April 2018 start of long warm spell

[damianslaw]

After a topsy turvy March with cold and some warmth and a rather cool first half to April. I think it was around 19th indeed Easter when things changed markedly and we ushered in a very warm spell which by and large lasted right through until late July. A memorable 3 month spell of excellent weather. It was better I think than late March to late June 2020.

Memories of that spell please. May 2018 was superb, May 20 almost carbon copy. 

[Sunny76]

10 hours ago, damianslaw said:

After a topsy turvy March with cold and some warmth and a rather cool first half to April. I think it was around 19th indeed Easter when things changed markedly and we ushered in a very warm spell which by and large lasted right through until late July. A memorable 3 month spell of excellent weather. It was better I think than late March to late June 2020.

Memories of that spell please. May 2018 was superb, May 20 almost carbon copy. 

Easter was in late March/early April that year. It was still cool and dull. 
 

Easter 2019 was in the second or third week of april, and the weather was nice and warm.

I remember having problems trying to paint the garden walls for a client in mid April, and the temps were still on the cold side, accompanied with damp conditions.

The cold weather was still lingering more or less from the Feb snowy spell of 2018, and the early spring did have some more snowfall, although not the same amounts. We had snow flurries in mid March, and daytime temps were definitely in the single digits with a raw cold windchill.

Early April was cold and dull, but around the third weekend I think it became warmer. From this point on, the dry sunny spell continued into May, and it became much warmer.

Like you say, May 2018 and 2020 were exactly the same in terms of long spells of warm sunny days with cool nights. 
 

The only difference is, May 2018 became more humid towards the end with thunderstorms on a Saturday night, and some more storms broke out during the late May holiday. 
 

May 2020 was settled from start to finish if my memory serves me well. 
 

June was another lovely month, nice and hot, and plenty of sunny days.

July was also hot, although we had one or two weekends during the World Cup, where temps would drop to the low 20s and felt cool in the breeze, then would shoot back up to the high 20s by the following week.

We also encountered a windy day at the beach in Eastbourne during July, and I was watching Spain getting knocked out by Russia in a penalty shootout. That day was around 30c in London, but think it was only 22-23c with the onshore breeze, which made it feel a bit uncomfortable in the wind. The beach was half empty that day, but the skies were clear.

August was still hot and sunny until the second week, then it became dull. By that stage though, we had already experienced one of the sunniest summer spells ever, probably something to 1995 levels or even better, so wasn’t really complaining. I was kind of glad of the cool down, as the heat, despite it being dry at times, was still uncomfortable at night.

A lovely summer, and this continued on and off during September and early October. Unfortunately, the following winter was a much milder affair.

2018 was a classic year in my book, and Southgate took England to the Semis in the World Cup. 

[Sunny76]

10 hours ago, damianslaw said:

After a topsy turvy March with cold and some warmth and a rather cool first half to April. I think it was around 19th indeed Easter when things changed markedly and we ushered in a very warm spell which by and large lasted right through until late July. A memorable 3 month spell of excellent weather. It was better I think than late March to late June 2020.

Memories of that spell please. May 2018 was superb, May 20 almost carbon copy. 

Late March to early June 2020. The first week of June 2020 was still sunny and clear, but it became cloudier and unsettled with some storms I think during the day(correct me on that), as I was sitting at home during the first lockdown, and teams were split in two. The other team were in central London and mentioned the storms. I heard the distant rumblings, while in west London.

I think this was June. 
 

Late June ushered in a heatwave for a few days, and no storms showed up in the London area. July was dull until the last day.

So yes, the 2018 sunny period was better, and it was placed in a better time of the year, starting in late April and finishing in early August. The main summer was really good, unlike 2020 where the spell had collapsed somewhat by mid June.

I won’t knock 2020 too much, as June was still useable weather for cycling and walking even during those duller spells.

[Lf1002]

I remember snow falling on Easter Sunday (the 1st), can’t recall it settling and it did eventually turn to rain. Until the heatwave mid-month it was just almost constantly dull and pretty wet (though far from the deluges we had in March). The 5th was a day I recall as it was cloudless, though not that warm. After the heatwave it turned cold and wet here for a week before settling down in the opening days of May.

