Opinion piece: What do you rate as worst UK Summer since 1992? I.e last 30 years?

[hillbilly]

Posted May 31, 2009

The Manchester Summer Index kicks off tomorrow and looks like it will fly out of the blocks.

Taken from the September 1986 edition of Weather and continued and updated by myself, here's the summer index rating for Manchester since 1901.

The Summer index is 10 x [(mean max of summer) +(total sunshine)/67 - (rain days/ :lol: ]

1901 249 1902 195 1903 209 1904 212 1905 223 1906 214 1907 147

1908 220 1909 171 1910 190 1911 274 1912 156 1913 205 1914 222

1915 196 1916 188 1917 228 1918 200 1919 203 1920 174 1921 249

1922 178 1923 174 1924 158 1925 246 1926 227 1927 175 1928 197

1929 211 1930 199 1931 173 1932 223 1933 251 1934 238 1935 243

1936 190 1937 213 1938 177 1939 213 1940 238 1941 236 1942 214

1943 209 1944 200 1945 223 1946 170 1947 255 1948 176 1949 267

1950 216 1951 201 1952 198 1953 193 1954 143 1955 277 1956 155

1957 216 1958 184 1959 269 1960 217 1961 203 1962 197 1963 194

1964 197 1965 189 1966 192 1967 223 1968 215 1969 234 1970 235

1971 205 1972 185 1973 234 1974 199 1975 268 1976 301 1977 223

1978 173 1979 199 1980 173 1981 196 1982 203 1983 278 1984 271

1985 180 1986 189 1987 169 1988 191 1989 262 1990 229 1991 207

1992 222 1993 194 1994 240 1995 298 1996 245 1997 232 1998 192

1999 234 2000 198 2001 211 2002 200 2003 247 2004 197 2005 224

2006 246 2007 174 2008 168

Summers in order with the best at the top and the worst at the bottom

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

1947 255

1933 251

1901 249

1921 249

2003 247

1925 246

2006 246

1996 245

1935 243

1994 240

1934 238

1940 238

1941 236

1970 235

1969 234

1973 234

1999 234

1997 232

1990 229

1917 228

1926 227

2005 224

1905 223

1932 223

1945 223

1967 223

1977 223

1914 222

1992 222

1908 220

1960 217

1950 216

1957 216

1968 215

1906 214

1942 214

1937 213

1939 213

1904 212

1929 211

2001 211

1903 209

1943 209

1991 207

1913 205

1971 205

1919 203

1961 203

1982 203

1951 201

1918 200

1944 200

2002 200

1930 199

1974 199

1979 199

1952 198

2000 198

1928 197

1962 197

1964 197

2004 197

1915 196

1981 196

1902 195

1963 194

1993 194

1953 193

1966 192

1998 192

1988 191

1910 190

1936 190

1965 189

1986 189

1916 188

1972 185

1958 184

1985 180

1922 178

1938 177

1948 176

1927 175

1920 174

1923 174

2007 174

1931 173

1978 173

1980 173

1909 171

1946 170

1987 169

2008 168

1924 158

1912 156

1956 155

1907 147

1954 143

Manchester Summer index sums it up well

[hillbilly]

1 hour ago, hillbilly said:

Posted May 31, 2009

The Manchester Summer Index kicks off tomorrow and looks like it will fly out of the blocks.

Taken from the September 1986 edition of Weather and continued and updated by myself, here's the summer index rating for Manchester since 1901.

