The worst combined spring/summer seasons on record

[Summer8906]

With the first half of spring 2023 perhaps being the worst since the 80s, it got me thinking about whether there were any years when spring and summer was nearly constantly unsettled, dull and wet - and all the settled weather of the year was used up on the late autumn and winter months of Jan, Feb, Nov and Dec.

I don't think I can remember a year when all six spring/summer months were dull and wet though one or two have come close.

(Part of this exercise is to mentally reassure myself that 2023 will not be a complete write-off!)

These are the years since 1980 which come vaguely close. If there were two or more settled months out of the six, the year is not even considered. So no 1980 or 2007 here, despite bad summers, because those years had two fine, sunny months.

2012: four out of six spring/summer months were varying degrees of below-par to poor, though March was very good (quite unlike this year) and the second half of summer (mid-July to late August) was acceptable - changeable but with regular warm, sunny interludes.

2002: persistent changeability in all months except April, but like 2012, the second half of summer, despite wet spells, was warm with regular sunny spells, and very warm to hot at times.

1987: persistently changeable and rather cool, except for April which was warm and sunny. Also, the first half of July and mid to late August had sunny and hot spells, at least here in the south; August 1987 wasn't so bad in this part of the country.

1986: another changeable and cool season, notably the spring and August. The first half of summer though was predominantly sunny and warm-to-hot.

1985: perhaps the worst combined spring-summer of my remembered lifetime. All six months were varying degrees of changeable, though the spring wasn't terrible as it was mostly cold changeable rather than endless SW-lies. The first half of July was hot and sunny.

It was just as well that Jan and Feb were interestingly cold and snowy, Sep and Oct notably warm and dry, and Nov interestingly cold! With half of July good, 5.5 months that year were acceptable so not the worst calendar year overall.

1981: March and May were amongst the worst on record, though the summer wasn't bad: June and much of July cloudy and cool but often dry, and August very good indeed - better than any August from 2004 to 2021 inclusive, in fact. However, 1981 probably had the poorest Mar-Oct period of my remembered lifetime, with Sep and Oct being mostly very poor.

So they are the main contenders. Thankfully it seems to be very rare to get a year when the whole of spring and summer is a write-off - so looking at the above, we should expect, at worst, one notably settled, warm and dry month between now and the end of August, and a further month or two of acceptable conditions (e.g. changeable but with frequent warm sunny weather).

But can anyone advance on 1985 by going further back, and suggest a worse spring-summer than that year? Extra points if, unlike 1985, Sep and Oct were poor too.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Summer8906

[A Face like Thunder]

1968 - by a country mile in my view, the 'year of disasters' as described by Philip Eden, culminating in the Surrey Floods of mid-September.

1962 - temperatures were below average every month from March to September inclusive, and the maximum temperature of the year in London was 25C 77F on 9th June. Imagine that now!

[SummerShower]

2008.  Only the 2nd half of April and 1st half of May were any good.  1st half June and 2nd half July were OK.  Total 2 months if you included half-months

[Weather-history]

1879 was bad, a very cold delayed spring followed by a chilly washout of a summer 

[Metwatch]

I think some seem to forget but 2021 would be a contender. March was quite standard, dull and chilly at the start only last few days warm. 

April was sunny and dry but it was way too cold which for me dropped the rating a lot. 

May was a full on washout with days on end of heavy showers or longer spells of rain. 

The summer itself wasn't the worst though August was very cloudy and there wasn't that much warmth bar mid July and a little bit first half of June. Fair amount of days that had rain for most part of the day. 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Metwatch

[Summer8906]

4 hours ago, SummerShower said:

2008.  Only the 2nd half of April and 1st half of May were any good.  1st half June and 2nd half July were OK.  Total 2 months if you included half-months

I'd rate 2008 higher than that: quite a bit of May, from around the 6th right through to the 23rd, was predominantly warm and sunny, with two or three cool cloudy days in that period. The end was very poor, I'd admit. And June was mostly sunny and dry, albeit with nagging breezes at times.

August was very bad, I agree - and ISTR the first half of April 2008 was actually better (sunnier, if cold, with the snow plus two or three days of showers) than the second.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Summer8906

[MP-R]

1 minute ago, Summer8906 said:

I rate 2008 higher than that: quite a bit of May, from around the 6th right through to the 23rd, was predominantly warm and sunny, with two or three cool cloudy days in that period. The end was very poor, I'd admit. And June was mostly sunny and dry, albeit with nagging breezes at times.

