Summer 2019 - pleasant but often forgotten!

[grayson123]

21st June - 23rd September 

London, U.K.

Let me preface this by first defining what constitutes a "pleasant day" in Summer for me personally (daytime). Cloud cover wise, I prefer it to not be clear all day with sunshine, unless the temperature is below 28c or so, and any cloud barring overcast in summer is fine with me. Temperature wise, a maximum daily high of 23-27c, from late June to the end of August. After that 21c and above for first 2 weeks or so of September is enough to be a pleasant day. I counted 53 (56% in total) of these such days, with July having a whopping 19 (!) of these 'pleasant' days alone, the most I can ever remember for a summer month, 2014 comes close. 

In that regard, the summer period from 21st June to 21st September really ought to be mentioned in the same breath as 2018, 2013 and 2006, at least in terms of how pleasant it was. Whilst lacking the hot July's these months had, avg max was still only 1.4, 2.7 and 2.8c less, and the nights were cooler in 2019, which I think everyone prefers. Late June was also very pleasant after a very poor start to the month (astronomical spring anyways )

August was a bit more mixed, but still a nice month. It was the 5th hottest August in the last 40 years, tbf the temperature was bolstered by a late prolonged heat spell of 4 days, temps in the low 30s. August 2020 was similar in that regard, exact same max temp avg with available data (25.1c), just cloudier, wetter, muggier nights, longer hotter heat spell, longer colder cool spell and 4 more days with precipitation. This extremity means August 2019 was better overall, with way more pleasant days (16 compared to 10).

Finally September, probably the worst of a good bunch, but still above average, with some notable days. It started off cool but dry, and temperatures lifted from the 12th onwards, with 2 nice warm sunny late summer weekends in a row (15th and 21st hit 25c). I will admit it was a worse version of September 2020 however.

To conclude, I honestly think this summer had something for everyone, for heat/sun lovers, there was lengthy even record breaking (July 25th) spells of warmth, with these heatwaves in July and late August followed by cool spells in late July and early September, and overall whilst not the sunniest or hottest, I think it just might be the most pleasant. At least in my preference. 

Anyway what's everyone's memories of this summer? I didn't think of it as too notable at the time, maybe some saw it as a let down, possibly due to skewed high expectations following Summer 2018, or just personal preference. But in light of the last 2 slightly disappointing and extreme summers, I think it stands up pretty well.

 

[BruenSryan]

An unremarkable summer for my neck of the woods. June 2019 mostly dire and then 'heatwave' was disappointing. July 2019 an ok month but average sunshine so not a standout in my mind. August 2019 I enjoyed because it was my sunniest August since 2010 but mid-month was too changeable and cool to consider it great. Much of September also unremarkable (first week or so) or poor (last 10 days) but mid-month was wonderful with plentiful sunshine and by far my favourite period of the 'summer' even though it was nearing astronomical autumn. 

I preferred Summer 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018 and now 2021 over 2019. 

[A Face like Thunder]

By coincidence, there was a recent piece on the NW News about flooding at Lyme Park south of Disley, Cheshire during the summer of 2019, and the steps that have been taken to try and prevent it happening again. For the life of me, I cannot recall this event, despite living in South Cheshire, and I think it might have been whilst I was away. I don't think the National Trust in the NW would see the summer of 2019 as pleasant but often forgotten, but thanks grayson123 for an interesting post.

[Harry233]

Yeah I have to agree summer 2019 was quite a underrated summer. Think it’s more forgotten due to the fact there was no real lengthy spells of heat and it was quite unsettled and wet. Certainly for my area it was very wet but not cool or dull definitely one of the better summers of the 2010’s.

 

June 2019 got off to a pitiful start I’d even go on to say it was as poor as 2012. It improved massively during the final 10 days however and the final week was more or less unbroken sunshine and mid 20’s heat. There was a thunderstorm on the 29th which did break it up however.

 

July 2019 had a very unsettled start with lots of showers and a cool feel but it improved slightly after the first week and by the 10th it remained consistently warm. There was some lovely days between the 10th-20th but a couple of showers thrown in. There was then that very hot spell between the 22nd-27th which brought some very humid weather especially at night. However there was still plenty of sunshine during it before some massive thundery downpours to end the month.

 

August 2019 was another very unsettled month however it was actually the sunniest since 2003 but the wettest since 2004. There was several days of extremely heavy rainfall the 9th being the main one I think, however there was still that warm feel throughout and when the sun came out it was lovely. There was a brief northerly that came about the 12th and that brought some nice days but a very cool feel. There was then a very brief but also very hot spell around the 25th which brought some very hot days. The month ended on a very cool and unsettled note however.

[Summer8906]

I'd consider it marginally below average. June was mostly poor; July was dry but not especially sunny; and August was mostly unsettled until about the 19th when we had a one-week-long hot spell, which to be fair did include all the bank holiday weekend. The brief but intense hot spell did little for me; I much prefer long sunny spells with moderate temperatures such as August 1991.