The Summer index is 10 x [(mean max of summer) +(total sunshine)/67 - (rain days/ :lol: ]

1901 249 1902 195 1903 209 1904 212 1905 223 1906 214 1907 147

1908 220 1909 171 1910 190 1911 274 1912 156 1913 205 1914 222

1915 196 1916 188 1917 228 1918 200 1919 203 1920 174 1921 249

1922 178 1923 174 1924 158 1925 246 1926 227 1927 175 1928 197

1929 211 1930 199 1931 173 1932 223 1933 251 1934 238 1935 243

1936 190 1937 213 1938 177 1939 213 1940 238 1941 236 1942 214

1943 209 1944 200 1945 223 1946 170 1947 255 1948 176 1949 267

1950 216 1951 201 1952 198 1953 193 1954 143 1955 277 1956 155

1957 216 1958 184 1959 269 1960 217 1961 203 1962 197 1963 194

1964 197 1965 189 1966 192 1967 223 1968 215 1969 234 1970 235

1971 205 1972 185 1973 234 1974 199 1975 268 1976 301 1977 223

1978 173 1979 199 1980 173 1981 196 1982 203 1983 278 1984 271

1985 180 1986 189 1987 169 1988 191 1989 262 1990 229 1991 207

1992 222 1993 194 1994 240 1995 298 1996 245 1997 232 1998 192

1999 234 2000 198 2001 211 2002 200 2003 247 2004 197 2005 224

2006 246 2007 174 2008 168

Summers in order with the best at the top and the worst at the bottom

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

1947 255

1933 251

1901 249

1921 249

2003 247

1925 246

2006 246

1996 245

1935 243

1994 240

1934 238

1940 238

1941 236

1970 235

1969 234

1973 234

1999 234

1997 232

1990 229

1917 228

1926 227

2005 224

1905 223

1932 223

1945 223

1967 223

1977 223

1914 222

1992 222

1908 220

1960 217

1950 216

1957 216

1968 215

1906 214

1942 214

1937 213

1939 213

1904 212

1929 211

2001 211

1903 209

1943 209

1991 207

1913 205

1971 205

1919 203

1961 203

1982 203

1951 201

1918 200

1944 200

2002 200

1930 199

1974 199

1979 199

1952 198

2000 198

1928 197

1962 197

1964 197

2004 197

1915 196

1981 196

1902 195

1963 194

1993 194

1953 193

1966 192

1998 192

1988 191

1910 190

1936 190

1965 189

1986 189

1916 188

1972 185

1958 184

1985 180

1922 178

1938 177

1948 176

1927 175

1920 174

1923 174

2007 174

1931 173

1978 173

1980 173

1909 171

1946 170

1987 169

2008 168

1924 158

1912 156

1956 155

1907 147

1954 143

Manchester Summer index sums it up well

2012 seems to be missing here but is 164

 

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

For me, 2011 has to be the worst. A total snoozefest, apart from the El Gordo plume. 2008 I’d place in second. At least 2007 and 2012 had some interesting weather despite how cool and rainy they were. 

[virtualsphere]

2012 was definitely the worst here, followed by 2008: both complete washouts. 2007 probably third, though we did at least get some dry weather that August. 2020 was poor after a very nice spring, though I'm not a fan of heat so am rating that one on the lack of dry sunny weather and can understand why those who like heat would rate it more highly with the very warm August spell.  1992 seemed poor at the time, May was decent but I remember the school summer break being very wet.  

Then summers like 1998, 2009, 2011 which didn't feel quite as bad overall but lacked a nice dry and sunny spell here as far as I can remember.  

2013, 1995, 1996, 2021 and 2018 would be my favourites from the same period.  I think we did much better here in the far west last year than much of the country (but again, from the perspective of preferring dry and sunny rather than extreme heat).  

[Summer8906]

Probably 2007, though a close run between it and 2012.

2007 and 2012 are the obvious ones, with similar duration (about a month and a half) of the worst weather, but it started a little later in 2007.

But 2012, away from that worst spell, seemed to have a little more in the way of warmth and sunshine than 2007; after mid-July the summer was frequently warm and dry, though always rather changeable.

For sustained moderately-poor weather throughout the whole of the summer, it would have to be 2011 (the only three cool months of that year were June, July and August) but as that summer lacked sustained spells of really poor weather, it didn't seem as bad as 2007 or 2012.

