Spring 2020 sunnier than all but three summers

[Sunny76]

On 06/06/2020 at 11:13, Scorcher said:

Definitely with you on wanting a great August- even the good summers of recent times haven't tended to have great Augusts.

We had that hot spell in late August last year which was most welcome. However it didn't feel like 'high summer' to me despite being hot. I start to notice a difference in the sun's strength after mid month.

 

After August 25th,  there is a feeling of a slight chance in the air, compared to earlier in the month. It’s still summer, but perhaps it has to do with the awareness of nights getting longer by that stage.

Late August always strikes me as the first transition from summer to early autumn. Last year it was still nice and hot at that time, but the best part of summer has been and gone by then. 

[Jo Farrow]

Sunniest UK spring on record as drought concerns surface

WWW.NETWEATHER.TV

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The sunshine record for spring has been broken with another dry, sunny and warm month. A sharp contrast to the very wet winter but those water stores still need topping up and the fields need rain.

Two Met Office releases - https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2020/2020-spring-and-may-stats 

"The sunshine figures for spring would even be extremely unusual for summer and only three summers would beat Spring 2020 for sunshine hours." MO

https://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2020/05/29/spring-2020-the-sunniest-on-record-in-the-uk/

 

[HafrenLMP1]

4 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

After August 25th,  there is a feeling of a slight chance in the air, compared to earlier in the month. It’s still summer, but perhaps it has to do with the awareness of nights getting longer by that stage.

Late August always strikes me as the first transition from summer to early autumn. Last year it was still nice and hot at that time, but the best part of summer has been and gone by then. 

Whilst I don't dislike autumn, the final week of August has me feeling slightly melancholy, knowing summer is ending, and the start of the 'run in' to the gloomy part of the year.

[Metwatch]

One of my favourite seasons out of any I have experienced alongside summer 2018, and combined with the lockdown one I will always be nostalgic for.

In Coventry some of the sunshine and other totals:

March: 157.1 hours, (136.5% of the 91-2020 average). Sunniest since March 2014 with 162 hours. Rainfall at 32.4mm.

April: 242.0 hours, (164.5% of the 91-2020 average) second sunniest behind 2007 which had 243.0 hours.

May: 288.5 hours, (150.5% of the 91-2020 average) the sunniest May and month on record!

 

April 2020 had a CET of 10.5C, the 4th warmest in the series. Mean max was just over 16C, which is more like the average of May! 28mm of rain, less than 60% of the mean.

The mean max in May was about 19.5C, very close to June's typical mean max! 3.0mm of rain made that the driest May since records began in 1892, and the driest single month since September 1959. 6 months have been drier than May 2020.

It was the warmest Spring since 2017 (10.6C); only 5 warmer since 1892.

It was the driest Spring in Coventry since 2011 (52.8mm); only 4 drier in 150 years. Finally It was the sunniest Spring since before 1895!

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Metwatch

[Summer8906]

17 hours ago, Metwatch said:

One of my favourite seasons out of any I have experienced alongside summer 2018, and combined with the lockdown one I will always be nostalgic for.

I realise it's not weather related, but I don't think I'll ever be nostalgic for the lockdown!  The most hated spring of my lifetime by a country mile, give me Spring 1983 and its endless rain anyday!

Edited December 10, 2023 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow]

On 09/12/2023 at 18:05, Metwatch said:

One of my favourite seasons out of any I have experienced alongside summer 2018, and combined with the lockdown one I will always be nostalgic for.

In Coventry some of the sunshine and other totals:

March: 157.1 hours, (136.5% of the 91-2020 average). Sunniest since March 2014 with 162 hours. Rainfall at 32.4mm.

April: 242.0 hours, (164.5% of the 91-2020 average) second sunniest behind 2007 which had 243.0 hours.

May: 288.5 hours, (150.5% of the 91-2020 average) the sunniest May and month on record!

 

April 2020 had a CET of 10.5C, the 4th warmest in the series. Mean max was just over 16C, which is more like the average of May! 28mm of rain, less than 60% of the mean.

The mean max in May was about 19.5C, very close to June's typical mean max! 3.0mm of rain made that the driest May since records began in 1892, and the driest single month since September 1959. 6 months have been drier than May 2020.

It was the warmest Spring since 2017 (10.6C); only 5 warmer since 1892.

It was the driest Spring in Coventry since 2011 (52.8mm); only 4 drier in 150 years. Finally It was the sunniest Spring since before 1895!

 

Would be fascinating to see that same synoptic pattern/anomalies play out over the course of the calendar summer. I wonder if those synoptics had occurred over the summer, would 2020 have been an all time greatest summer?

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Coronavirus lockdown, aye remember most days being sunny, except for Apr 28th

[baddie]

I wished these mnoths didnt occur during lockdown, as they would have been so good

Maybe an April 2015 and May 2018 combination would be nice

[BruenSryan]

Five years now since the start of this amazing season though it took a while to get going with the legacy of winter 2019-20 still in force through the first half of March 2020.

[Summer8906]

On 05/06/2020 at 09:28, Scorcher said:

Looking back at the records it's hard to imagine the summer of 1984 was as good as 2018. Maybe in Halifax it was, but the records for Manchester suggest otherwise. There's no doubt that August 1984 was better than August 2018, but the rest of the summer 2018 wins hands down. June 1983 was also very average in these parts.

A late reply but in my experience, the summer of 1984 was better than that of 2018.

In 1984 all three months were fine, settled and warm whereas August 2018 was changeable. This is a massive plus point for 1984: a summer with all three months warm/dry/sunny will always beat a summer with one iffy month, whatever the other two are like. I also consider June 2018 rather overrated as it was mostly cloudy (if dry) until the 20th. All the memorable weather happened in the final 10 days.

The only way 2018 could beat 1984 is if you include the Mays of each year as well.

Edited March 1 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

 BruenSryan I do remember the first half of March was considerably less dire than Feb (despite this rather alarming looking chart) but of course the shadow of Covid hung over everything. Not a period I want to be reminded of!

[BruenSryan]

 Summer8906 It continued in a similar vein in this region though I was fortunate to escape the showers in the first week a lot of the time and there was good sunshine. The second week though not as lucky with the wind more north of west and some of them were very heavy during the afternoons. Even had a bit of snow and thunder on the 12th. 

The winter 2020-21 lockdown hit me much harder mentally than the initial spring 2020 one. The weather helped a lot in that.

[sunnijim]

 A Face like Thunder Was an abdolute Godsend during lockdown.

Beaches were packed from March.

Remember police trying to move people on.