May of course a classic! The fact that the two hot spells peaked during the two bank holiday weekends was a big bonus too. The storms at the end completely missed here, we just had to settle for a few rumbles of thunder.

The first half of June I found pretty forgettable, albeit still warm and very dry. The second half very memorable once the heat kicked in. The one day that is etched in my memory is Sunday 24th, which was the first really hot day here (think the temp reached about 27C) and also the day of the England v Panama WC game. The World Cup definitely added to the enjoyment of the spell (as mentioned above), with the Colombia and Sweden games all being scorchers and the semi-finals/final cloudier and somewhat cooler.

It turned very hot again about a week later and I know there was lots of talk of potentially record-breaking temps. We only reached 31C which is pretty standard for a summer heatwave up here, though we did get our only half decent storm all summer. July 2019 was obviously much more impressive for record breaking temps, despite being the poorer summer of the two. I was on holiday at the time but was constantly checking the weather app and saw that we’d hit 36C back home. Not sure what the official reading ended up being but it was certainly the warmest day on record in these parts.

August let the side down but we still managed to wrangle a weeks heatwave at the start. It was still warm and pretty dry too, just quite dull and with a horrific Bank Holiday at the end. 

Since then, 2019 was pretty decent (poor June but good July + August) 2020 I’d put just on the poor side (mixed bag June, very poor July bar the 31st, very good first half of August but meh second half, very good spring though) and 2021 I’d put just on the good pile (very dry and warm June particularly in the first half, warm and sunny July but a poor August) 

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, Lf1002 said:

I remember snow falling on Easter Sunday (the 1st), can’t recall it settling and it did eventually turn to rain. Until the heatwave mid-month it was just almost constantly dull and pretty wet (though far from the deluges we had in March). The 5th was a day I recall as it was cloudless, though not that warm. After the heatwave it turned cold and wet here for a week before settling down in the opening days of May.

May of course a classic! The fact that the two hot spells peaked during the two bank holiday weekends was a big bonus too. The storms at the end completely missed here, we just had to settle for a few rumbles of thunder.

The first half of June I found pretty forgettable, albeit still warm and very dry. The second half very memorable once the heat kicked in. The one day that is etched in my memory is Sunday 24th, which was the first really hot day here (think the temp reached about 27C) and also the day of the England v Panama WC game. The World Cup definitely added to the enjoyment of the spell (as mentioned above), with the Colombia and Sweden games all being scorchers and the semi-finals/final cloudier and somewhat cooler.

It turned very hot again about a week later and I know there was lots of talk of potentially record-breaking temps. We only reached 31C which is pretty standard for a summer heatwave up here, though we did get our only half decent storm all summer. July 2019 was obviously much more impressive for record breaking temps, despite being the poorer summer of the two. I was on holiday at the time but was constantly checking the weather app and saw that we’d hit 36C back home. Not sure what the official reading ended up being but it was certainly the warmest day on record in these parts.

August let the side down but we still managed to wrangle a weeks heatwave at the start. It was still warm and pretty dry too, just quite dull and with a horrific Bank Holiday at the end. 

Since then, 2019 was pretty decent (poor June but good July + August) 2020 I’d put just on the poor side (mixed bag June, very poor July bar the 31st, very good first half of August but meh second half, very good spring though) and 2021 I’d put just on the good pile (very dry and warm June particularly in the first half, warm and sunny July but a poor August) 

I can’t remember August bank holiday 2018 for some reason. I remember late august bank holidays of 2017 and 2019 being hot and sunny with temps around 30c.

2019 was a bit of a letdown I think. I didn’t really enjoy the hot spell in July that year, as it was mostly cloudy and humid around it, and we only had a few really nice sunny days.

[A Face like Thunder]

The thing I remember about 2018 was the weather reflecting the seasons far more closely than in other years. Late winter included the incredibly cold spell with 'the Beast from the East'. On 2nd April, we had a huge thunderstorm in the evening on the N Yorkshire coast and this seemed to mark the transition to spring and summer which were generally warm/hot and sunny.

