Memories of 1980

[Sunny76]

What are your weather memories of 1980?

I was a bit too young back then, but vaguely remember some summer thunderstorm while on a canal boat trip in Hertfordshire.

Think it was sometime in June, but not sure. 

[A Face like Thunder]

Sorry, but I remember 1980 most for my lack of memories of weather events that year, particularly in relation to the snows of 1978/9 and Dec 1981. I have consulted Philip Eden's good weather book and note the following summer thunderstorms in 1980:

5th June - widespread thunderstorms and localised downpours, Darwen and Nairn particularly affected. Perhaps this is what you remember.

25th June - 116mm of rain and 25cm of lying hail at Sevenoaks. Must have been localised as I was living close by at the time and don't remember anything.

26th July - severe storms and flooding affecting a wide area of S and C England, with 100mm in Northamptonshire.  

I vaguely remember waiting for some forecast storms whilst camping in Norfolk in July 1980, which may well have been the 26th July storms, but then getting precisely nothing where we were. I also recall having a pleasant week's weather camping in Hants at the end of May, but then being affected by heavy and persistent rain as we started to pack up on 31st May / 1st June. 

And that is all, sorry Sunny76!

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by A Face like Thunder

[iand61]

3 hours ago, A Face like Thunder said:

Sorry, but I remember 1980 most for my lack of memories of weather events that year, particularly in relation to the snows of 1978/9 and Dec 1981. I have consulted Philip Eden's good weather book and note the following summer thunderstorms in 1980:

5th June - widespread thunderstorms and localised downpours, Darwen and Nairn particularly affected. Perhaps this is what you remember.

25th June - 116mm of rain and 25cm of lying hail at Sevenoaks. Must have been localised as I was living close by at the time and don't remember anything.

26th July - severe storms and flooding affecting a wide area of S and C England, with 100mm in Northamptonshire.  

I vaguely remember waiting for some forecast storms whilst camping in Norfolk in July 1980, which may well have been the 26th July storms, but then getting precisely nothing where we were. I also recall having a pleasant week's weather camping in Hants at the end of May, but then being affected by heavy and persistent rain as we started to pack up on 31st May / 1st June. 

And that is all, sorry Sunny76!

 

I remember the Darwen storm as we had a decent one here at the same time but without the intensity and flooding a few miles over the hill.

This happened during a particularly hot few days but my biggest memory was it being a pretty poor summer overall for quite a few local cricket matches rained off.

I don’t remember anything happening in the 79-80 winter and the only memorable thing about the following winter was the late April blizzard.

all in all, a year to forget.

[LetItSnow!]

Browsing the Met Offices' Monthly Weather Reports along with the charts at Wetterzentrale here are some weather events from 1980

 

The winter seemed to be rather non-descript with a cold January offset by a very mild February - March was a degree colder than February. An easterly spell gave drifting snow across the Pennines and generally heavy falls across the north from the 16th to the 24th.  

 

April 1980 & May 1980 were both very anticyclonic months and exceptionally dry in places and also very sunny. The description given sounds like a less-exceptional version of April 2020 & May 2020

16 April 1980 brought widespread readings into the low-twenties

Mid-May 1980 was noted for an extrodinary spell of sunshine in which from the 9th to the 19th it was virtually cloudless. April & May 1980 were exceptionall dry & sunny across Scotland, as well as warm. May 1980 saw maximum temperatures 2C above average, though nighttime temperatures were a little below average. The south missed out during both of these months however, both having near-normal temperatures and unimpressive sunshine totals. A very easterly spring I imagine with high pressure often being centred to the north.

  

However, like most summers after dry springs, summer 1980 turned out to be a shocker for fans of warmth and sunshine. The fine weather held until the 4th, with 29C recorded at many stations across England. This would be the last day many would exceed 21C until very late-June.

June 1980 was exceptionally wet and also rather cool. There were an unusual amount of severe thunderstorms. It was the wettest June since 1879 across England and 1872 across Scotland. NW areas that had barely any rainfall for the past two months were hit with over 300% of their average rainfall. Unsurprisingly, it was also very, very dull - the dullest June of the century so far in NI.