August was very bad, I agree - and ISTR the first half of April 2008 was actually better (sunnier, if cold) than the second.

As I've pointed out already though, after the 14th, May was not a sunny month in most of the southern half of the country. It sounds like you struck lucky where you are but cloudy days far outnumbered sunny ones beyond midmonth. If I had to piece together an ideal May from the 2000s it'd probably comprise the 01st-14th 2008, 15th-20th 2004, 21st-27th 2001, 28th-31st 2009.

Back to the topic of this thread though, and I'd say 2013 would probably be the highest contender (although I fortunately lived abroad at the time). 2012 is a close follower... although March was settled, that extent of high pressure overload is wasted so early on and a the first spell was actually quite grey and misty in Bristol. Ironically, 2006 is not far behind, as March was grey, cold and wet; April continued cool and was often cloudy; then May was very wet, especially in the second half, but at least the first half did provide some warmth and sun interspersed with thunderstorms. I remember that nature really took a while to get going that spring.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

what about 1979? cold spring ...dont think summer was up to much either..in fact i seem to remember the summers of 1977-1980 being meh 

[cheeky_monkey]

11 minutes ago, cheeky_monkey said:

what about 1979? cold spring ...dont think summer was up to much either..in fact i seem to remember the summers of 1977-1980 being meh 

so 1979 ...cold spring...cool summer ...every month below average except July which was bang on average 

[Summer of 95]

1993? Very unremarkable spring, remember it being unsettled but not too wet, no early warmth or late cold snaps. Then a summer that was just consistently cool, apart from a short spell I remember in late June when there were a few warm sunny days. Only hit 25C one day that year, several days in the second half of summer struggled to top 15C. Often cloudy as well but not as wet as some poor summers. It was in many ways similar to summer 2011 but without the out of season warm spells.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

During my lifetime and going by memory, I'd say 2012 hands down. Whilst there were a few warm sunny periods between March and August that year, it wasn't enough to save that spring/summer. A very poor spring/summer overall.

 

[Weather-history]

31 minutes ago, cheeky_monkey said:

so 1979 ...cold spring...cool summer ...every month below average except July which was bang on average 

Needs to be pointed out that June and July 1979 were drier than average. Infact, the combined EWP total of those months were just slightly less than that of June/July 2022.

So summer 1979 was not a washout. Even August 1979 was less than 100mm

[Downburst]

Sunshine posted this in 2006. Review of the terrible summer of 1985. A summer that kind of arrived in September and October. 

 

[Sunny76]

On 26/03/2023 at 17:52, Metwatch said:

I think some seem to forget but 2021 would be a contender. March was quite standard, dull and chilly at the start only last few days warm. 

April was sunny and dry but it was way too cold which for me dropped the rating a lot. 

May was a full on washout with days on end of heavy showers or longer spells of rain. 

The summer itself wasn't the worst though August was very cloudy and there wasn't that much warmth bar mid July and a little bit first half of June. Fair amount of days that had rain for most part of the day. 

2021 was the worst in recent years for me. Way too cold to be outside during that tail end of the second lockdown and last of the restrictions in May 2021, when it was very cold and dull until around the 20th. May was one of the worst I’ve known for many years.

The summer was cloudier and cooler than usual. August was particularly bad, the late august holiday, only touched 15-16c in London. That’s too cold in my opinion, and nothing close to a late summer temp.

[Sunny76]

4 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

what about 1979? cold spring ...dont think summer was up to much either..in fact i seem to remember the summers of 1977-1980 being meh 

Nothing we want to see again. Those were terrible, especially 1980. No warmth or sunshine.

[Sunny76]

4 hours ago, Summer of 95 said:

1993? Very unremarkable spring, remember it being unsettled but not too wet, no early warmth or late cold snaps. Then a summer that was just consistently cool, apart from a short spell I remember in late June when there were a few warm sunny days. Only hit 25C one day that year, several days in the second half of summer struggled to top 15C. Often cloudy as well but not as wet as some poor summers. It was in many ways similar to summer 2011 but without the out of season warm spells.

March 1993 had some warm days. I remember it well. I also remember some warm sunny days in April 93, mixed with dull and cool days with rain during Easter.

[Met.]

Spring 2013 and summer 2012.

So the period of June 2012-May 2013 was utter pants from my POV. Not the same calendar year OK but still within a year period.

Edited March 27, 2023 by MetCat

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, MetCat said:

Spring 2013 and summer 2012.

