain and showers on rare occasions.

[This festival goer advises : Remember -- it's easier to shelter from the sun and heat, than it is from the rain and MUD!]

10. Temperatures aren't on my wish list -- I have little personal agenda about whether a daily summer max is 19C or 29C, so long as the sun is shining! Out and out heat wave fantasists can be disappointed in my book, if that's the trade-off ending up being required to get more sunshine for longer.

11. Summer dislikers : it's our turn next year. Not yours.

Told you the list was fantasy based!

Now, what are YOUR preferences for next summer??. Advance all and any type!

Edited October 12, 2012 by William of Walworth

[UV-RAY]

Another Summer just like the one previous please.

[Bottesford]

For me I have one absolute vital important requirement above absolutely everything else - that June 22nd is *dry* and preferably warm.

I'm getting married on that date and its on a farm near Buxton which of course is a wet & not so warm part of the world so I'm looking for a massive strong high pressure system to sit over the middle of the UK on that date - and preferably for a week before so it isn't a mud bath up there. Temps in the low 20s @ 1400 feet would do nicely.

More generally I'd agree with most of what you said but more specifically:

- Most of our rainfall to fall during the winter or early spring then to turn mostly dry mid April to September. Thunderstorms at times yes but please not at 5pm or that one weekend I finally get everyone together for a bbq!

- Vast amounts of sunshine especially during June & July.

- Any cooler, damper spells to fall on Mondays & Tuesdays with rain mostly at night.

- High temperatures throughout. July 2006 was the perfect summer month! Mins should be in the mid to high teens, maxes 23-26c generally with some hot 30+ spells.

Essentially an outdoors summer where all my gardening efforts aren't lost to heavy rain & insufficient solar energy. And of course to keep food and energy prices down. 2012 is working out to be an expensive year.

[Barry12]

I would like the Jetsream to be much further north than usual, carrying the wind and the rain with it, over the top of mainland Britain (sorry shetland isles). Which would allow the southerly air to steam in bringing much warmer tempartures and below average rainfall. Temperatures getting up to 32C in the south and 28-29C to the north.

I would also like snow to fall in the middle of July

Edited October 12, 2012 by Barry95

[Summer Sun]

Drier, sunnier and hotter than this summer just gone, people may wish for wet summers but look at the negative effect it has on our poor farmers and in turn it hits everyone's pocket in the weekly shop in the end due to price rises which are inevitable so they can make up for loss of earnings.

A repeat of this summer is NOT needed we need a minimum of an averge summer enough rain to keep the crops healthy but not this years amount to wash them out, plenty of warm sunshine is also needed to help the crops grow

Edited October 12, 2012 by Summer Sun

[A Winter's Tale]

Drier, sunnier and hotter than this summer just gone, people may wish for wet summers but look at the negative effect it has on our poor farmers and in turn it hits everyone's pocket in the weekly shop in the end due to price rises which are inevitable so they can make up for loss of earnings.

A repeat of this summer is NOT needed we need a minimum of an averge summer enough rain to keep the crops healthy but not this years amount to wash them out, plenty of warm sunshine is also needed to help the crops grow

Yes, also I could add that sunshine generally makes everyone a lot happier and it's important that tourist and farming industries are able to thrive aswell as they can during the summer months. Of course, the other extreme in having very hot, dry weather for a long period of time can threaten the lives of vulnerable people and wildlife, so in summer 2013, a very sunny season with warmer temperatures than 2011, largely dry but some showers and occasinal frontal rainfall to keep the balance for the environment.

[Radiating Dendrite]

Sunshine and 21c for 90 days (with coolish nights, 12-13c mins).

[Chris K]

A warm, but average rainfall Summer 2013 would be nice. It would help farmers keep crops healthy and not waterlogged or in drought. I'd also like to have more camping trips over weekends and not the washouts we seemed to keep getting on Fridays and weekends!

Ironically even though I hate high humidity and prefer just warm and comfortable, I wouldn't mind having more chances of continental storms move up from Biscay and France in a Spanish Plume. This year didn't seem to give us that opportunity. A nice night time light show would be fantastic.

I requested this late 2011 though and Mother Nature declined!

Edited October 12, 2012 by Chris K

[cheeky_monkey]

Sunshine temps 22- 25c rain only at night please low humidity..and cool nights..not far from what i get already here, this summer just gone was perfect apart from temps possibly being +5c higher than required.

[Essan]

A combination of summer 2010 and summer 2011. The first was too dry, the 2nd too wet.

Temperature wise both were perfect

[ARTDEMOLE]

Long and cloudless during day light hours rain overnight if it has to...

[marky810]

A summer where I get the chance to have one bbq please. This year I've had none.

