Summer 2023 chat

[Sunny76]

7 minutes ago, Mapantz said:

Three seconds less daylight here tomorrow. I'm not sure how I will cope?!

I tend not to notice it until halfway through august, and even then it’s still a decent way before summer really ends. If the weather stays nice and warm, we are good until September before the change in overall feel of things. 

[Bradley in Kent]

If Summer was a weekend (for those who work Mon-Fri)

May - it's Friday daytime and your at work looking forward to the weekend and you're tying loose ends

June - you've finished work and down the pub. It's Friday night and everyone is hopeful and in a good mood

July - it's Saturday and it's all in full swing (football, gatherings, drinking sessions and the like)

August - The Sunday of Summer. Sometimes though it's a continuation of Saturday, sometimes it's a hangover day.

September - Often a Monday but sometimes you might have booked leave or have a bank holiday so still a good time. If it's been a good season / weekend one feels positive, but if it's disappointing one feels melancholic and not ready for the upcoming week or in this analogy 6 months of cool and damp weather!

I'll type this now, I enjoy my job on the whole and don't wish time away to that extent. But I will say, if I've had a good weekend and Summer, I'm positive about the following working week or Autumn. If it's been naff though, I am not ready for work or the Autumn!

[cheese]

2 hours ago, CreweCold said:

It's the same length as any other season.

We could say the same about winter- except in that season most low lying areas have approximately a 6 week window that allows all day lying snow which isn't affected by insolation (3 weeks either side of the solstice).

Here’s the thing though - the UK is a very dull country by global standards. Cloudy days are far more common than sunny days, and the lack of sunshine is usually the first thing foreigners living here complain about. Only Ireland and Iceland are probably duller than the UK. Even an average summer in the UK is pretty cloudy with most places getting no more than 40-45% of the possible sunshine in summer (only southern coastal areas in Sussex/Kent/Hampshire exceed 50% in July/August). 

So when you get cloudy, dull weather in summer, it‘s basically adding salt to the wound - we endure days upon days of sunless skies and drizzle between October and March, only for summer to be dull as well. 
 

If you hate hot, sunny weather, you’re already living in one of the best countries in the world. Those of us who want even just pleasantly warm sunny days live in one of the worst. Sweden and Finland get similarly dull, dark winters but get more summer sunshine than us, even when accounting for the longer days. 
 

I do agree that it’s equally bad if you like snow though, and I think snow would actually make our dreary winters easier to deal with. 

Edited June 21, 2023 by cheese

[Cheshire Freeze]

1 minute ago, cheese said:

Here’s the thing though - the UK is a very dull country by global standards. Cloudy days are far more common than sunny days, and the lack of sunshine is usually the first thing foreigners living here complain about. Only Ireland and Iceland are probably duller than the UK. Even an average summer in the UK is pretty cloudy with most places getting no more than 40-45% of the possible sunshine in summer (only southern coastal areas in Sussex/Kent/Hampshire exceed 50% in July/August). 

So when you get cloudy, dull weather in summer, it‘s basically adding salt to the wound - we endure days upon days of sunless skies and drizzle between October and March, only for summer to be dull as well. 
 

If you hate hot, sunny weather, you’re already living in one of the best countries in the world. 
 

I do agree that it’s equally bad if you like snow though.

Yeah dull, cloudy and monotonous doesn’t do it for me. Snowfall, thunderstorms, windstorms etc are what I’m interested in. Static weather just doesn’t do it for me, though if conditions are perfect we can get some lovely rime scenes in early/mid winter.

[Cheshire Freeze]

6 minutes ago, cheese said:

 

I do agree that it’s equally bad if you like snow though, and I think snow would actually make our dreary winters easier to deal with. 

Those ice cold days with a contrast between deep white snow and crystal blue skies are all but a dream these days.

Dec 2010 was a dream month. Christmas Day that year was perfection. -5 with deep snow against a blue sky. Omg.

Edited June 21, 2023 by CreweCold

[Relativistic]

45 minutes ago, CreweCold said:

Those ice cold days with a contrast between deep white snow and crystal blue skies are all but a dream these days.

Dec 2010 was a dream month. Christmas Day that year was perfection. -5 with deep snow against a blue sky. Omg.

