What Did You Think of Summer 2022?

[BlueHedgehog074]

Hi all

How did this Summer go for you? 

It would be fair to say for some of you, Summer May not finish until September 21st or when it no longer feels Summary for you.

For me overall, I thought it was a super Summer - up there probably alongside 2018. But even though I kinda felt months like June and especially July 2018 perhaps had slightly more sustained sunnier weather, August this year for this area was a good improvement over the 2018 one. In fact, I would say July and August 2022 were the best of the Summer months of this Summer. The heat of those 2 months did get a bit much at times and some of the plants were struggling due to the very dry conditions, but the months offered a good amount of bright and sunny conditions. 2nd half of this August did tend to become somewhat more cloudier with a few odd rainy/showery periods (although the plants did need something to drink!). Even then, the 2nd half of August still provided a fair amount of settled weather accompanied by some sunnier periods. And what that 2nd half provided personally is still an improvement compared to what most other recent Augusts have offered. 

June, while a bit more mixed, was generally for me still quite a good month with a fair amount of brighter sunnier spells and some showers at times. Fairly chilly at times though. 

My main issue with this Summer would be the lack of storms (apart from the odd thundery shower in June and the odd bit of thunder from the briefer unsettled conditions just beyond mid-August), which seemed to be an issue for a number of you. The drought in some areas also putting a strain on the vegetation and the plant life. I think also what makes a Summer great can be subjective and varies from person to person. One person for example might think a Summer is amazing if it rains all the time.

On the whole, I really liked this Summer and is personally one of my best ones since 2018. 

What did you guys and gals think of it?

Edited September 1, 2022 by DiagonalRedLine
Making one or two slight changes

[Tom Montalbano]

Just to explain my vote of "SO AWFUL, MAN".

Recent Summers in S,E. London have tended to be very warm and humid.

Living in a very small House, in a built up area of London, the heat tends to accumulate to very uncomfortable levels, as was the case with this Summer. At times my Wife and myself had to run THREE Fans in our Bedroom, just to try and get a decent Night's sleep.

The Azores High has been very dominant, throughout the Summer Months.

It did what it "says on the bottle" by staying at Home, this resulted in a Westerly sourced flow from the Atlantic and temperatures never got that high. But it got a bit big for it's boots and decided to migrate further North and East, with a new term entering the Meteorological vocabulary and joining the recently introduced term of "Tropuical Nights".

We now have been introduced to the term  "Heat Dome". Temperatures rising incrementally Day by Day, as an area of High Pressure became established over the U.K. and in July transferring to the East bof the U.K., meant a hot and very humid Southerly sourced flow, came at the U.K. from much further South, where temperatures had been way above average, for some time.

It was during that time, that I had a very scary experience. I always have an Afternoon nap, necessary after I experienced a near fatal Stroke, back in mid September 2015. I woke up feeling very dizzy, faint and felt I was going to pass out. It was only the quick actions of my Wife, that prevented this from happening.

She doused me with cold water, and got plenty of fluids inside of me.

I had a similar experience in the very warm Summer, of 2018. During that Summer, I ended up in the Casualty Dept. at our local Sidcup Hospital, with heat exhaustion.

Therefore, very warm/hot Summers are a definite thumbs down, for Yours Truly.

Regards,

Tom Q.  

[Earthshine]

The most extraordinary spell here this summer was the second week of August.  5 or so consecutive days of 33C+ was extraordinary, the first time in my life I've experienced those temperatures in Wales.  Also, with the gin blue skies that accompanied it, very rare to get completely clear skies and hot weather here (we are normally on the periphery of any plumes and get a bit of cloud).  The summer as a whole after a few dodgy days here and there has been absolutely fantastic and this August has been the best in my lifetime (I was 3 years old during the last hot August in 2003 so no memories of that).

[Scorcher]

August was brilliant in every regard here- sunshine around the 220 hour mark which blows any August out of the water in the last 20 odd years.

Certainly easily the best since 2003, and arguably better. I think in terms of Augusts, only 1995 and 1997 have been clearly better in my lifetime in these parts.

[Row w]

A bit slow to get started but once it did it certainly delivered in these parts, granted July had a bit of a cool cloudy spell following on from the record breaking few days but August has been the best for a long time for me I'd say since 2003, 1995 I have vague memories of only being 7 at the time but I still remember it being an absolute belter but 2022 has certainly made up for the cool anticyclonic cloudy gloom fest that summer 2021 was in August, only thing I will say has let it down is the lack of thunderstorms something the 90s and early 00s had plenty of but apart from that its been a good one  

[BruenSryan]

Good definitely sums up the summer for Dublin, not quite up with the greats of 1995, 2006, 2018. 

June too windy and lacked the warmth here. Avoided a lot of the rain Ireland had though. Was cloudy but nothing atrocious. Disappointing after a disappointing May.

July was too cloudy to be considered great. However, it brought the warmest day by far here on record, had plentiful warmth regardless and often very dry so it's to be given some points.

