Spring 2023 - Moans, Ramps & Chat

[SunnyG]

27 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yeah, if this continues for The whole summer, it will be poor. Sunshine after 3pm is no good if the mornings are cold and dull. 

Yes I remember that, but it was also a dull dank fest. And by the 3-4th of January it was back to frosty cold and sunny, which was in opinion the better option.

Honestly, in winter I prefer dull and warm (but warm as in 15C not 8C) to cold and sunny. I hate hate hate the cold

[Sunny76]

18 minutes ago, SunnyG said:

Honestly, in winter I prefer dull and warm (but warm as in 15C not 8C) to cold and sunny. I hate hate hate the cold

Oh really? Fair enough. I do like the cold weather if it’s accompanied by sunny weather, but hate the cold if it’s the 6-9c variety and full of cloudy conditions. 
 

15-16c with dull conditions in winter is a bit of a waste I find, because of the lack of daylight. 
 

I’m kind of hoping El Niño will give us a very mild winter next time, to stop those thieving robbing bankers who work for the energy companies. 

[In Absence of True Seasons]

Brightening up now but it's all still just so cool. Genuinely feels like one of those pleasant Mid-April days where the sun comes out and it's the first hint of warmth to come later in the year.

[In Absence of True Seasons]

53 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yeah, if this continues for The whole summer, it will be poor. Sunshine after 3pm is no good if the mornings are cold and dull. 

Yes I remember that, but it was also a dull dank fest. And by the 3-4th of January it was back to frosty cold and sunny, which was in opinion the better option.

This is the kicker. Yes, it's warm in the afternoon, but it's not really 'summer' IMO if it's cold in the mornings and evenings - that's Spring weather, aka daytime temps warm enough for just a shirt but in the mornings and nights you need a decent jacket / jumper. 

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

This is the kicker. Yes, it's warm in the afternoon, but it's not really 'summer' IMO if it's cold in the mornings and evenings - that's Spring weather, aka daytime temps warm enough for just a shirt but in the mornings and nights you need a decent jacket / jumper. 

Yeah, it feels like a pleasant march or mid April outside now, but definitely not June.

4 minutes ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

Brightening up now but it's all still just so cool. Genuinely feels like one of those pleasant Mid-April days where the sun comes out and it's the first hint of warmth to come later in the year.

Yeah, I think there’s a definite lag effect. It feels like we are running about a month or so behind where we should be. 
 

If we get a warm autumn, September and October included, that will probably even things out a bit. 

[In Absence of True Seasons]

2 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yeah, it feels like a pleasant march or mid April outside now, but definitely not June.

I've been saying since April that this whole year feels about 4-6 weeks behind in the SE. April felt like March in many ways, May felt like an April, and now I imagine most of June will feel very May-like. 

I can't sit out in just a t-shirt in this, especially with that chilly wind on-and-off. Maybe at 3pm I'll be able to.

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

I've been saying since April that this whole year feels about 4-6 weeks behind in the SE. April felt like March in many ways, May felt like an April, and now I imagine most of June will feel very May-like. 

I can't sit out in just a t-shirt in this, especially with that chilly wind on-and-off. Maybe at 3pm I'll be able to.

I tend to find it comfortable still in the jumper and light jacket at 3pm, despite the warm up, as it will be cold again come 6-7pm lol.

[kold weather]

Its been such an odd spring down here in the SE, it really does feel like we've been constantly behind the curve of the seasons. The actual temperatures upto maybe 10 days were insanely limited range, nothing really outside of a range of 13-17c for the thick end of 2 months combined with often cloudy and sometimes very wet weather made it a legitimately dreadful feeling spring down here, even if by metrics it ended up near average overall down here.

The last 10 days hyave been a shift up. The cloud is still an issue, especially early on but on average it is breaking up on most days and the actual temperatures are ok, just a little above normal. The only downside is that the wind still has a bit of a chill to it down here.

I'd imagine this May has actually been decent for those in more western areas, especially the 2nd half of the month. Locally I've been lucky more than once being just SW enough for the cloud cover to break up pretty rapidly, though only 2 days has it been sunny from the get go.

[In Absence of True Seasons]

21 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yeah, it feels like a pleasant march or mid April outside now, but definitely not June.

Yeah, I think there’s a definite lag effect. It feels like we are running about a month or so behind where we should be. 
 

If we get a warm autumn, September and October included, that will probably even things out a bit. 

September is often a pretty good month for us tbh, we often get a few 20c days, and the daylight is still long enough to be quite usable.

October I'm indifferent about as to whether it's warm or not, because the days are quickly getting shorter by then and things are less green and vibrant. IMO an 18c sunny day in October is a bit of a waste - would much prefer such a day in April. 