 

5 June 1980 was a deadly day - 3 people were killed by lightning on this day. Flash flooding occurred elsewhere. More severe thunderstorms battered the country mid-month.

Exceptionally, 116.1mm of rain fell in Sevenoaks in one hour (!) on 25 June 1980

July 1980 & August 1980 remained dull and damp throughout. 20C was a rare feat during the first-half of July 1980 as northerly winds dominated and brought further severe thunderstorms. Negative anomalies ran almost 2degC below in East Anglia. August 1980 wasn't as cool, but was every bit as dull with Lerwick having record-low sunshine. Temperatures were boosted by the mild nights associated with the cloud cover. 1 August 1980 saw record rainfall across NI. 7 August 1980 brought torrential rain across East Anglia - Norfolk saw totals of 100mm+ fall in just 5 hours.

The autumn of 1980 also brought some notable weather events of its own. September 1980 proved to be a warm month - the warmest month of the year in places! NI had its warmest September since 1959. However, the month was quite unsettled. Most notably was a band of torrential rain and thunderstorms that gave a deluge to Kent on the 19th and 20th. 37mm fell in just an hour at Manston. 

October started with false promises - 21degC at Elmstone in Kent on 1 October 1980. Generally though, October 1980 was a very wet and cold month.

The most interesting weather event came in November. November 1980 was an extremely topsy-turvy month with both exceptionally snowy, cold weather and very mild weather.

 

Early-November 1980 was exceptionally cold with easterly winds bringing unprecedented snowfall in Jersey for the time of year - up to 8cm on the 5th. Meanwhile the rest of the country saw more in the way of snow showers.

This cleared and then the weather switched to the complete opposite - the 14th to 24th was exceptionally mild with readings of 15+C recorded on most days. Cold northerly winds set in at the end of November, so overall the temperature was pretty much exactly average everywhere, down to the wild swings. To make things more extreme, November 1980 was extremely wet in the far NW and very dry in the SE. Stornoway at the time had its wettest November on record.

By December 1980 the weather had become much less noteworthy, being a mostly mild December, quite wet in the north, dry and fine in the south.

 

Not the top of the list of extreme years but enough for it to be saved from the "dull" category. I imagine the very rough summer must have felt double bad in Scotland after such a fine spring.

I hope this jogs any weather memories you may have from 1980!

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, LetItSnow! said:

Browsing the Met Offices' Monthly Weather Reports along with the charts at Wetterzentrale here are some weather events from 1980

 

The winter seemed to be rather non-descript with a cold January offset by a very mild February - March was a degree colder than February. An easterly spell gave drifting snow across the Pennines and generally heavy falls across the north from the 16th to the 24th.  

 

April 1980 & May 1980 were both very anticyclonic months and exceptionally dry in places and also very sunny. The description given sounds like a less-exceptional version of April 2020 & May 2020

16 April 1980 brought widespread readings into the low-twenties

Mid-May 1980 was noted for an extrodinary spell of sunshine in which from the 9th to the 19th it was virtually cloudless. April & May 1980 were exceptionall dry & sunny across Scotland, as well as warm. May 1980 saw maximum temperatures 2C above average, though nighttime temperatures were a little below average. The south missed out during both of these months however, both having near-normal temperatures and unimpressive sunshine totals. A very easterly spring I imagine with high pressure often being centred to the north.

  

However, like most summers after dry springs, summer 1980 turned out to be a shocker for fans of warmth and sunshine. The fine weather held until the 4th, with 29C recorded at many stations across England. This would be the last day many would exceed 21C until very late-June.

June 1980 was exceptionally wet and also rather cool. There were an unusual amount of severe thunderstorms. It was the wettest June since 1879 across England and 1872 across Scotland. NW areas that had barely any rainfall for the past two months were hit with over 300% of their average rainfall. Unsurprisingly, it was also very, very dull - the dullest June of the century so far in NI.

 

5 June 1980 was a deadly day - 3 people were killed by lightning on this day. Flash flooding occurred elsewhere. More severe thunderstorms battered the country mid-month.

