Summer 2022 Chat

[summer blizzard]

12 hours ago, Weather-history said:

The Manchester Summer Index of 2022 will be below the summers of 1995 and 2018 but it will have still have a pretty high value but personally I didn't like this summer.

1995 and 2018, in my opinion were miles better than this summer and I wonder if it is because of the sunshine levels. 

I could be wrong being the opposite side of the Pennines (though the eastern bias this summer would tend to support my point) but other than sunshine I think the main difference is that summers like 95, 03, 06, 13, 18 all had protracted multi week stretches of 30C type weather.

Here in Leeds we did get a good stretch in the first half of August but mostly the warmth this summer has just been early to mid twenties. Without a massive amount of sunshine it's quite forgettable. 

Im not sure how you calculate the Manchester index but I'd wonder if it's similar whereby the summer has got the high level just by doing enough to beat your thresholds on temperature without actually being special relative to the others.

[Bradley in Kent]

So there we have it Summer 2022 draws to a close from a meteorological point of view although as we all know we've still got 3 weeks of Astronomical Summer which can produce some very pleasant weather.

My verdict: a belter of a Summer

I wasn't actually in the UK in Summer 2018 but those who remember tell me that North Kent was prone to NE winds which took the edge off. Locally it seems this Summer has beaten 2018 and could be up with 1995 or 1976. We'll have to wait for the stats of course.

I'd go for an 8.5/10 obviously not truly knowing what a 10/10 really looks like.

What made it good:

- all three months warmer and sunnier than average 

- all three months hitting 30c

- new record

- hitting 40c

- lots of consistent >25c days

- peak of heat in High Summer

Things that held it back:

- lack of thunderstorms 

- drought 

- although still warmer than average, June did have two cool and blustery spells.

The Met Office will definitely have a busy one and I am looking forward to results day (climate summaries release) early next week.

One more thing, because we've had such a good Summer, I'm ready for Autumn!

[Maz]

23 hours ago, Scorcher said:

2018 had an underwhelming August though- this has been much better all-round and much sunnier.

But yes I certainly agree on sunshine levels overall. We were unlucky in July given high pressure was never far away- it just wasn't in the perfect position for western areas.

From memory 2018 was poor in N Manchester after the first week of the school summer holidays.  Having two youngsters to entertain that skews my impression of that summer.  In contrast, after an iffy first week, this school holiday was (still is til the weekend) perfect.  Combined with the record breaking spell and it’s exciting build up, that brings 2022 higher than 2018 for me, despite some rather non-descript weeks with cloud and drizzle in early June and more particularly July.

[damianslaw]

31 minutes ago, Maz said:

From memory 2018 was poor in N Manchester after the first week of the school summer holidays.  Having two youngsters to entertain that skews my impression of that summer.  In contrast, after an iffy first week, this school holiday was (still is til the weekend) perfect.  Combined with the record breaking spell and it’s exciting build up, that brings 2022 higher than 2018 for me, despite some rather non-descript weeks with cloud and drizzle in early June and more particularly July.

2018 knocks 2022 out the window here.. whilst August was poor, May was excellent and a warm sunny dry May feels every bit like summer, sunshine levels often higher in May than August any way. 2018 we had 3 months of consistently excellent weather, 2022, episodic 2 week spells interspersed with lacklustre conditions. 

Edited August 31, 2022 by damianslaw

[Sunny76]

7 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

2018 knocks 2022 out the window here.. whilst August was poor, May was excellent and a warm sunny dry May feels every bit like summer, sunshine levels often higher in May than August any way. 2018 we had 3 months of consistently excellent weather, 2022, episodic 2 week spells interspersed with lacklustre conditions. 

Yeah, I think 2018 was special. We had that never ending sunshine with blue skies from early May until the end of the first week of August. Bar a few days on a couple of weekends in June and July with brief cool days, it was mostly hot or warm with consistent sunshine. We also did better on the thunderstorm front in 2018, with a widespread storm in late May, another distant storm a few days later and another brief storm sometime in July.

2022 was a lesser summer in some respects, but it did have a better August overall with more sunshine spread over the main summer period, so not a bad summer at all. 

[richie3846]

IMO 2022 beats 2018 in this area. August tailed off rather disappointingly, and the school holidays were a bit meh in 2018. This year, June July and August were pretty decent months when measuring temperature and sunshine. It rained around 8 days of the whole summer, almost all of which fell in short showers, so even the wet days were only briefly wet. 