As for the lot, I'd rate as follows: Note the scale +++ (very good) to --- (very bad; not used in this time frame, but I would apply it to historical shockers such as 1954, 1956, 1965 or 1968), 0 is average. I think I did something similar on a similar thread last year.

1992 poorish (good June, poor July and August) -

1993 slightly below average (good June, poor July, cool but not wet August) -

1994 good, but poorer August ++

1995 good, clearly the best summer of this period +++

1996 generally good, despite some changeable spells at times +

1997 good for warmth/sunny weather despite a poor June. August notably humid+

1998 poorish, though good August -

1999 pretty average. Dry but not especially sunny June; notably warm sunny July; and wet but sometimes warm August 0

2000 pretty average, but in a different way to 1999. Consistently fairly dry but also somewhat cloudy and cool 0

2001 very mixed, with some wet spells, but many fine warm spells too, enough to make it slightly above average +

2002 relatively poor for the period, notably the first half of summer but second half often warm and dry with occasional wet spells. -

2003 notably fine and warm in the main, but, following 10-day hot spell, changeable and often wet second half of July ++

2004 warm but wet, and often humid (note I missed almost all of July). Best weather in early to mid June, August wet but often in a thundery way, so more interesting than many recent summers. -

2005 a bit like an anti-2004. Much sunny weather but rarely humid. June and August generally fine, slightly changeable at times. July was rather like July 2003 with a 10-day hot spell followed by prolonged wet weather. +

2006 very good June and July but dull and often rather cool August ++

2007 very poor around June 11th to almost end of July. August much drier but not especially sunny, and cool wet weather returned for around a week mid-month. --

2008 slightly better than 2007/12. Sunny but not especially warm June. Mostly cool first 20 days of July but often relatively dry. Hot spell end of July. Most of August very dull, cool and wet, becoming dry, cloudy and warm at end. -

2009 Poor July but fine warm June and dry August, though sometimes cool and cloudy 0

2010 Good June, dry but often cloudy July, increasingly poor August starting slightly changeable, becoming very cool and wet 0

2011 Rather dull, cool and damp throughout the three months. Brief warm spells only. -

2012 Very poor first half, but second half, despite being rather changeable, was frequently fine and warm. Mostly fine weather for Olympics. --

2013 Dry but dull and cool June, notably warm sunny July, August warmish with average sunshine and dry. +

2014 Fine warm June and July, but dull, cool and wet August +

2015 Fine, fairly warm June. July started fine and warm but progressively deteriorated to become cool and wet. Changeable, dull and rather cool August. -

2016 Exceedingly poor June, equalling 2012 for sheer awfulness; one of the worst summer months of my lifetime. Dry and cloudy July. Mostly dry, warm and somewhat sunny August. 0

2017 Warm June but rather changeable aside from 10 day hot spell. July half fine and warm (cloudy at times though) and half dull, wet and cool. August mostly dull, wet and cool. -

2018 Good, exceptionally so for about a month from June 21st, but not the equal of 1989 or 1995, due to a rather cloudy, changeable August and cloudy weather for the first 20 days of June. ++

2019 (out of country for much of it) Cool, cloudy and wet June. Dry but rather cloudy July with silly brief heat spike. Mostly unsettled August. -

2020 Rather warm but cloudy and somewhat wet June. Dry but mostly cool and cloudy July, mostly dull and wet August with a week of intensely hot and humid weather. -

2021 Fine first half of June and end of August, and for around a week mid-July, otherwise dull, cool and damp. -

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

1 hour ago, East_England_Stormchaser91 said:

For me, 2011 has to be the worst. A total snoozefest, apart from the El Gordo plume.

"El Gordo"?

I presume you mean that weekend at the end of June where it briefly became very hot?

Edited July 23, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 20/07/2022 at 20:45, Sunny76 said:

Quite a few actually.