[damianslaw]

3 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

Easter was in late March/early April that year. It was still cool and dull. 
 

Easter 2019 was in the second or third week of april, and the weather was nice and warm.

I remember having problems trying to paint the garden walls for a client in mid April, and the temps were still on the cold side, accompanied with damp conditions.

The cold weather was still lingering more or less from the Feb snowy spell of 2018, and the early spring did have some more snowfall, although not the same amounts. We had snow flurries in mid March, and daytime temps were definitely in the single digits with a raw cold windchill.

Early April was cold and dull, but around the third weekend I think it became warmer. From this point on, the dry sunny spell continued into May, and it became much warmer.

Like you say, May 2018 and 2020 were exactly the same in terms of long spells of warm sunny days with cool nights. 
 

The only difference is, May 2018 became more humid towards the end with thunderstorms on a Saturday night, and some more storms broke out during the late May holiday. 
 

May 2020 was settled from start to finish if my memory serves me well. 
 

June was another lovely month, nice and hot, and plenty of sunny days.

July was also hot, although we had one or two weekends during the World Cup, where temps would drop to the low 20s and felt cool in the breeze, then would shoot back up to the high 20s by the following week.

We also encountered a windy day at the beach in Eastbourne during July, and I was watching Spain getting knocked out by Russia in a penalty shootout. That day was around 30c in London, but think it was only 22-23c with the onshore breeze, which made it feel a bit uncomfortable in the wind. The beach was half empty that day, but the skies were clear.

August was still hot and sunny until the second week, then it became dull. By that stage though, we had already experienced one of the sunniest summer spells ever, probably something to 1995 levels or even better, so wasn’t really complaining. I was kind of glad of the cool down, as the heat, despite it being dry at times, was still uncomfortable at night.

A lovely summer, and this continued on and off during September and early October. Unfortunately, the following winter was a much milder affair.

2018 was a classic year in my book, and Southgate took England to the Semis in the World Cup. 

Oh yes mixed up 2018 Easter and 2019.

[LetItSnow!]

I remember this period very well. After the cold and wintry spells throughout February and March, it began to take its toll by the end of the latter month. The 21st of March I recall being a sunny day but after that it was generally dull, cold and wet throughout the next 2-3 weeks. The 30th of March brought an absolute deluge of rain. Easter I recall being yet another cold, grey, raw day. I think the 5th was a sunny and bright day, but it returned back to cold and dull the next day, I think. I remember model watching at the time and seeing the big warm spell slowly creep up in the models.

Up until the 16th that month was going down as one of my least favourite Aprils on record - bear in mind in my area there was barely any vegetation. I remember vividly people talking about how grim the year's weather had been. Then out of nowhere came that warm spell. Such a beautiful day, but it was odd experiencing it with no leaves on the trees or anything - they quickly bursted into leaf in the coming days.

What I remember much more vividly is the storms of the 21st of April - we didn't get any here but seeing people's posts and radar watching, I think Ports/S'ham area got a battering. I rememeber watching a video of the insane rainfall. They were next level storms for April. The only rain we got was a decaying storm that quickly died out and brought us 5 minutes of light rain as temperatures fell to about 4-5degC - one thing about that spell was that nights remained chilly.

Then the rest of April reverted to changeable and quite grim. I remember very well the Nor'easter style low pressure that wrapped around us on the 29th into the 30th. People were saying at the time it could bring a late snowstorm but in the end it just brought copious amounts of heavy, driving rain for about 24 hours. At that point I believed the warm spell was a fluke and that the "true nature" of 2018 was here to stay. I was wrong!

Early May was cool and unsettled but it quickly turned very warm, dry and sunny for the Early May Bank Holiday. From that point it never really let up. Despite that, it wasn't running overly hot until the latter part of the month. I remember the 20th being a beautiful morning as I was out early hiking and the temperature was only around 5degC but the beautiful sunshine was beaming down on this field with low cloud/fog at the surface, etched into my mind that is.

