August 2008: an awful month.

[Weather-history]

This was an awful month, IMO. It was the lack of sunshine that was stark about this month. It comes to something when February was sunnier than the August in the same year. It was generally the dullest since 1912.

Forecasts from this month

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWbt7RniF2aoqcp0LRS6v3jPgiIF6VSBm

[Thundery wintry showers]

I remember that in Norwich there were a few spectacular thunderstorms early in the month, but the bright showery days were increasingly outnumbered by the dull wet ones as the first two-thirds of the month progressed.

 

The biggest disappointment for me was the relatively anticyclonic last week of the month.  I had expected it to be fairly cloudy due to the moist westerlies on the northern flank of the high, but I certainly hadn't expected it to bring an even larger shortage of sunshine than the preceding unsettled weather.  The persistent grey drizzly weather resembled wintertime anticyclonic gloom.  I can't remember another summer anticyclonic/westerly spell like it- normally eastern parts of the country end up with at least some warm bright intervals.

 

Norwich got off relatively lightly with sunshine "only" about 30% below average.  In some parts of the country it was more than 50% below.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers

[AderynCoch]

Would it surprise you to know that 30th August that year was the joint-warmest ever by CET mean (19.4C, along with 1804)? Having said that it's also the only date between 15th June and 8th September not to register 20C. 3rd October managed a higher figure in 2011 (19.8C).

 

I do remember that last week being quite warm and humid, but sunshine was certainly at a premium. Then September got off to a very wet start.

[damianslaw]

I remember the latter part of the month being exceptionally dull with no sunshine. Yes a disappointing summer month - very lacklustre, but not as wet as some of the other summers months between 2007 and 2012.  The following autumn was a good one though with lots of variety, indeed the autumns of 2008-2010 just like the winters were very seasonal and refreshing.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Would it surprise you to know that 30th August that year was the joint-warmest ever by CET mean (19.4C, along with 1804)? Having said that it's also the only date between 15th June and 8th September not to register 20C. 3rd October managed a higher figure in 2011 (19.8C).

 

I do remember that last week being quite warm and humid, but sunshine was certainly at a premium. Then September got off to a very wet start.

I can believe that- the wind backed southerly on the 30th, cutting off the supply of moisture from the west, and the sun came out in many parts of the country (including Norwich) as a result, and the combination of the preceding warm overcast night and the high afternoon temperatures in the sunshine are consistent with a very high mean.

[North-Easterly Blast]

August 2008 may have been a very dull summer month but temperatures overall were close to the 1971-2000 average.  It was not a cool month by any means.  Judging by the lack of sunshine and largely unsettled conditions you would expect it to have been cooler but its CET was 16.2.

[MP-R]

Plenty of warm nights accounted for that, certainly here anyway. Daytime maxima were generally below average save for the 6th, 7th and 30th. The predominantly tropical maritime and returning polar maritime airmasses that comprised the majority of the month however ensured night-time minima were often between 12-16C.

[Weather-history]

August 2008 may have been a very dull summer month but temperatures overall were close to the 1971-2000 average. It was not a cool month by any means. Judging by the lack of sunshine and largely unsettled conditions you would expect it to have been cooler but its CET was 16.2.

It was the minima that kept the CET up, maximum wise it was cool, the coolest since August 1993 on that measurement. Edited August 22, 2014 by Weather-history

[AderynCoch]

I'd kill for some August 2008-style minima right now. It's freezing cold.

[hillbilly]

An unbelievably poor summer here,on the farm we would finish most of our haymaking by the end of july in most years it is considered late if we still had some to do in mid august,this year was on its own...we had abandoned 2/3rds of our land believing we would never make hay....yes many ,many fields not the odd one you would get in a poor year then amazingly the nice weather came in the middle of September which enabled us to finish...baling hay on the 31st September...never to be repeated!!!!

Although 2012 was not a million miles behind and I would dread to think what 1956 and 1954 were like!!!

[Summer of 95]

An unbelievably poor summer here,on the farm we would finish most of our haymaking by the end of july in most years it is considered late if we still had some to do in mid august,this year was on its own...we had abandoned 2/3rds of our land believing we would never make hay....yes many ,many fields not the odd one you would get in a poor year then amazingly the nice weather came in the middle of September which enabled us to finish...baling hay on the 31st September...never to be repeated!!!!Although 2012 was not a million miles behind and I would dread to think what 1956 and 1954 were like!!!

They added an extra day to the calendar to make hay? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

[hillbilly]

They added an extra day to the calendar to make hay? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

yes thanks,it was the last day of the month,shame as I think we had only ever made hay once in September before and we were 1 day off October hay !!!!

Edited August 25, 2014 by hillbilly