[laserguy]

Yes, also I could add that sunshine generally makes everyone a lot happier

Ye I know I'm in the minority but it makes me miserable,fractious and hyper all at the same time. I want summer to be one continuous cloudburst with no sun whatsoever. Glorious. Barbecues - pah. The only time I'd consider one is if the cooker broke down or I had the gas cut off.

[Methuselah]

Lots of days with maximum temps between 24 & 28C would do me fine...Throw in a few supercells and MCSs ( I really mean lots!) preferably at night, and I'll be happy!

Edited October 12, 2012 by Rybris Ponce

[Norrance]

Max temps between 22c and 26c. Not too humid with enough rain overnight to keep the farmers and water companies happy. Any heavy rain reserved for late evenings / nghts at the weekends to keep my rather noisy neighbours indoors and save us from the 3AM out of key singsongs.

Just one memorable thunderstorm would be a bonus.

[Skip Spence]

A repeat of summer 2003 would be most acceptable.

[Thundery wintry showers]

1. Anticyclonic spells to be predominantly dry and sunny, rather than cloudy, and cyclonic spells to be predominantly bright and showery with some thunder, rather than dull and wet.

2. A high frequency of setups with a Euro high and Atlantic trough.

3. A recognition that you can like certain types of unsettled weather (e.g. warm sunshine mixed with thundery downpours) without being "anti-summer" or being a fan of all unsettled weather. I tend to get irritated when I see a change from persistent rain and 14C to sunshine, thundery showers and 23C described as "more of the same, miserable and unsettled with rain or showers".

I see that Bottesford is getting married on my birthday (22nd June). I generally hope for a mix of sunshine and convective activity on that day, although one work-around is to have the downpours hit my location and miss the location of the wedding. However, there isn't really much of a clash as a dry sunny day is generally my second preference (the 22nd June 2010 was particularly good on that front) and so I wouldn't be complaining if we did get a large and reasonably 'clean' anticyclone on top of us.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Thundery wintry showers

[Aaron]

Always below 25C and no continuous sunshine and a lot of thunderstorms.

[Suburban Streamer]

Temps 22-25 degrees, sunny blue skies with a nice cooling breeze and low humidity. And of course some hardcore thunderstorms that last long enough for me to capture on video....something I've still not managed to do!

[Terminal Moraine]

Cool, windy, foggy and exceptionally wet, apart from June 22nd as I've no personal wish to spoil Bottesford's wedding and I know only too well how 'bad' the weather can be around here at 1400'.

[Bottesford]

Cool, windy, foggy and exceptionally wet, apart from June 22nd as I've no personal wish to spoil Bottesford's wedding and I know only too well how 'bad' the weather can be around here at 1400'.

Much appreciated!

Yeah taking a risk having something so outdoors like up there but its a lovely spot and does what we want so had to have it. Got a marquee & farmhouse but if its lashing it down dawn till dusk (like it was last June 22nd!) it just won't be the same... Fingers, toes & whatever else crossed...

[Bumpkin]

Hello there, been lurking for over 2 years and decided today to finally sign up.

In reply to this topic I have to say I want next summer to be warm and sunny with the odd rain shower mainly at night. Being on a farm was quite horrendous this year. Our maize crop was pathetic because of the lack of sunlight and cattle had to be brought back indoors several times because the fields got so drenched and churned up. Luckily the grass did well so we got 3 cuts of silage to keep the cows fed through the winter.

I also enjoy wildlife photography, especially butterflies. I'm a member of butterfly conservation and am currently trying to create a minature butterfly meadow at our village primary school and make my garden more butterfly friendly. This year was pretty horrendous for alot of wildlife and the poor old butterflies really suffered. They need warm, sunny weather and I'm hoping next summer this will happen so numbers will recover bit.

[Bottesford]

Welcome to the forum as a non-lurker!

Yes I really have felt for those farming this year as it must have been very tough. Was tricky for us gardeners although at the end of the day that's for a hobby - must be very different when its your livelihood.

Lets hope for better things next year.

[Bumpkin]

Welcome to the forum as a non-lurker!

Yes I really have felt for those farming this year as it must have been very tough. Was tricky for us gardeners although at the end of the day that's for a hobby - must be very different when its your livelihood.

Lets hope for better things next year.

Thank you for your welcome. I have read this board most days for the last few years and have learn't alot but I shall have to blame you all if i get into trouble with the local farming community. It all started back in 2010 and I warned everyone of a harsh spell in December through warnings from joe b and piers C (yes I know they aren't looked upon favourbly here but they were both right then). My husband told everyone but didn't mention that it wasn't me forecasting. I read posters thoughts on here and follow the models. Farmers, engineers etc keep asking my husband what my forecast is. I have told him to tell them it isn't my forecasting but thoughts from other people and models. I'm going to end up in trouble one day!

[Keraunic]

Lots of night time thunder storms please. Really cracking one that last all night. âš¡âš¡âš¡âš¡âš¡âš¡âš¡âš¡