Then came the torrential and frequent storms that lasted from the 24th to the 1st of June. We managed to get a number of thunderstorms late on the 27th into the 28th of May. I remember looking up at the night sky and seeing the clouds build almost in fast time and lightning jumping through the sky. We actually got hit more on the 29th - that day had repeated bursts of thundery rain throughout the morning and afternoon, with local flooding. That was to be the last rain for about two months.

June started very foggy and cool on the 1st due to the remnants of thunderstorms, but it quickly got better. The first-half of June isn't that memorable, I more remember the glorious spell of weather in late-June that brought unbroken sunshine, dry heat and perfect summer weather. Because it occured in max sunshine hours it truly felt like peak summer, I can imagine this is how June 1995 must have felt.

July was much the same. I don't remember ever feeling uncomfortably hot, bar perhaps the 27th when it reached 33-35degC locally, otherwise much of the month was just repeated sunshine and almost no rainfall at all. I do remember radar watching some storms around the 4th which were extremely localised, but nothing like that happened here. We saw a few short sharp showers into the 28th but most of them missed us. I remember the 29th sticking out like a sore thumb, it was the only day that month which was grey, cool and cloudy. The heat returned the next day.

August was a funny one, hot and dry for the first week then the summer ended early. August 2018 must be the most thundery month I can remember though, as from the 6th to the 11th each day we had at least one thunderstorm of varying severity. The 6th and 7th had a few storms as the heat dissipated. The 8th and 9th saw more organised torrential thundery rain move through. The 10th was the most memorable though. By that point we were far away from any heat - IIRC it was cool by this point - there were masses of torrential thunderstorms that blew in from the west throughout the afternoon. We had a severe thunderstorm roll in during the late afternoon. After the absolute drought in June and July, early-August made up for it. The 11th saw more storms but they were more isolated and by the 12th the summer was over, in my opinion.

All I remember after that was a few decent afternoons before it turned cold in the final days of August, particularly the 29th which was a very cool day. I was ill with one of the worst colds I've ever had at the time so it sticks out. 

Apart from a warm spell or two the summer didn't continue into September, it was only the brief warm spell around the 9th of October that constituted as an Indian Summer I believe. Final days of October were very cold.

Weatherwise I far preffered April and May of 2020, less muggy and more thoroughly sunny.

Edited April 22, 2022 by LetItSnow!

[Summer18]

Definitely the best summer I can remember. April actually started with snow on Easter Monday and the first few weeks were cold and wet. It literally turned on it’s head on the third weekend when the heat came from nowhere. We had a storm pass over on the Saturday night when I was on a night shift. The last week or so the weather turned poor again.

The heat came back again for the first May bank holiday and stayed for the rest of the month pretty much. Both Bank holidays were record breaking for the heat, I was in Whitby for the first one and it was glorious. 

June continued the warm settled weather, I only recall it raining once, a heavy shower on the first weekend of the World Cup. The heat really ramped up around the time England played Panama.

I spent 3 weeks of the summer abroad but the heat lasted pretty much until early August. I remember some pretty intense storms at the peak of the heat at the end July, I was due to fly to Portugal and was worried my flight would be effected, luckily the storm missed.

After the first week of August the heat disappeared and it it turned into a typical modern August. Still a truly fantastic period. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

I was in Exeter in 2018.  Unusually, Exeter got a couple of dumpings of snow from the two easterlies in late February and March, as well as a bit of sleet mixed with rain at the beginning of April.  April was warm but often cloudy and wet.  Then May was generally warm and sunny - I remember the two hottest and sunniest spells indeed coincided exactly with the Bank Holidays as others have mentioned.

In June 2018, Exeter Airport recorded no measurable rain, and I remember experiencing just a couple of showers which didn't really wet the ground.  Intriguingly, the Junes of 1976, 1995 and 2018 all had a similar sunshine distribution.  Even though the synoptic patterns were different (south-westerlies in early June 1976, northerlies in early June 1995, weak high pressure in early June 2018), all three months were cloudy for much of the country until the 20th, and then very sunny in the last third of the month.  Exeter had 85 hours of sunshine on 1-20 June 2018 and nearly 150 hours on the 21st-30th.