Many places had this in December 2022.

[danm]

2 minutes ago, Relativistic said:

Many places had this in December 2022.

7 days of that in December. But it is becoming a rarer sight. 

[cheese]

42 minutes ago, Relativistic said:

Many places had this in December 2022.

We didn’t. No snow at all, nor particularly cold temperatures. Much like the warm sunny weather for much of May/early June, the coldest temperatures in December were down the western side of the UK. 

It was sunny though.

Edited June 22, 2023 by cheese

[Dark Horse]

32 minutes ago, Relativistic said:

Many places had this in December 2022.

Got down to -10c here with what seemed like endless sunny days and the frost stayed intact in the shade throughout that cold spell and it built up so much that it actually looked like snow but there wasn't a lot of actual snow unfortunately. December 2010 was better in that regard in this area.

[Cheshire Freeze]

1 hour ago, Relativistic said:

Many places had this in December 2022.

There wasn't any lying snow here unfortunately, just thick frost for a few days.

The last time we had clear blue skies and lying snow of 5cm or more was December 2010 here.

Edited June 22, 2023 by CreweCold

[Relativistic]

26 minutes ago, cheese said:

We didn’t. No snow at all, nor particularly cold temperatures. Much like the warm sunny weather for much of May/early June, the coldest temperatures in December were down the western side of the UK. 

It was sunny though.

The exception being the south-east.

26 minutes ago, Dark Horse said:

Got down to -10c here with what seemed like endless sunny days and the frost stayed intact in the shade throughout that cold spell and it built up so much that it actually looked like snow but there wasn't a lot of actual snow unfortunately. December 2010 was better in that regard in this area.

Similarly in Edinburgh; very thick frost that built day after day, but little snow. 

I flew from Edinburgh to Stansted on the evening of Friday the 16th. Edinburgh was 3°C when I left which felt positively balmy after a week of subzero temperatures. I wore well-aerated shorts for that very reason.

Walking off the plane at Stansted into -8°C, freezing fog, and thick, frosty snow, I soon realised my mistake.

[stainesbloke]

5 hours ago, cheese said:

Here’s the thing though - the UK is a very dull country by global standards. Cloudy days are far more common than sunny days, and the lack of sunshine is usually the first thing foreigners living here complain about. Only Ireland and Iceland are probably duller than the UK. Even an average summer in the UK is pretty cloudy with most places getting no more than 40-45% of the possible sunshine in summer (only southern coastal areas in Sussex/Kent/Hampshire exceed 50% in July/August). 

So when you get cloudy, dull weather in summer, it‘s basically adding salt to the wound - we endure days upon days of sunless skies and drizzle between October and March, only for summer to be dull as well. 
 

If you hate hot, sunny weather, you’re already living in one of the best countries in the world. Those of us who want even just pleasantly warm sunny days live in one of the worst. Sweden and Finland get similarly dull, dark winters but get more summer sunshine than us, even when accounting for the longer days. 
 

I do agree that it’s equally bad if you like snow though, and I think snow would actually make our dreary winters easier to deal with. 

Completely agree. Summer here and in much of N and W Europe flies by and every minute of warm sunshine is precious, as the vast majority of the rest of the year is so depressingly dull and dreary. This spring epitomised it perfectly, it rained or snowed almost every day for nearly 10 weeks and I had to have the heating on throughout - how is that anything other than an extension to winter?
More UK snow in winter would definitely ease the pain somewhat, as there’s only so much a person can take of constant cloud, wind and drizzle. Much more winter sun would be good, too. I’ve said this before but add another 800–1000 hours of sunshine to the UK climate and it would be quite acceptable. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by stainesbloke

[Guest]

8 hours ago, CreweCold said:

That's exactly how I feel about summer.

Winter (and the window of lying snow potential) seems to skip by really quickly.

The eternal darkness, frosts, single figure daytime maxes, wind, rain and cloud certainly doesn’t skip by….

[I remember Atlantic 252]

GFS 00Z pants, low after low for the start of Wimbledon, think this is an increasing trend

[alexisj9]

13 minutes ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

GFS 00Z pants, low after low for the start of Wimbledon, think this is an increasing trend

Sounds normal to me, it always rains during Wimbledon lol.