1993 was quite bad, 1996 wasn’t great either, after a decent June, but July was dull and rainy in places, and August was sunny, but there were quite a few dull days. 
 

1996 I'd class as good in southern Hampshire. Unsettled weather in July was restricted to the first week and last four days or so: from July 8th there was a week of warm,dry, cloudy weather followed by an 11-day hot spell from the 15th-25th. It then became rather more changeable but still warm, I remember the final Monday (I think) having Pm air but a 25C max.

August was the most changeable but even still, was fine at the start, and there was a more prolonged fine spell from the 13th lasting around a week. Mixed, but not bad.

On 20/07/2022 at 20:45, Sunny76 said:

1997 was rainy, and it was humid. Not a great combination, 98 was cool in July.

The humidity in August was trying and there was heavy rain at times but in south Hampshire, both July and August were predominantly fine. For that summer I suppose it depends on what you mean by "worst". Coolest, dullest and wettest, no. For humidity and discomfort, perhaps yes.

On 20/07/2022 at 20:45, Sunny76 said:

2001,02, 04 were mediocre to poor.

2001 slightly better than average here with a lot of sunshine though somewhat changeable. 2002 and 2004 were relatively poor for the time, but still better than many of the summers of the past 15 years.

On 20/07/2022 at 20:45, Sunny76 said:

The worst was definitely 2007, as it was wet all the time, and 2012, and 11 weren’t far behind.

2009 and 10 were the best out of the poorer summer years.

Yes, definitely the least bad of the 2007-12 years. 2009 had a poor July and 2010 a poor August but the other two months were OK or good in both cases.

On 20/07/2022 at 20:45, Sunny76 said:

More recently I would class 2015, 16, and 17 all fairly poor, while 2021 was very dull in the London region. 

2019 was relatively poor too by all accounts, though I was out of the UK for the first half of it - a very dull, cool and wet June by all accounts, a dry but cloudy July, and a rather unsettled August (which I did experience).

Edited July 23, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 20/07/2022 at 19:36, A Face like Thunder said:

Yes, both 2007 and 2012 come to mind, particularly in terms of rainfall. 1997 also comes to mind as being less-than-wonderful in the North West of England, although I cannot speak for other regions of the UK.

Looking further back, in my lifetime, 1968 and 1985 were dreadful, and in 1962, the temperature never got above 25C, 77F in London. Imagine that now!

1985 was a poor one, yes, with both June and August really notably poor. The first half of July was hot and sunny, culminating in the Live Aid Saturday, but that was more or less it. Thankfully September 1985 was, if I remember right, really notably warm and sunny.

Re the coolness of 1962, wasn't the absolute max last August in the UK (not the whole summer, I know) something like 26 or 27C?

Edited July 23, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 21/07/2022 at 11:05, danm said:

1998 was probably the worst summer I remember from the 90's. Very few genuinely hot days, compared to 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999 which all had very good spells of weather - with '95 obviously being an all time classic. 

There is that oft-forgotten hot spell in early August though, lasting from the 4th to about the 11th. I think it exceeded 32C for four consecutive days, and I was doing a long-distance walk in it! I recall it still feeling intensely hot at 6pm which is rare in the UK.

The rest of the month was generally fine in the south too, but much less so in the north, if I remember right.

By contrast June and July 1998 were pretty poor, so along with 1992 (which was similar, one good month and two poor months) one of the two poorest summers in the 90s. But with one good month, still better than most summers since 2007.

Edited July 23, 2022 by Summer8906

[Rain Lady]

2012 no contest.  Wettest year, 1984mm.  (av 1496.4 mm)    Miserable cold summer.  Veg gardens failed.  Cattle brought indoors in August to avoid serious damage to pastures,

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

1 hour ago, Summer8906 said:

"El Gordo"?

I presume you mean that weekend at the end of June where it briefly became very hot?

That’s the one! 