Hot sunny weather set in towards the end of June and persisted well into early July, perhaps a watered down version of the pattern that we had in late June/early July 1976.  However for me Summer 2018 peaked in the period May to July, rather than in the three main summer months.  August was fairly dry and warm but much cloudier.  Nonetheless, I think of 2018 as the nearest approach to a 1976/1995 style summer that we've had since the turn of the century, edging out 2003 and 2006.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Thundery wintry showers

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, Thundery wintry showers said:

I was in Exeter in 2018.  Unusually, Exeter got a couple of dumpings of snow from the two easterlies in late February and March, as well as a bit of sleet mixed with rain at the beginning of April.  April was warm but often cloudy and wet.  Then May was generally warm and sunny - I remember the two hottest and sunniest spells indeed coincided exactly with the Bank Holidays as others have mentioned.

In June 2018, Exeter Airport recorded no measurable rain, and I remember experiencing just a couple of showers which didn't really wet the ground.  Intriguingly, the Junes of 1976, 1995 and 2018 all had a similar sunshine distribution.  Even though the synoptic patterns were different (south-westerlies in early June 1976, northerlies in early June 1995, weak high pressure in early June 2018), all three months were cloudy for much of the country until the 20th, and then very sunny in the last third of the month.  Exeter had 85 hours of sunshine on 1-20 June 2018 and nearly 150 hours on the 21st-30th.

Hot sunny weather set in towards the end of June and persisted well into early July, perhaps a watered down version of the pattern that we had in late June/early July 1976.  However for me Summer 2018 peaked in the period May to July, rather than in the three main summer months.  August was fairly dry and warm but much cloudier.  Nonetheless, I think of 2018 as the nearest approach to a 1976/1995 style summer that we've had since the turn of the century, edging out 2003 and 2006.

 

 

Despite August being quite poor here.. given how excellent May was it felt like a full 3 month summer

 Definitely the best summery period since late June to late August 1995.

I'd rank June- July 2006 3rd place, followed by April- June 20 and June- Aug 03.

[Summer8906]

I would generally agree with many of the sentiments here.

April I would rate overall as cool and cloudy, and overall, the only poor April in the decade 2013-22. However we did get this "fluke" warm spell out of nowhere, I remember Sun 15th starting damp due to an Atlantic system, but then it cleared mid afternoon. After that the Monday was about average for mid April but it gradually got a bit warmer each day and some places reached 27; 25C+ temps were formerly very high for April but have been seen on several occasions in the past 15 years or so (2003, 2007 and 2011 as well, I think?)

The Saturday (21st) was then very humid with much Ac Cast. Here in south Hampshire, though, we then got a truly severe thunderstorm during the evening. As it approached it was very dark to the south, the event was almost a carbon copy of the July 2017 event a few months earlier. Then during the late evening it was a prolonged and incredibly severe storm, with frequent lightning and torrential rain - the equal of just about any UK summer thunderstorm I've ever experienced. To get it so early in the year was extaordinary - almost like lying snow on October 21st.

It then became cooler but still dry on the 22nd - unlike many summer thunderstorms there was a clean clearance and no residual low cloud the following day. Then it turned cool and showery for the last week; here we were on the edge of the above-mentioned low pressure system for the final weekend of the month so it was merely very cool, cloudy and slightly damp rather than very wet.

As for the summer, well it was an exceptional May-June-July but as August was changeable, meteorological summer wasn't quite as good as 1983, 1989 or 1995, for example. Perhaps not even as good as 2006 (which showed a similar pattern of deterioration in August) as June 2018 was less sunny than June 2006. Perhaps it would have been the equal of 1976 if it had occurred one month later. I would also agree with comments about the first half of June being unexceptional: here it was mostly cloudy with average temps, albeit very dry.

If I were to rate the summers I remember (I was alive in 1976 but don't remember it, so it's omitted) the top 10 would be, probably (in this order):

1995-1989-1983-2006-2003-2018-1994-1990-1984-1991.

The top 10 of my lifetime, relying on third party accounts, would also include 1976 (in 1st place) and 1975 (probably just below 2006).