[NEVES SCREAMER]

14 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

I tend to find it comfortable still in the jumper and light jacket at 3pm, despite the warm up, as it will be cold again come 6-7pm lol.

We have 5c to look forward to in the morning . Bloody cold enough this morning at 9c. Still chilly now despite the sun at 14c. And the omnipresent NE wind just keeps on nagging away. 

[In Absence of True Seasons]

6 minutes ago, kold weather said:

Its been such an odd spring down here in the SE, it really does feel like we've been constantly behind the curve of the seasons. The actual temperatures upto maybe 10 days were insanely limited range, nothing really outside of a range of 13-17c for the thick end of 2 months combined with often cloudy and sometimes very wet weather made it a legitimately dreadful feeling spring down here, even if by metrics it ended up near average overall down here.

It's the subdued temps combined with cloud and chilly wind for me. 15-17c with a clear sky, or mostly clear, is fine for May, and decent for April. But aside from the 10 or so days of May, such days were very rare - it was usually 15-17c max with cloud, or when sunny, that cold N-Sea breeze that made it feel about 9/10c as opposed to 17c. 

8 minutes ago, kold weather said:

I'd imagine this May has actually been decent for those in more western areas, especially the 2nd half of the month. Locally I've been lucky more than once being just SW enough for the cloud cover to break up pretty rapidly, though only 2 days has it been sunny from the get go.

Definitely a big regional split as to perceptions about May (and Spring overall). Those out west have faired largely better since April. The forecasts for parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall the past week and over the next week to 10 days are crazy - just day, after day, after day, of sunny skies and temps 18-22/23c. It's like looking at the forecast for Costa Del Sol in late Autumn!

[richie3846]

1 hour ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

Single digits at nearly 10am in June is dire lol. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

How are the West-Country folk still dismissing this as a terrible Spring for us who don't live in there regions? Can't recall the context but I had someone yesterday telling me I was basically imagining it all, because based upon the 'averages' we've had a good Spring in the SE, and and that it was just a case of me being jealous of the weather in Wales and Cornwall. 

Spring wasn't amazing overall, May was pretty good for many. The context was about May, not spring, so as usual you've put your own bias and slant and twisted reality. I never mentioned spring in the post you are referring to, I was referring to May only.

[Stabilo19]

27 minutes ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

I've been saying since April that this whole year feels about 4-6 weeks behind in the SE. April felt like March in many ways, May felt like an April, and now I imagine most of June will feel very May-like. 

I can't sit out in just a t-shirt in this, especially with that chilly wind on-and-off. Maybe at 3pm I'll be able to.

Yes I agree, we're weeks behind weather-wise. Just stepped outside midday in June and there's a chill in the air. It's just not right!

[Sun Chaser]

5 minutes ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

It's the subdued temps combined with cloud and chilly wind for me. 15-17c with a clear sky, or mostly clear, is fine for May, and decent for April. But aside from the 10 or so days of May, such days were very rare - it was usually 15-17c max with cloud, or when sunny, that cold N-Sea breeze that made it feel about 9/10c as opposed to 17c. 

Definitely a big regional split as to perceptions about May (and Spring overall). Those out west have faired largely better since April. The forecasts for parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall the past week and over the next week to 10 days are crazy - just day, after day, after day, of sunny skies and temps 18-22/23c. It's like looking at the forecast for Costa Del Sol in late Autumn!

It's rare to see a better forecast than this. Shame I have exams all month, this is the one month of my entire life that I wouldn't mind bad weather

[kold weather]

6 minutes ago, plymsunshine said:

It's rare to see a better forecast than this. Shame I have exams all month, this is the one month of my entire life that I wouldn't mind bad weather

Its been a very good spell for you guys in the SW. To be fair locally even here its not been bad despite the early morning cloud. I can see those in the eastern half of the SE being thoroughly bored mind you with cloudy mornings with cloud taking till 12-1pm to break up.

Whilst the mean temperatures have been broadly similar in the SE as they are in the SW this May, I'm willing to bet there is a huge difference in terms of the cumulative temperatures each day (IE, the SE stuck at 9-12c in the morning whilst SW at 14-18c at the same timeframe). much shorter period of useable weather the further east you go.

One thing that has been true across the board though is this is starting to become yet another quite notable dry spell, many places now upto 15-20 days of no rainfall, and no real signs of change for most in the next 7-10 days either...

What exams are you taking? I took my GCSE during the early summer of 2006 which was awesome, then July 06 ended up being one of the most impressive months ever recorded. Probably the greatest example of a front loaded summer you'll see, along with perhaps 18.

