Autumn 2022 - Moans, Ramps & Chat

[Weather Enthusiast91]

The models are strongly suggesting a change to more unsettled conditions from next weekend. I am personally looking forward to the prospect of having a change in the weather. We have been spoiled with warm sunny days this summer, which have been lovely and conincided well with the school summer holidays. But I believe that everything has its time and place, and I would love to have a mixed September with a gradual cool down including some cool misty mornings late in the month. 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Weather Enthusiast91

[Seasonal Trim]

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finally reached the last day of Meteorological Summer and Autumn is but hours away.

Looking forward to the first frosts, foggy mornings and the hunt for cold. Autumn/Winter is the best time on these forums (personal opinion) and I look forward to all the coldies coming out of hibernation to join us for another few months for the chase.

[BleakMidwinter]

3 hours ago, Seasonal Trim said:

I look forward to all the coldies coming out of hibernation to join us for another few months for the chase.

Did someone call?  

[Weather Enthusiast91]

Spider season aside, I always look forward to autumn particuarly after we've just had a good summer.

Crisp sunny mornings, dew laden grass, the harvesting of fruits, autumn storms, misty mornings. Just lovely. 

[cheeky_monkey]

Autumn has been on hold for the last 2 weeks here...trees began to turn mid August however due to the heat and endless sunshine that progression has halted..dont see any cool weather until the back end of next week..30c+ days reign supreme right now.

Edited August 31, 2022 by cheeky_monkey

[J.P.]

After all the hot summer days and lack of rain I’m looking forward to some cosy gloomy days! So really looking forward to this coming autumn/winter!

[Turnedoutniceagain]

Nippy in the Scottish Borders

[Summer8906]

Glad a moans thread has come back because boy, we need one.

Returning from Greece next week. Am I the only one horrified by that low? Really not looking forward to a change from sunshine (with the occasional thunderstorm) and temps in the high 20s or around 30, to gloom, damp, drizzle and sub-20 temps. Relative to what I'm used to, it will feel like late October - was really pinning my hopes on the typical anticyclonic conditions of this time of year prevailing.

We get enough dull, miserable, damp, SAD-inducing grot from late October to about mid February. Please, let's not extend the SAD season to cover six months of the year.

People are complaining about the dry summer in the UK but other countries seem to cope with drier weather than that. And in any case, there are other ways of getting rainfall rather than damp, depressing, gloomy Atlantic lows which hang around for day after day after day. What about a few intense but short-lived cold fronts for example, with days of fine weather in between?

Really hoping things do settle down again from next weekend as some models suggest; the very worst days look to be Mon to Wed which thankfully I'll be missing. Last thing most of us want, I would guess is a long, extended, drawn-out, dull, damp extended winter with endless Atlantic lows. Arguably we need the sunshine more in the winter half-year than the summer, to relieve SAD. In June or July for example, it's only depressingly gloomy in the very worst synoptic setups.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906

[Turnedoutniceagain]

Clocks back next month. Result !!

[Summer8906]

4 minutes ago, Turnedoutniceagain said:

Clocks back next month. Result !!

No thanks!

Always detest the way that an hour of daylight at a time of day when many of us want to make use of it (around 5pm) is taken away from us.

Puritanical, Cromwellite nonsense. "Winter is miserable enough in the UK, with the endless Atlantic lows, damp, lack of snow, and rarity of frost and sunshine. Let's make it even more miserable..."

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906

[StretfordEnd1996]

3 minutes ago, Summer8906 said:

No thanks!

Always detest the way that an hour of daylight at a time of day when many of us want to make use of it (around 5pm) is taken away from us.

Puritanical, Cromwellite nonsense. "Winter is miserable enough in the UK, with the endless Atlantic lows, damp, lack of snow, and rarity of frost and sunshine. Let's make it even more miserable..."

While I agree in part I also don't really want it to be dark at 9am either ... 
It's not really taken away from us though? The mornings at least get lighter for a time.. 
Plus is there really much daylight you can use at that time of the year around 17:00 when its probably cold, wet and windy outside?  

[MP-R]

Definitely September this morning. Cloudy, 16C, meh…

[Evening thunder]

1 hour ago, Summer8906 said:

Glad a moans thread has come back because boy, we need one.

Returning from Greece next week. Am I the only one horrified by that low? Really not looking forward to a change from sunshine (with the occasional thunderstorm) and temps in the high 20s or around 30, to gloom, damp, drizzle and sub-20 temps. Relative to what I'm used to, it will feel like late October - was really pinning my hopes on the typical anticyclonic conditions of this time of year prevailing.

We get enough dull, miserable, damp, SAD-inducing grot from late October to about mid February. Please, let's not extend the SAD season to cover six months of the year.