[Weather-history]

6 hours ago, hillbilly said:

2012 seems to be missing here but is 164

 

Understandable considering you cut and pasted my post from 2009

[A Face like Thunder]

On 21/07/2022 at 22:47, Sunny76 said:

No, I think 2007 and 12 were worse than the 85-88 period, because I still remember some decent hot spells in those mid 80s years, despite the cool and damp weather during those summers.

2007,11 and 12 had weeks of poor overcast weather. 2012 probably managed about 2 weeks of decent sunny weather between late May and early September. 

1985 or 2012 - I cannot decide. 

[hillbilly]

3 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Understandable considering you cut and pasted my post from 2009

It was supposed to copy the bottom 8 in the list but not sure what happened and copied the lot!

[Summer8906]

19 hours ago, A Face like Thunder said:

1985 or 2012 - I cannot decide. 

I would say 1985 was slightly worse than 2012 (as there was even less fine weather), but no individual month in 1985 was quite as bad as June 2012. The only year, perhaps, when autumn was better than summer! Would rate as --

As for those other 80s years, 1986 was a summer of two halves, first half fine, second half very poor, perhaps not too dissimilar to 2017. Rather better than either 2007 or 2012 as a result. Would rate as -

1987 was similarly mixed, poor June, July first half good, second half bad (not unlike 1985) and August mixed but with significant fine warm weather in mid and late month. Again would rate as -

1988 another mixed, poorish one, mostly fine June, very poor July, and slightly poor August. More westerly and less cyclonic than some of the others. Another -

So 1985 and 2007 about the same, then 2012, and then 1986-88.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Summer8906

[reef]

On 21/07/2022 at 18:05, B87 said:

The 10 worst summers since 1992 in London, ranked by summer index.

2012: 242

2007: 255

2011: 257

1992: 260

2008: 263

2021: 270

2002: 272

2000: 275

1998: 275

2016: 280

With those scores, all but 2007 and 2012 would be a top 10 summer here . Gives you an idea of the difference in climate.

For us, 2012 is the worst with a score of 194. Not a patch on 1987 though which was 174! Interestingly the next worst on the list is 2020 with 196.

Scores aside, 2007 is probably the worst in reality. It didnt stop raining from the second week of June until pretty much August. The period 12th June to 27th July had 322.5mm of rain! We only had 7 days in the entire year with temps above 23C. It didnt actually hit that 23C for the first time until 3rd August.

2012 wasnt too bad in high summer. We only had 15.8mm of rain from 20th July - 23rd August and all but 5 of those days topped 20C. 

[damianslaw]

On 24/07/2022 at 17:04, Summer8906 said:

I would say 1985 was slightly worse than 2012 (as there was even less fine weather), but no individual month in 1985 was quite as bad as June 2012. The only year, perhaps, when autumn was better than summer! Would rate as --

As for those other 80s years, 1986 was a summer of two halves, first half fine, second half very poor, perhaps not too dissimilar to 2017. Rather better than either 2007 or 2012 as a result. Would rate as -

1987 was similarly mixed, poor June, July first half good, second half bad (not unlike 1985) and August mixed but with significant fine warm weather in mid and late month. Again would rate as -

1988 another mixed, poorish one, mostly fine June, very poor July, and slightly poor August. More westerly and less cyclonic than some of the others. Another -

So 1985 and 2007 about the same, then 2012, and then 1986-88.

Whilst the thread is about post 92.

 The 4 summers of 85-88 were shockingly poor here. I was a child 7- 10 years and just remember endless wet days! Summer 88 reserved worst weather for school holidays. 1986 was better from memory. 84 was a cracker though!

[cheeky_monkey]

18 hours ago, damianslaw said:

Whilst the thread is about post 92.

 The 4 summers of 85-88 were shockingly poor here. I was a child 7- 10 years and just remember endless wet days! Summer 88 reserved worst weather for school holidays. 1986 was better from memory. 84 was a cracker though!