Edited June 2, 2023 by kold weather

[Sun Chaser]

Just now, kold weather said:

Its been a very good spell for you guys in the SW. To be fair locally even here its not been bad despite the early morning cloud. I can see those in the eastern half of the SE being thoroughly bored mind you with cloudy mornings with cloud taking till 12-1pm to break up.

Whilst the mean temperatures have been broadly similar in the SE as they are in the SW this May, I'm willing to bet there is a huge difference in terms of the cumulative temperatures each day (IE, the SE stuck at 9-12c in the morning whilst SW at 14-18c at the same timeframe). much shorter period of useable weather the further east you go.

One thing that has been true across the board though is this is starting to become yet another quite notable dry spell, many places now upto 15-20 days of no rainfall, and no real signs of change for most in the next 7-10 days either...

Anomaly maps say it all! One of the best ever here but for those in the SE it looks pretty meh

[kold weather]

7 minutes ago, plymsunshine said:

Anomaly maps say it all! One of the best ever here but for those in the SE it looks pretty meh

Looking at the data, 2023 was indeed a very good month down there. Temperatures about the same as 2018 but sunnier in 2023. With that being said, 2020 is in a league of its own for sunshine, the mean being a crazy 50hrs more in 2020, similar temperaturs and drier again than 2023.

May 2020 really is the gold standard when it comes to May. The fact there hasn't been a sunnier June shows how exceptional that month was. With that being said, of to a strong start for June down there as well.

[danm]

11 minutes ago, plymsunshine said:

Anomaly maps say it all! One of the best ever here but for those in the SE it looks pretty meh

It does indeed look meh....relative to local expectations. 

The actual mean max values show London on par with the W/SW. It's deemed poor here, but great further west. 

 

The key hindrance here for the month of May has been less sunshine, and a nagging E/NE breeze which has made it feel chillier than the temperature would suggest. 

Actual sunshine values for the SE are definitely lower than the SW, but actually not considerably so. Except as you can see for coastal Devon, Dorset and Cornwall - where you are! 

Edited June 2, 2023 by danm

[Sunny76]

33 minutes ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

September is often a pretty good month for us tbh, we often get a few 20c days, and the daylight is still long enough to be quite usable.

October I'm indifferent about as to whether it's warm or not, because the days are quickly getting shorter by then and things are less green and vibrant. IMO an 18c sunny day in October is a bit of a waste - would much prefer such a day in April. 

Agree with wanting 18c in April. Much better than October.

[Sun Chaser]

14 minutes ago, kold weather said:

May 2020 really is the gold standard when it comes to May. The fact there hasn't been a sunnier June shows how exceptional that month was. With that being said, of to a strong start for June down there as well.

Maybe this is the year!! (a tiny chance but you never know)

13 minutes ago, danm said:

It does indeed look meh....relative to local expectations. 

The actual mean max values show London on par with the W/SW. It's deemed poor here, but great further west. 

 

The key hindrance here for the month of May has been less sunshine, and a nagging E/NE breeze which has made it feel chillier than the temperature would suggest. 

Actual sunshine values for the SE are definitely lower than the SW, but actually not considerably so. Except as you can see for coastal Devon, Dorset and Cornwall - where you are! 

This leads back to what I was saying a few days ago. If someone from the SE lived through summer 2018 down here they'd probably be disappointed by the "cool" temperatures (average max ~22.5c) though from my perspective it was absolutely exceptional!

[danm]

2 minutes ago, plymsunshine said:

Maybe this is the year!! (a tiny chance but you never know)

This leads back to what I was saying a few days ago. If someone from the SE lived through summer 2018 down here they'd probably be disappointed by the "cool" temperatures (average max ~22.5c) though from my perspective it was absolutely exceptional!

Yes I guess you're right:

Likewise Summer 2022 for that matter:

[Guest]

It’s a slow burner again, despite the sun having been out for a couple of hours now it’s still only 16C.

[Snowy L]

Would think wet soil would no longer be a problem, but as with others it's so slow to warm up, Just 15C after 3 hours of sun.

[Sunny76]

36 minutes ago, kold weather said:

Looking at the data, 2023 was indeed a very good month down there. Temperatures about the same as 2018 but sunnier in 2023. With that being said, 2020 is in a league of its own for sunshine, the mean being a crazy 50hrs more in 2020, similar temperaturs and drier again than 2023.

May 2020 really is the gold standard when it comes to May. The fact there hasn't been a sunnier June shows how exceptional that month was. With that being said, of to a strong start for June down there as well.

May 2018 was miles better than May 23. I never felt cold that month.

[kold weather]

13 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

May 2018 was miles better than May 23. I never felt cold that month.

For us, yes no doubts about it, 2018 is better without a doubt. But down in the SW, they are pretty similar in many ways, though May 2020 is miles better than both both here and in the SW.