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Summer8906

[Metwatch]

This is my favourite memory of a mid spring warm-up alongside 2020, although I think I enjoyed the variety of this spring and the storms more so than 2020. I remember leaving the UK for my second visit to Fuerteventura around the 9th April, everything was devoid of vegetation, dull, delayed spring bloom following the cold March.

However I came back on the 19th and 20th and wow, it's as warm as back in Fuerte when I step out of the plane, which I really am amazed by. The drive back home from the airport was hot, around 25C late afternoon, perfection! Everything was coming into life and turning green rapidly, and by the end of April the scenery looked more like early summer! Some late evening storms on the 21st as well although they died out before reaching here, there was a decent lightshow regardless. What was the most notable part is the contrast; the snow in mid March to 25-26C in mid April, which is just a 4 week difference, something you'd normally see in a continental area like in the States rather than in an oceanic climate of the UK.

Then a lovely May, thundery end leading into a lovely but rather thunderless summer. I also saw some of the best thunderstorms and structure to this day in south west France during late August 2018 following a very hot and humid day:

If there is a late winter SSW, then 2018 is by far the best case scenario but we would have to sacrifice a wet dull March and early April. Much better than the springs of 2021 or 2023 if you're looking for warmth and dryness!

[Harry233]

Ah the year of 2018 probably one of the best years weather wise.

We missed out on the April hot spell but it was still very pleasant none the less. March 2018 did remind me quite a lot of 2013 but it was noticeably warmer which is saying something. (March 2013 was around 4.5.C below average for me). With its two heavy snowfalls, and then dull and cold weather with significant wind chill. April continued cold I remember Easter 2018 being very sunny and calm but it was chilly with maximum temperatures of only around 7.C, we then had some very heavy snow on the 4th which lay for the day before slowly melting. The weather didn’t get much warmer until about the 14th. I can remember that day hitting 15.C but it felt like 20.C. That was the first shot of anything semi warm that year, March 2018’s highest temperature for me was only 12.C. It then gradually got warmer but nothing unusual, the hottest it reached for me was 19.8.C on the 21st, which is about average for April. So very pleasant but nothing unusual. After the 23rd things got a little more unsettled and cooler but it wasn’t cold it was just typical April weather.

May started quite cool but things quickly warmed up by the 6th. This day having a maximum of 22.4.C so first day over 20.C and it remained warm and sunny until the 9th and it very briefly became cool and wet before warming up again by the 12th and this continued for the rest of the month. The rest of May was absolutely glorious with maximum temperatures reaching at least the high teens every day and in the low-mid 20’s on a few days. The spell between the 23rd-30th was especially warm a high of 26.6.C was reached for me on the 28th. 2017 was higher at 27.9.C but still very warm nonetheless. The mean maximum for me for May was 18.5.C which is 2.4.C above average. The nights were only a little warmer than average so that made May extremely pleasant. 
 

June continued with the stunning weather right up until the 12th. That period was probably some of the best weather in June I have seen. From the 12th it turned a bit more unsettled with some showers and cooler temperatures but it was still reasonably nice bar the 16th which was very cool and wet. From the 21st onwards the weather warmed up with vengeance and became very warm once again especially from the 24th onwards. The highest maximum I recorded was on the 28th and it reached 31.1.C which was my highest June temperature ever recorded and the highest ever for my area. 
 

July was much the same as June but it was a lot warmer with temperatures well into the mid 20’s pretty much every day until the 11th. It again like June did turn a little more unsettled for a couple of days before the heat and sun returned once again. Julys maximum that month was on the 27th with 27.7.C so not as hot as June but still above average. A cooler spell followed after this and that brought in August which unlike the rest of the summer was rather unsettled throughout with little warmth. 
 

If May had occurred in August that year. I think that summer would’ve been unbeatable for decades.

[SunSean]

Oh what great memories! I remember back in late March 2018 thinking this is the worst Spring ever & then that mid April spell arrived, coinciding with a week off from work & it just become blissful & sunny almost all the time! I remember following the Kilauea eruption in Hawaii each day while sitting in the garden in the sunshine & remember many days waiting at the train station in full blown sunshine to meet friends for memorable days & nights out. A time machine is needed, please! Lol.