1983 was better i put it up there with 1995 and 1976 as one of the best summers of my lifetime in the UK..for me it beats 1989, 1990, 2003 & 2006 hands down.

[Sunny76]

On 23/07/2022 at 21:31, A Face like Thunder said:

1985 or 2012 - I cannot decide. 

2012 for me was worse than 1985. 

[Summer8906]

15 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

1983 was better i put it up there with 1995 and 1976 as one of the best summers of my lifetime in the UK..for me it beats 1989, 1990, 2003 & 2006 hands down.

1983 was notable for almost continuous fine weather throughout July and August. Equivalent to 1989 and 1995 for me (joint first) and better than 2006 as the latter had a fairly poor August. June 1983 wasn't that bad, dry, cloudy and non-descript I think.

1976 would probably be first for my entire lifetime (based on reading about it), but I can't remember it.

1981 was another classic if you weight the school holidays higher than any other point in the summer. Cool and cloudy until about July 24th, then fine and sunny. Our last day at school that year was July 24th, and we returned on September 9th. The weather broke on... September 10th. Truly lucky timing!

As the years immediately before 1981 were pretty poor, that summer is my earliest good memory of a prolonged fine summer spell.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Summer8906

[Sunny76]

8 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

1983 was notable for almost continuous fine weather throughout July and August. Equivalent to 1989 and 1995 for me (joint first) and better than 2006 as the latter had a fairly poor August. June 1983 wasn't that bad, dry, cloudy and non-descript I think.

1976 would probably be first for my entire lifetime (based on reading about it), but I can't remember it.

1981 was another classic if you weight the school holidays higher than any other point in the summer. Cool and cloudy until about July 24th, then fine and sunny. Our last day at school that year was July 24th, and we returned on September 9th. The weather broke on... September 10th. Truly lucky timing!

As the years immediately before 1981 were pretty poor, that summer is my earliest good memory of a prolonged fine summer spell.

81 had a good warm to hot period in late July and early August. I remember eating melting chocolate, while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark at the cinema. 
 

This was also around the time of those violent supercell thunderstorms in early August.

Agree about 83, and I’ll add 84 to those glorious summers. Weeks of sunny warm and hot days between June and August.

1989 and 90, along with 94 and 95 were also very good summers down in the London region, and far better than 2006. 

[cheeky_monkey]

On 27/07/2022 at 11:11, cheeky_monkey said:

1983 was better i put it up there with 1995 and 1976 as one of the best summers of my lifetime in the UK..for me it beats 1989, 1990, 2003 & 2006 hands down.

my memories have been ratified by weather history's summer index which has 1983 in the top 3 summers of all time

[damianslaw]

On 27/07/2022 at 18:11, cheeky_monkey said:

1983 was better i put it up there with 1995 and 1976 as one of the best summers of my lifetime in the UK..for me it beats 1989, 1990, 2003 & 2006 hands down.

I think 84 was much better in the west than the south and east. 1983 brought an excellent July, Aug and June were just OK.

[damianslaw]

5 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

81 had a good warm to hot period in late July and early August. I remember eating melting chocolate, while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark at the cinema. 
 

This was also around the time of those violent supercell thunderstorms in early August.

Agree about 83, and I’ll add 84 to those glorious summers. Weeks of sunny warm and hot days between June and August.

1989 and 90, along with 94 and 95 were also very good summers down in the London region, and far better than 2006. 

Good summers came in two's 75-76, 83-84, 94-95. At a push could combine 05-06 and 13-14 to an extent... 

[hillbilly]

10 hours ago, damianslaw said:

I think 84 was much better in the west than the south and east. 1983 brought an excellent July, Aug and June were just OK.

Yes 1984 was the best summer of the 1980s here just pipping 1989 and 1983 in 3rd.I would also say that all three of these summers were better than any summer since except 1995 and on a par with 2018.