The Mediterranean style summer we enjoyed in this area is represented in my veg patch. Radishes bolted, lettuces stood still, spring onions scorched and died. Without a greenhouse, cucumbers, chillies and tomatoes grew like crazy. 

The drought however, has reached a very severe stage in this area, with vegetation severely impacted. Whilst I don't feel guilty for having enjoyed this absolutely classic summer, we really could have done with a few more rainy days to help vegetation through the heat and increased evapotranspiration. This high temperature/low rainfall summer, I suspect will leave it's mark on the landscape for years to come. I'm seeing a lot of damage and death of established foliage, and I don't think all of it will bounce back. 

[summer blizzard]

I'm trying to remember if 2017 had a thunderstorm. No storms this year but we've been luckily enough to manage at least one every summer since at least 2018. 

2017 and 2013 are the two possible years without.

 

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, summer blizzard said:

I'm trying to remember if 2017 had a thunderstorm. No storms this year but we've been luckily enough to manage at least one every summer since at least 2018. 

2017 and 2013 are the two possible years without.

 

Those years are the better ones for London. We had a few in 2013 and a few in summer 2017, 2018.

2019,20, and 21 were very poor years.

[summer blizzard]

12 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Those years are the better ones for London. We had a few in 2013 and a few in summer 2017, 2018.

2019,20, and 21 were very poor years.

Suprised that June 20 did not provide storms, I remember the radar producing a steady stream.

I recall 2019 having the main event in the north in July so I can see how it would be bad.

[Sunny76]

28 minutes ago, summer blizzard said:

Suprised that June 20 did not provide storms, I remember the radar producing a steady stream.

I recall 2019 having the main event in the north in July so I can see how it would be bad.

July 2019 had an early morning storm, but it was only a few rumbles, which occurred just after the very hot day.

I also remember a co worker asking me if we had a storm during the night, during the previous week. I told him we missed it,  but in his area out in Epping and near the Herts border they were hammered by storms.

June 2020 produced a storm in central London during the day, but I was over in west London, while we had split teams during the first lockdown. So in a sense we did get the storms, but I was in the wrong part of town not to witness them. 
 

I think that daytime storm was after the long sunny spell that last from late March, and came to an end in the middle of June. I could hear rumbles of thunder with some rain coming down, but my mum said she was soaked as central London got the brunt of it.

During the August hot spell, I was at work, but I remember seeing high thunder clouds and could hear rumbles in the distance to the west. My partner told me, west London was hit by a storm, as she was caught in one while working in a garden. Ealing and west London got it quite badly, so yet again, I was unfortunate to be in the wrong end of town.

Summer 2020 storms were very localised and not as widespread as 2013,17 or 18, which I remember more of my co workers or family members telling me they witnessed the same storms.

Sorry to rant on forever and a day.

The storms of 2020 kind of remind me of the first lockdown and the weeks I had on and off at home being on call, then having to work every second week, while the second half of the team would be sitting at home.

It all feels like a long time ago already now lol.

[Turnedoutniceagain]

   No Autumn logo - disappointed

[*Stormforce~beka*]

5 hours ago, Turnedoutniceagain said:

   No Autumn logo - disappointed

Paul! Your fired! LOLOL!

[Maz]

15 hours ago, damianslaw said:

2018 knocks 2022 out the window here.. whilst August was poor, May was excellent and a warm sunny dry May feels every bit like summer, sunshine levels often higher in May than August any way. 2018 we had 3 months of consistently excellent weather, 2022, episodic 2 week spells interspersed with lacklustre conditions. 

True regarding May 2018 - that’s meteorologically spring though.  I take your point though, in NW England May is often a lot more reliably summer like than August.

[Stationary Front]

Summer here - June 15.5, July 19.2 and August 19.5, 70mm over the 3 months 

[Summer8906]

Can't comment directly on summer 2022, though it does sound like it was the first time we had a distinctly good August for 17 years. While sunnier than average in the south I get the impression that the really settled, anticyclonic weather was restricted to two periods, two weeks from around July 4 and 10 days from August 5th. So I'd likely rate it below 1989 and 1995 had I experienced it first hand.

I personally think 2018 was a little overrated when compared with say 1983, 1989, and 1995. August was cloudy and at times rather damp, plus, while very dry, the first 20 days of June were cloudy in the main. The really summery weather was restricted to the period June 21 - August 7, only half of the summer, and outside that period it wasn't that special.