[danm]

Lots of warm to hot weather from mid April onwards here in London:

[reef]

 SunSean When you look at years with a cold March in recent years in the CET zone I'm often surprised they are so unpopular with the warm summer fans:

Sub-5.5C CET Marches since 1988:

1995, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2013 and 2018.

Apart from 2001 being there and 2003 and 2022 not, it would be a clean sweep of decent summers.

[baddie]

 reef 2014 had a warm and sunny March and still lead to a decent summer (bar August)

[alexisj9]

In my dreams as that would help me get a bit more of the garden done than last year 

[reef]

 baddie I'm always surprised when 2014 is considered a decent summer. It was the second coolest summer of the last decade and cooler than all of the last 8. It was also widely above average on rainfall for large parts of England and north-east Scotland. Just about the only thing going for it was it was quite sunny.

For here, 2014 has a summer index of 230, which is less than both 2021 (231) and 2023 (244)

[MP-R]

 reef it was a decent summer up until that ex tropical storm arrived on 10th August then the rest of the month was very unsettled and cool, although often still sunny. So August very much brings down the rating for that summer. 

[Summer8906]

On 21/02/2024 at 15:56, reef said:

I'm always surprised when 2014 is considered a decent summer. It was the second coolest summer of the last decade and cooler than all of the last 8. It was also widely above average on rainfall for large parts of England and north-east Scotland. Just about the only thing going for it was it was quite sunny.

For here, 2014 has a summer index of 230, which is less than both 2021 (231) and 2023 (244)

For me, what made 2014 a decent summer (and one of only four decent summers since 2007) was the prolonged spells of settled, sunny weather in both June and July. Only August, notably from the 10th onwards, was poor - but then much of the Augusts of 2006 and 2018 were poor, too.

Consequently I would rate summer 2014 very much better than the majority of other recent summers.

Edited February 24 by Summer8906

[East Lancs Rain]

On 21/02/2024 at 15:56, reef said:

I'm always surprised when 2014 is considered a decent summer. It was the second coolest summer of the last decade and cooler than all of the last 8. It was also widely above average on rainfall for large parts of England and north-east Scotland. Just about the only thing going for it was it was quite sunny.

For here, 2014 has a summer index of 230, which is less than both 2021 (231) and 2023 (244)

I remember June and particularly July 2014 being very warm and sunny. I remember it turned hot during the last week of July 2014 too iirc. It was the warmest and sunniest June and July combo of the decade after 2018, at least here anyway. July 2014 was also the sunniest since 2006 here. Here, that summer was like a slightly poorer version of 2018.

[Summer8906]

On 23/02/2024 at 10:25, MP-R said:

it was a decent summer up until that ex tropical storm arrived on 10th August then the rest of the month was very unsettled and cool, although often still sunny. So August very much brings down the rating for that summer. 

Indeed, August 2014 is often singled out as particularly bad but, while it was poor, was it actually worse than say August 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021 or 2023?

As you say August 2014 was sunnier than might be expected from an unsettled summer month. The middle part of the month had frequent NW-lies and N-lies, with a rare (for summer) direct northerly in the third full week. Consequently it was generally quite bright, if cool or even very cool at times. It was only on the Bank Holiday Sunday that it turned really, really miserable, as cyclonic SW-lies then brought in a very dull as well as wet few days - though the very last day of the month was sunny.

Wasn't August 2014 the only cool month of the year?

I remember that ex-hurricane (just checked, had forgotten the name: Bertha), came through overnight 9th/10th. Unusually for an ex-hurricane it brought cool air behind it, as noted above.

I guess August 2014 was your old-school unsettled summer month, being genuinely cool. But it was perhaps less miserable than many of the poorer 2015-23 summer months due to the brighter nature of those cool NW-ly or N-ly winds.

Edited February 25 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

9 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

Here, that summer was like a slightly poorer version of 2018.

Same here too - and I live in quite a different part of the country.

Summer 2014 does seem very underrated, to me it was very clearly much better than 2015-17, 19-21 and 23.

Edited February 25 by Summer8906