August best in my lifetime, better than 2003. Warmest and sunniest since 1995. I don't have any memories of 2003 anyway being an itty bitty 2 year old! Second week was easily best August spell I have seen, the consistent clear skies was brilliant. 

I preferred 2013 and 2018 but a better than average Dublin summer for sure.

[Atmogenic]

It was an amazing summer, though I was on holiday for all of June which when I came back I saw on the forums that it's been pretty wet. After I returned, it just been very dry which is just how I like it, I do enjoy a good storm like most people here but in general I love it to just be very warm/hot majority of the time which this summer has definitely succeeded this year and hope (doomer vibe) that we get more summers likes this where a summer is called a summer and nothing like winter summer (cough 2012)

[Wynn D Woo]

It has been a very good summer overall for being able to plan and do things without having to cart coats and wet weather gear around.

Best August since 2003 but not as good as 1990 and 95 which remain the benchmark for me.

And whilst its been very hot at times we didnt break our highest ever temperature record. The low humidity has definitely helped though and rarely did the warmth cause me any issues with sleeping at night.

Would i take a repeat next year - yes I would, but i fear it might be more 2012...

[Snowy L]

Just good here, frustratingly close to being one of the best summers ever. With the NW/SE split here in the Midlands we were stuck in a no man's land of cloud too many times even if the days were usable. I also missed out on the good spell in August as I was away. We have had loads of days with temperatures in the low to mid twenties though.

[Puddy Galore]

Early summer was fine.  July onwards not for me - glad to see the back of summer 2022.  So many plants in my garden have died either through lack of water or have simply been scorched and I’m not on my own.  So  much damage done to many gardens.  

Edited September 1, 2022 by Snowycat

[Norfolk Sheep]

In terms of average temps it was definitely one of the best, but then I'm a fan of hot weather (although I draw the line at 35C+) and I love the Mediterranean type evenings when temps don't fall much below 22C. That said, the prolonged dry spell was an issue and continues to be, with only 10mm recorded in August. Coming on the back of a dry winter and spring we can only hope for above average rainfall over the next few months.

It never felt particularly humid here as we generally get a strong onshore breeze most of the time, only a few days when the wind was more tempered and from the SW or W.  Disappointingly the thundery activity in the eastern region continues to decline year on year. 

[mb018538]

Just amazing for me as a summer lover. Endless sunshine and warmth. The 40c day, lots of other very hot days.
Generally low humidity and blue skies. What's more to want for myself? As someone who's not too fussed about storms, it has to be a 9/10 for me. Having one of the best Augusts on record was a real bonus too, I just assumed it would fade after July like most summers of recent times, but it just reloaded and went again.

Appreciate for others it would have been the total opposite and horrific!

[Weather Enthusiast91]

I voted very good, due to the warmth and high number of useable days. I would have given it a higher score if we had some thunderstorms, but it was a thunderstormless summer this year.

**Good points**

• Plenty of warmth
• A warm sunny August
• Best of the weather coincided with the school summer holidays
• The build up to that first ever 40 Celsius day. It was a very exciting time for us weather nerds

**Bad points**

• No thunderstorms
• Very little rain
• As exciting as the build up to that July heatwave was, it did get uncomfortable and I am glad it only went on for a few days
• Wildfires

[Stabilo19]

One of the best, if not *the best* summer on record for London. 

Persistently warm and dry throughout most of the summer with a few hot spells and of course the first 40°C on record. Historic. 

[bringmesunshine]

It was more of a 1975 than a 1976, more of a 1990 than a 1995, more of a 2003 than a 2018. So, very good but not quite outstanding

[BlueHedgehog074]

42 minutes ago, Weather Enthusiast91 said:

**Good points**

• Best of the weather coincided with the school summer holidays
• The build up to that first ever 40 Celsius day. It was a very exciting time for us weather nerds

Indeed, I don’t think the timing could have been much better really regarding the weather during the School holidays. While the weather during that 2nd week of August would have likely become a bit too hot for some to be out in, most of the days during that period you could go out without needing an umbrella or coat. Very useable.  (though I appreciate those in the North-West or North of the UK, it was probably a different story).

True with that second point too. That 40*C day will be one of the aspects that makes this Summer something to remember for many years to come. (Equally, a real furnace of a day like that will probably make some want to forget a Summer like this!) Definitely was a good thing, however, it occurred with the low humidity.

Edit: As Stabilo19 says, certainly historic!

Edited September 1, 2022 by DiagonalRedLine

[Don]

June was pretty mediocre.

July was warm and dry but rather cloudy overall.

August was good and the best since 2003.

Overall, I think it was more of a southern/eastern England event compared to the likes of 1995 and 2018 which were more countrywide classics.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Don

[damianslaw]

30 minutes ago, Don said:

June was pretty mediocre.

July was warm and dry but rather cloudy overall.

August was good and the best since 2003.

Overall, I think it was more of a southern/eastern England event compared to the likes of 1995 and 2018 which were more countrywide classics.