Exceptionally, 116.1mm of rain fell in Sevenoaks in one hour (!) on 25 June 1980

July 1980 & August 1980 remained dull and damp throughout. 20C was a rare feat during the first-half of July 1980 as northerly winds dominated and brought further severe thunderstorms. Negative anomalies ran almost 2degC below in East Anglia. August 1980 wasn't as cool, but was every bit as dull with Lerwick having record-low sunshine. Temperatures were boosted by the mild nights associated with the cloud cover. 1 August 1980 saw record rainfall across NI. 7 August 1980 brought torrential rain across East Anglia - Norfolk saw totals of 100mm+ fall in just 5 hours.

The autumn of 1980 also brought some notable weather events of its own. September 1980 proved to be a warm month - the warmest month of the year in places! NI had its warmest September since 1959. However, the month was quite unsettled. Most notably was a band of torrential rain and thunderstorms that gave a deluge to Kent on the 19th and 20th. 37mm fell in just an hour at Manston. 

October started with false promises - 21degC at Elmstone in Kent on 1 October 1980. Generally though, October 1980 was a very wet and cold month.

The most interesting weather event came in November. November 1980 was an extremely topsy-turvy month with both exceptionally snowy, cold weather and very mild weather.

 

Early-November 1980 was exceptionally cold with easterly winds bringing unprecedented snowfall in Jersey for the time of year - up to 8cm on the 5th. Meanwhile the rest of the country saw more in the way of snow showers.

This cleared and then the weather switched to the complete opposite - the 14th to 24th was exceptionally mild with readings of 15+C recorded on most days. Cold northerly winds set in at the end of November, so overall the temperature was pretty much exactly average everywhere, down to the wild swings. To make things more extreme, November 1980 was extremely wet in the far NW and very dry in the SE. Stornoway at the time had its wettest November on record.

By December 1980 the weather had become much less noteworthy, being a mostly mild December, quite wet in the north, dry and fine in the south.

 

Not the top of the list of extreme years but enough for it to be saved from the "dull" category. I imagine the very rough summer must have felt double bad in Scotland after such a fine spring.

I hope this jogs any weather memories you may have from 1980!

I remember the thunderstorms in June, think it was the 5th, as the weather was hot during our canal trip. My mum had a cold, due to mist rolling in on one of the evenings, so a change must have happened during that week.
 

Also recall the blue sky sunny days in spring, similar to 2020, but memory can be a strange thing.

Have no recollection of the dull cool summer. It sounds like a cooler version of summer 2021 in the south. 
 

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Sunny76

[damianslaw]

Only 1-2 years old so no memories whatsoever. Interesting reading the above overview of the year and notable events. Appears to have been a very poor summer. April and May very dry.. overall a rather non-descript type of year sandwiched between the much more extreme 1979 and 1981. 

Edited January 31, 2022 by damianslaw

[Thundery wintry showers]

June 1980 was exceptionally thundery in some parts of the UK, I recall that Tutiempo.net had Newcastle Weather Centre down as having 9 days of thunder, which is slightly more than Newcastle normally gets in a whole year (about 8 days).  As well as the hot thundery start to the month, there were 5 consecutive thundery days from the 22nd-26th associated with a slow moving area of low pressure, light winds and limited frontal activity.  It was generally dull and wet in between those periods, though.  I wasn't born then, but it was one of the many historic months that caught my interest.  I didn't find much of interest re. July or August though.  As LetItSnow! noted some parts of the country had a notably dry sunny April and May in 1980.

The November snowfalls also stick out for me, even though the mean temperature for November 1980 wasn't far from normal.  Some parts of the north-west, e.g. Glasgow, had a white Christmas that year from a showery north-westerly, though most of the UK was sunny with temperatures close to or just below normal.  

[Chesil View]

The main stand out for me in 1980 was standing round a community bonfire on Nov 4th/5th with wet snow falling thickly.

sadly here in the south it was not a harbinger for a cold/snowy winter with winter 80/81 being pretty non descript as I recall.

Until of course winter came back with a verngeance in late April 81with exceptionally heavy spring snowfalls.