[Sun Chaser]

I have a moan today. Why is it that it's been bone dry and sunnier than anything I've ever seen before for the past 6 weeks while I've been doing exams. But just before I finish suddenly a low pressure fest is being modelled out of nowhere. The weather has a truly sick sense of humour sometimes

[WinterOf47]

Can anyone from Cornwall tell me what next weeks set up will likely bring from experience. Going to St Ives. Increasingly looking like westerlies with high to the south west and low to the northwest. Other than the odd front passing over, not much chance of heavy rain, but does this usually mean endless cloud for the far south west? Could handle sun and cloud, but being stuck under a blob of endless grey would be very depressing. (I live on the south coast which usually pretty pleasant with this set up).

[Guest]

I asked CHATGPT AI a question on however warm SSTs and a strengthening jet from the US eastern coast could affect the UK. It’s answer doesn’t fill me with joy.

[Bristawl Si]

Hmm...so are the Summer forecasts of plume situs, followed by thundery outbreaks, in a Repeat/Rinse cycle starting to look...erm...shaky?

[danm]

8 hours ago, Relativistic said:

The exception being the south-east.

Similarly in Edinburgh; very thick frost that built day after day, but little snow. 

I flew from Edinburgh to Stansted on the evening of Friday the 16th. Edinburgh was 3°C when I left which felt positively balmy after a week of subzero temperatures. I wore well-aerated shorts for that very reason.

Walking off the plane at Stansted into -8°C, freezing fog, and thick, frosty snow, I soon realised my mistake.

That week in December last year was great. 6 inches of thick, crunchy snow that lay all week. Beautiful blue skies. Alas that was it, the rest of winter was pants. 

Very warm this morning, already hitting 23c. 

[Sunny76]

12 hours ago, Bradley in Kent said:

If Summer was a weekend (for those who work Mon-Fri)

May - it's Friday daytime and your at work looking forward to the weekend and you're tying loose ends

June - you've finished work and down the pub. It's Friday night and everyone is hopeful and in a good mood

July - it's Saturday and it's all in full swing (football, gatherings, drinking sessions and the like)

August - The Sunday of Summer. Sometimes though it's a continuation of Saturday, sometimes it's a hangover day.

September - Often a Monday but sometimes you might have booked leave or have a bank holiday so still a good time. If it's been a good season / weekend one feels positive, but if it's disappointing one feels melancholic and not ready for the upcoming week or in this analogy 6 months of cool and damp weather!

I'll type this now, I enjoy my job on the whole and don't wish time away to that extent. But I will say, if I've had a good weekend and Summer, I'm positive about the following working week or Autumn. If it's been naff though, I am not ready for work or the Autumn!

I like this analogy.

Doing the security job on Sundays, and this is the perfect time for those lovely early daylight mornings. 
 

The darkness will start to creep in for me once we move into August.

[danm]

3 minutes ago, Bristle Si said:

Hmm...so are the Summer forecasts of plume situs, followed by thundery outbreaks, in a Repeat/Rinse cycle starting to look...erm...shaky?

I wouldn’t say so. Things look cooler and unsettled later next week, how much cooler and how unsettled still very uncertain. Post next weekend we don’t have a clue. 

We had a cooler, wetter spell around this time last year and then the heat returned with a vengeance. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by danm

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, danm said:

That week in December last year was great. 6 inches of thick, crunchy snow that lay all week. Beautiful blue skies. Alas that was it, the rest of winter was pants. 

Very warm this morning, already hitting 23c. 

Yeah, but I did like last winter as it featured more dry and colder clear days.

The only period I didn’t care for was the Christmas and early January period, due to the wind and rainy conditions.

Luckily for me, I spent Christmas in Latvia and had a white Christmas, which was a bonus after the cold frosty period of mid December in London.

[SunSean]

My least favourite cloud type today- Infill! Looked at the satellite and saw a big clear patch approaching- fast forward 30 mins and it has started exploding with infill lol. At least with the rubbish grey clag, you can see it coming and its predictable somewhat but infill? Nah screw that.

[lassie23]

i have sunburn on my sunburn, that's how sunny it has been here.