People are complaining about the dry summer in the UK but other countries seem to cope with drier weather than that. And in any case, there are other ways of getting rainfall rather than damp, depressing, gloomy Atlantic lows which hang around for day after day after day. What about a few intense but short-lived cold fronts for example, with days of fine weather in between?

Really hoping things do settle down again from next weekend as some models suggest; the very worst days look to be Mon to Wed which thankfully I'll be missing. Last thing most of us want, I would guess is a long, extended, drawn-out, dull, damp extended winter with endless Atlantic lows. Arguably we need the sunshine more in the winter half-year than the summer, to relieve SAD. In June or July for example, it's only depressingly gloomy in the very worst synoptic setups.

If we get a few wet days I don't think we can complain too much after this summer

Although some fronts/troughs would likely be involved, it could be quite a convective showery set up anyway rather than days of drizzle and no sun. Not without interest (for those interested in showers/thunderstorm potential) as the low slowly fills over warm seas:

I'm kind of looking forward to it if it does pan out like that.

[Sunny76]

So here we are again, it’s September already. Already feeling down about the date change from August to September 1st.

The slow decline into the worst time of the year has begun. 

[Wynn D Woo]

1 hour ago, StretfordEnd1996 said:

While I agree in part I also don't really want it to be dark at 9am either ... 
It's not really taken away from us though? The mornings at least get lighter for a time.. 
Plus is there really much daylight you can use at that time of the year around 17:00 when its probably cold, wet and windy outside?  

Obviously there is only so much daylight available regardless, but I find it much more useful towards the end of the day rather than the mornings, when you have to be going into work anyway and so cant do anything else.

And its no less wet and windy at 9am than 5pm - but cold?, not likely around these parts

[Summer8906]

1 hour ago, Wynn D Woo said:

Obviously there is only so much daylight available regardless, but I find it much more useful towards the end of the day rather than the mornings, when you have to be going into work anyway and so cant do anything else.

And its no less wet and windy at 9am than 5pm - but cold?, not likely around these parts

That's the thing. Granted the extreme dark season (which I would define as sunset before 5pm local time, so from the last Sunday to October until about Feb 5th) does indeed have a strong tendency to wet/windy/gloomy/drizzly - but even in gloomy and slightly damp weather, it can improve one's mood to go out for a walk. And 5pm seems a natural time to be out for a walk. 7.30am does not, at least to me.

It's never dark here at 8am GMT / 9am BST here anyway. To be fair I can see the need for GMT in December and  January, but the very early solar noon in early November means you end up with pre-7am sunrise and pre-5pm sunset. Completely useless. Most people, I suspect, prefer being out for a walk at 5pm than at 7.30am in any case. GMT means hours, and hours, and hours being stuck at home in the late afternoons and evenings in darkness. And as for the "just start your day earlier" argument: have you tried getting a train early on a Sunday morning? They generally don't exist, or are very infrequent if they do. Or going to the shops early on a Sunday morning? They're mostly closed.

I'd restrict GMT from the third Sunday in November until the third Sunday in February. Before and after those three months, there is really no need for it at all.

If we have to have GMT lasting a completely excessive 5 months of a year (when about three would do),  let's mitigate it by moving the working day from 8-4, earlier starts to public transport on a Sunday, and earlier opening and closing times for shops, pubs etc. In other words, better align the working, or active, part of the day with the restricted hours of daylight that there are. Then we can continue to live "as if" it was BST.

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

2 hours ago, Evening thunder said:

If we get a few wet days I don't think we can complain too much after this summer

It's whether it continues though. The jury seems to be a bit out on that one though to be fair it looks like a relatively settled weekend for the 10th/11th, at the moment.

For me I don't like the position of the low. It's just to the west, hence a cyclonic southwesterly. Never particularly good for the Hampshire area, particularly in this case where the synoptic charts are showing a lot of embedded fronts/troughs, particularly early in the week. In my experience (and it may be different this time, who knows) this tends to mean overcast, humid weather, relatively low daytime temps (but muggy nights) and occasional bouts of drizzle or heavy rain.

The more interesting convective setups tend to occur when the low is more to the east of the UK, and we get NW-lies. To be fair it looks like it might go that way later in the week.

But personally I'd prefer lows of any kind hold off until later in the month, and we have a low-to-mid-20s settled spell! Would be less of a jolt, so to speak, when returning to the UK.

Maybe we'll see a September like 1998 or 2008 with a more settled second half. Or maybe an October like 1995. I think many would favour a warm, sunny and dry autumn this year (more than others, to keep fuel usage down) - and an early start to spring next year.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906

[SunSean]

Looking like a woeful start to September! The grey skies and unuseable weather lovers will be in absolute paradise!! Lol.

[SummerShower]

41 minutes ago, Summer8906 said:

It's whether it continues though. The jury seems to be a bit out on that one though to be fair it looks like a relatively settled weekend for the 10th/11th, at the moment.