Agree draw a line from the Humber to Pembrokeshire and places to the south of that line will quite rightly put it up there with the top summers alongside the likes of 76, 95 and 18. North of the line not the case... indeed the further north west from the line the increasingly lower down the rankings.. and a far cry from the three summers mentioned ( yes for purposes of 2018 I include May cancelling out the poor August). Overall I would rate it in the Lake District alongside 2003 and 2006, but lower than 1975, 1983, 1984, 1989..  its a third league summer if you consider all those since 1975. 

Top league - 76, 95, 18

2nd league - 75, 83, 84, 89

3rd league 03, 06, 22

 

[Roger J Smith]

I didn't click on the poll options as I am reporting from another climate zone but we had a very good summer here, started a bit late after a very slow and wet spring, and is still going full blast with predicted highs in the 30s most days to the 8th of September when it might finally take a break. Very hot and dry basically, heat came in about five or six intervals with near normal weather in between. Have only had one day too cool to sit outside in the evening since early June. 

I would say from a distance that might have been a top ten summer for the southern UK at least, not quite in the league of the best ones, but close. 

[ThundersnowDays]

very good here, especially July and August with many 30.C+ days and lots of sun but the lack of any good storms stops it from being brilliant for me

[Methuselah]

Not nearly enough rain; too hot at times, and too much sunshine -- otherwise perfect!

All we need now is a large dollop of rain: warm soil and usable (for plants) amounts of sunshine will take care of the rest. And the mushroom season will be fan-bloody-tastic!

[reef]

Summer index for the top 10 summers since 1980 here:

2018: 295
2022: 292
1989: 287
1995: 279
2006: 278
2003: 271
1996: 265
2013: 262
1983: 261
1994: 257

One of the best summers ever here. The mean maximum for the summer was the highest in 42 years of records. All three summer months had 200+ hours of sunshine for the first time since 1989 and we had a total of 704 hours, which beats 1995 and 2018 (both 698 hours). It rained on 29 days but there were no thunderstorms at all unfortunately. As a result, only 1 day had >10mm of rain. Total rainfall was 89.6mm (49%) and all three months were well below average (47%, 70% and 32%). Weirdly the mean minimum anomoly for the three months were +0.2C, +0.4C and -0.1C. Maxima were +1.8C, +1.9C and +2.6C.

During the July spell we broke our record maximum that had stood since August 1990 by 2.8C, reaching 36.8C. Only 14 days after the equinox failed to reach 20C, which is quite good for this area.

Certainly one to remember.

[SunSean]

It was an excellent summer for me down here in the Southend area. Every month surpassed the 200 hour mark of sunshine! I loved the low amount of rainfall because you could do so much outside, whether it be chilling at the beach, sunbathing in the garden, a day out with friends on a pub crawl, it was so easy to plan stuff to do and so many great memories were made! We also never went too long with grey skies because those beautiful blue gin clear skies were never too far away- a polar opposite to 2021 here where you sometimes had to wait weeks before the next truly sunny spell. A historic 40 degrees day in July and that 10 day spell in the 1st half of August was akin to May 2020 with days on end of crystal clear blue skies- the best section of the whole summer! Even June had some excellent spells despite being the weaker of the 3 summer months, it was still very good. Overall i have no complaints and we did actually get an epic thunderstorm on June 18th. Even though i thought a week or so ago that it was slightly above 2018 & 1995, realistically i would say it was similar to 2018 but the fact May 2018 was so great (even though it is a Spring month) i would now say it is slightly below 2018 and 1995 but only just! 

[summer blizzard]

A summer of two halves.

The first half was a solid 2/5 and generally forgettable. It was akin to a winter to a winter which was dry, mild and unexceptional in sunshine.

The second half was a 4/5. The period between mid July and mid August featured the plume and a significant hot spell (albeit not as good as July 2013 as a monthly spell) though the second half of August was unremarkable.

I will remember it being warm and dry but I will also remember that July was incredibly overrated.

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, reef said:

Summer index for the top 10 summers since 1980 here:

2018: 295
2022: 292
1989: 287
1995: 279
2006: 278
2003: 271
1996: 265
2013: 262
1983: 261
1994: 257

One of the best summers ever here. The mean maximum for the summer was the highest in 42 years of records. All three summer months had 200+ hours of sunshine for the first time since 1989 and we had a total of 704 hours, which beats 1995 and 2018 (both 698 hours). It rained on 29 days but there were no thunderstorms at all unfortunately. As a result, only 1 day had >10mm of rain. Total rainfall was 89.6mm (49%) and all three months were well below average (47%, 70% and 32%). Weirdly the mean minimum anomoly for the three months were +0.2C, +0.4C and -0.1C. Maxima were +1.8C, +1.9C and +2.6C.

During the July spell we broke our record maximum that had stood since August 1990 by 2.8C, reaching 36.8C. Only 14 days after the equinox failed to reach 20C, which is quite good for this area.

Certainly one to remember.

Why does 1975 and not 1976 not feature, is it because records don't go back that far.. I suspect 1976 would be top, and 1975 perhaps fifth in that list? Interesting to see 1984 doesn't feature, that summer was really a west was best type, it was exceptionally dry in the Lake District, drier than this summer.