Not too bad, but in the past 15 years I'd rate it below 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, so pretty average for recent years. Further back, I'd also rate it below 1983, 1984, 1989-91, 1994-97, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006. So pretty average for the period since 2007, but below average for the period before that.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

... sorry meant to include in the previous post.

If one considers the extended summer it was rather better, with May being fairly cool but dry and pleasant; and September had a very nice first three weeks before it all went wrong round the equinox.

And it was better than either 2020 or 2021!

Edited August 27, 2021 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow!]

From my personal experiences: I spent June & July in Kent and August near  Carlisle.

 

June: Exceedingly cool, very wet and very dull until the 22nd. I remember hanging out with friends on the 22nd just before the hot spell and we were remarking how it was the first sunny, warm day in what felt like a month. The heat at the end of the month I remember, but I don't remember it feeling out of the ordinary. I know cool air from the North Sea or something like that stopped us from exceeding 33-34C that day. The thing I remember most about it was the incessant heavy rain. It started on the 4th, which I actually remember being thankful for, as the ground was a little dry at that point. Then it never stopped. I remember a period around the 10th-13th that poured and poured. I was in Maidstone at the time. We missed the worst but I remember radar watching and areas to my north like Snodland got hit hard. Then they were in the news for recording in excess of 100mm in one afternoon. I also experienced strong thunderstorms on the 17th and the early hours of the 25th.

 

July: Thoroughly unremarkable until the 25th, then remaining unremarkable afterwards. Most of my memory recalls the first three or so weeks of July being changeable with sunny days mixed with the odd cloudy and cool one, but never anything that remarkable. One exception was on the 20th when I actually witnessed one of the most intense rainfalls I've ever seen. A storm rumbled up and gave Maidstone an absolute monstrous deluge, to the point that water was flowing up to our front door. The sound of the rain was so loud. Then of course came the heat on the 25th. I generally remember feeling miserably hot and humid in my victorian terrace. Didn't last long though, it turned much cooler by the 26th with more thunderstorms. I remember the wind blowing through the house feeling cold and the constant rumbling of thunder and lightning strikes despite it still being late. The final days of the month did a 180 and it was very cool, cloudy and generally poor.

 

August: Very wet and dull. The least memorable of the three months as I didn't really witness much in the way of the extreme weather. The entrance to the month was unsettled but humid. I remember around the 9th there being an unusually warm and windy way. It was very wet and rain fell frequently. Maps confirm that NW England had a very wet August so that confirms my memory. Just really miserable a lot of the time, but there were some sunny and warm spells. I think the warmest I experienced that month was a very benign 26C. I did experience some torrential rain on the 18th that, while not the most extreme, was pretty monstrous.

 

September: Thought I'd add September too. I spent the first-half of the month in the north but came home on the 21st. Whenever I see this month regarded as warm I'm always a little confused as any warmth in the south I missed out on. The first half I remember being very benign. Sunny/mixed clouds kind of days and some chilly nights. By the time I came home that's when autumn really kicked into gear and it didn't stop raining. That pattern persisted until mid-March.

 

Overall, I enjoyed it. I enjoy unusually cool and wet conditions in summer from a meteological standpoint, so Jun. 2019 particularly interested me. I genuinely believed we were on our way for our coldest June since 1991 but the hot end spoiled it. I also think July was spoiled by the heatwave at the end as that was turning into quite a benign but pleasant month. By August, things in my personal life had gotten quite stressful so the unremmitingly dull and wet weather only compounded that, despite my aforementioned usual enjoyment of such conditions. Take the heat spikes out and I would have enjoyed it much more.

[MP-R]

I won't forget the dire first half to June for a long time. It may as well have been June 2012 up to that point. Then the final ten days saw a marked improvement and a notable heatwave could've occurred at the end if not for 'that' undercut!

July was a standard summer month in my opinion, with plenty of warm dry and often sunny weather here at least, punctuated by a few unsettled days and a heatwave around my birthday. The highlight was perhaps the spectacular thunderstorms on the 24th.

August and September were a real mixed bag. The middle third of August and especially the final third of September were very unsettled down here. The first third of both were bland but usable. The best weather in August came in the final third, and September the middle third.

Easy to see why it might be a forgettable summer, although there were notable aspects at either end of the spectrum about it.

[danm]

In the London area, 2019 was a pretty good summer. June was cool and wet countrywide, until the last week or so when it warmed up. It hit 34c in London on 30th June. 

Then July and August were often warm and sunny, and sometimes very hot. Temperatures throughout those two months were often in the 24-28c range with plenty of warm sunshine. We then had two properly hot spells - 34c, 33c and 38c on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July respectively. Then in late August it hit 31c, 33c, 33c and 33c on the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th respectively. 

 

[Thundery wintry showers]

I think of summer 2019 as a predominantly average summer but with short-lived exceptional events (a dull wet spell from around 10-17 June, and a few record breaking heatwaves, especially across continental Europe but also a new temperature record for the UK in July), so quite unusual in that regard.  I remember a lot of "usable" weather in early to mid-July 2019.  August I remember being unsettled for the most part but quite sunny. 

Overall, arguably the second-best summer of the period 2015-2021 inclusive, but rather overshadowed by that of 2018.