So 2018 was the best summer since 2007, but certainly far from the best of my lifetime.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 30/08/2022 at 12:09, SummerShower said:

Yes, I think what made that summer stand out was the 15 day june/July heatwave.  The rest of the summer, whilst warm, sunny and very dry wasn't overly hot after that point.  I am only going on what I've read but I believe 30c was only reached a few times after that.  Had that heatwave not happened, or been less prolonged, some of our recent hot summers would have pipped it.

Wasn't 1976 very, very consistently anticyclonic, and sunny though (except the 2nd half of July which was cloudier)?

While I don't remember it first hand, I get the impression it was exceptional in that regard, and not matched since though 1989 and 1995 did a very good job (I'd say those two are clearly the best we've had since).

[Faronstream]

Short summary of summer 2022

High-summer days (25c or more) 23 (just outside top 10)

Precipitation: 163mm (-70mm) 

Hottest day: 35,9c on 21th july (2nd highest maximum since 1850)

Warmest month: August with 18,3c (3rd warmest since 1980)

Starting to feel and smell very autumnal last couple of days despite being only early september, chilly mornings with 5-7c and daytime temps of 17-19c that feels more like 14-15c so close but no cigar.Early autumn cold in scandi can be a vital ingredient for a severly cold winter.

[Summer Sun]

The Met Office has announced that summer 2022 was England's joint hottest on recorded tied with 2018

England just had its joint hottest summer on record

NEWS.SKY.COM

---

This summer was England's joint hottest on record, the Met Office has said.

 

[danm]

Summer roundup for London. 

Here are the daily maximum temperatures at Heathrow Airport:

June

 

July 

 

August

 

All in all an excellent summer with lots of warm/hot/very hot weather, lots of sunshine and very little rain. 

So here in London we had:

- 11 days that hit or exceeded 30°c

- 59 days that hit or exceeded 24°c, which is our average late July daily maximum temperature. So two thirds of the summer was at or above average. 

- 22 days hit or exceeded 28°c, which is our heatwave threshold temperature for 3 consecutive days. 

- Our top temperature was 40.2°c. 
 

So overall, for those of us that like hot and sunny summers, we can’t really ask for more. 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by danm

[Weather-history]

Manchester Summer Indices  

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

2018 272

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

2022 261

[Scorcher]

21 minutes ago, Weather-history said:

Manchester Summer Indices  

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

2018 272

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

2022 261

Impressive- ahead of 2006 and 2013. Very unusual in recent times for a summer to be boosted by August being the best month of the summer.

[BlueHedgehog074]

Made a bit of a welcome change to have August being one of the most desirable months of Summer this year.

(I understand that how good August 2022 would have been depended where in the UK you are and a persons weather preferences).

[The PIT]

Interesting summer here.

Average temperature 17.5C joint 3rd warmest.

The average maximum was 22.4C  the fifth warmest on record

The average overnight low was 12.5C the 2nd warmest on record.

Rainfall was 159.8mm no even in the top ten driest almost a third of the rain fell in 24 hours though. If that hadn't happened it would have been the 7th driest.

Considering we had the hottest day record broken twice in July and the August record nearly broken twice you would have thought it would have been higher up the rankings.

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by The PIT

[BruenSryan]

9 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Manchester Summer Indices  

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

2018 272

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

2022 261

Dublin by the same index.

1995 278

1976 262

2018 249

1984 247

1989 246

1975 245

1959 244

1955 242

2006 241

1969 237

1968 237

1983 236

2013 234

1949 232

2022 230

[East Lancs Rain]

Not been on here for awhile, but I’d just like to say it’s been a decent summer here in NW England. Not as hot and dry as the south (thankfully), just pleasantly warm and dry generally, although there was two days of extreme heat in July and temps in the high 20’s for about a week in August.

 

Guess who’s going off on holiday to Scarborough tomorrow, the same day the weather turns unsettled...
 

Oh well, at least it’s going to be quite warm. Warm rain is better than cold rain.. Unlucky given the very dry summer. Usually August is unsettled and it dries up as soon as the schools go back, looks like it’s the opposite way round this year.

 

Decided to go in early September to beat the crowds and because the accommodation is cheaper, but looks like I’ve been a bit unlucky with the weather this year.