For me I don't like the position of the low. It's just to the west, hence a cyclonic southwesterly. Never particularly good for the Hampshire area, particularly in this case where the synoptic charts are showing a lot of embedded fronts/troughs, particularly early in the week. In my experience (and it may be different this time, who knows) this tends to mean overcast, humid weather, relatively low daytime temps (but muggy nights) and occasional bouts of drizzle or heavy rain.

The more interesting convective setups tend to occur when the low is more to the east of the UK, and we get NW-lies. To be fair it looks like it might go that way later in the week.

But personally I'd prefer lows of any kind hold off until later in the month, and we have a low-to-mid-20s settled spell! Would be less of a jolt, so to speak, when returning to the UK.

Maybe we'll see a September like 1998 or 2008 with a more settled second half. Or maybe an October like 1995. I think many would favour a warm, sunny and dry autumn this year (more than others, to keep fuel usage down) - and an early start to spring next year.

Yes, not always the best set up for this area, but it can have thunderstorm potential with it.

To be fair I'd take a September like 1995 if we got the October 95 to Feb 96 to go with it (maybe swap for a November 96 or 16 though)

[*Stormforce~beka*]

I've resisted all summer coming in here. There was no way I was stucking my head in here when this popped up half way through bleeding summmer! Oh no! I was going to enjoy it thanks not be dragged down by what was to come! Any way it's the 1st of September so here I am. Right now I feel relatively ok despite suffering SAD. We have had an amazing summer and I do feel recharged. Dunno how long that'll last but we'll see lol. I am looking forward to candles, falling pretty leaves, Autumn decorations and nice stews and hot puddings! Need the home comforts to get through!

3 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

So here we are again, it’s September already. Already feeling down about the date change from August to September 1st.

The slow decline into the worst time of the year has begun. 

I started feeling it a couple of weeks ago. The declining late afternoon light with hte sun in the wrong place is when it starts hitting me.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

37 minutes ago, SunSean said:

Looking like a woeful start to September! The grey skies and unuseable weather lovers will be in absolute paradise!! Lol.

As much as I don't like it it's their time. Plus we really, really need the rain.

[Don]

Is the Netweather autumn forecast going to be released today?

[Don]

Metoffice contingency forecast going for an average autumn temperature wise overall and drier than average in the south and east.

Contingency planners

WWW.METOFFICE.GOV.UK

---

Our weather products help contingency planners prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Feel free to move if this is not in the correct thread.

[BleakMidwinter]

1 hour ago, SunSean said:

Looking like a woeful start to September! The grey skies and unuseable weather lovers will be in absolute paradise!! Lol.

I get a kind of "reverse SAD" so for me, summer is a terrible time, and I struggle horribly as everyone around me celebrates the blue skies and hot temps and dry weather... 

Now I can see the autumnal weather on the horizon, I already feel better. I wake up more alertly in the mornings, I sleep more soundly, I feel taller and lighter, I am *interested* in the world around me more, I care about stuff more, I laugh and smile more... I no longer wake up feeling grimly determined to drag myself through yet another day with "no air in the air" as it feels to me. 

It isn't only "ooh, I love winter!" - it is also that hot dry weather is as difficult for me as the dark cold weather is for the SAD-sufferers... 

[Summer8906]

Moving back on to general chat, what do people think this autumn is actually going to be like, overall (trying not to be pessimistically influenced too much by the coming week, which I myself admittedly was when I first saw the latest model runs!)

The only thing I am fairly certain about is that it is likely to be mild/warm overall, as since 1983, if I remember right, every instance of a warm summer has been followed by an autumn which has been mild or warm overall. However some of them were rather dull and damp so (sadly IMO) we can't count on it being mostly settled or sunny.

Pure conjecture, but I'd guess September will break the trend of recent years and have a wet first half but a progressively more settled second half. Often when September starts wet, the second half is drier, relatively speaking. Perhaps the best weather an "Indian Summer" of warm (21+) days but cool nights, and much sunshine, in the last week of the month.

Gut feeling on October is something more settled, if only because we have had a run of more unsettled Octobers - particularly the first half. A notably sunny first week, then more variable sunshine but still dry. Warm throughout the month. Stormy towards the end of the month perhaps.

November I'm thinking, after a dry, settled one last year, mild, dull and wet with colder foggy interludes but this is again just gut feeling.

As for winter I'm thinking (gut feeling again!) of something a bit along the lines of 2003/04. It's been really quite a long while since we've had a December with any form of sustained frosty anticyclonic weather, so I'm thinking this year might be it (albeit with some wet/windy too, as per that year). January mild, windy and wet but perhaps briefly cold and snowy (as it's now 3 years since the last wet and windy Jan), and February dry and anticyclonic (again, it's been a while).

Anyone got any more scientific, or knowledgable, thoughts on the season?

Edited September 1, 2022 by Summer8906