So the period of June 2012-May 2013 was utter pants from my POV.

Just goes to show even in a warming climate you will still get poor years of weather.

[A Face like Thunder]

On 26/03/2023 at 14:42, A Face like Thunder said:

1968 - by a country mile in my view, the 'year of disasters' as described by Philip Eden, culminating in the Surrey Floods of mid-September.

1962 - temperatures were below average every month from March to September inclusive, and the maximum temperature of the year in London was 25C 77F on 9th June. Imagine that now!

1st July 1968 was a remarkable day in that the temperature soared to 32C 90F in London and that was it so far as summer 1968 in London was concerned. A one-day summer if ever there was one! However, on the same day, there were violent thunderstorms in the West Country and S Wales which moved north to N England, the IOM and S Scotland the following day. Further severe flooding occurred on 9th and10th July in England & Wales and on 15th September in S E England (Philip Eden). A truly awful summer was 1968, but I was glad that my 'A' levels were not affected by extreme heat (we finished on 28th June), although I could have done with some better weather in the weeks following the completion of my exams and the end of my schooldays.

[Weather-history]

22 minutes ago, A Face like Thunder said:

1st July 1968 was a remarkable day in that the temperature soared to 32C 90F in London and that was it so far as summer 1968 in London was concerned. A one-day summer if ever there was one! However, on the same day, there were violent thunderstorms in the West Country and S Wales which moved north to N England, the IOM and S Scotland the following day. Further severe flooding occurred on 9th and10th July in England & Wales and on 15th September in S E England (Philip Eden). A truly awful summer was 1968, but I was glad that my 'A' levels were not affected by extreme heat (we finished on 28th June), although I could have done with some better weather in the weeks following the completion of my exams and the end of my schooldays.

The Manchester Summer Index was 215

That does not say awful summer to me at least here.   An awful summer would be 1954 with 147, 2020 had an index of 182 

[cheeky_monkey]

1 hour ago, Sunny76 said:

Nothing we want to see again. Those were terrible, especially 1980. No warmth or sunshine.

from what i can see the summers of 1977 & 1978 were the two coldest summers of the last 50 years both beating 1980..also both beat 1968 and 1962 but not quite 1972 which appears the coldest since 1960 

[hillbilly]

1 hour ago, cheeky_monkey said:

from what i can see the summers of 1977 & 1978 were the two coldest summers of the last 50 years both beating 1980..also both beat 1968 and 1962 but not quite 1972 which appears the coldest since 1960 

Just to note that temperature isnt everything when describing a poor summer.There have been many years in recent  times since 2007 that have been awful yet the temps have been decent whereas some of the 70s and 80s summers which were much cooler had better sunshine levels which to me is a better summer.

[damianslaw]

7 hours ago, Summer of 95 said:

1993? Very unremarkable spring, remember it being unsettled but not too wet, no early warmth or late cold snaps. Then a summer that was just consistently cool, apart from a short spell I remember in late June when there were a few warm sunny days. Only hit 25C one day that year, several days in the second half of summer struggled to top 15C. Often cloudy as well but not as wet as some poor summers. It was in many ways similar to summer 2011 but without the out of season warm spells.

1993 the year that springs to mind, consistently cool overall, a poor dull wet summer, no sustained warmth in Spring either. 

More recently 2012 was apart from the last 10 days of May preety terrible. August was ok but nothing special, April, most of May, June and July wet and cold. June was a shocker one of the worst summer months in living memory here.

2021 far better than those two years from a Lake District perspective.

 

[Weather-history]

10 hours ago, Weather-history said:

The Manchester Summer Index was 215

That does not say awful summer to me at least here.   An awful summer would be 1954 with 147, 2020 had an index of 182 

Look as though summer 2021 was similar to 1968, the further west and north you were the better.

Summer 1968 for W. Scotland was the driest since 1955, warmest since 1960, sunniest since 1960.

 

[A Face like Thunder]

2 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Look as though summer 2021 was similar to 1968, the further west and north you were the better.

Summer 1968 for W. Scotland was the driest since 1955, warmest since 1960, sunniest since 1960.

 

Fully agreed. The floods of September 1968 were caused by a low pressure system moving north from the Bay of Biscay and getting stuck over S England, and Eden noted that the floods did not get any further north than S Essex. I suspect that the floods of July 1968 were the same although these did get to N England and S Scotland on 2nd July. 

1954 - Eden says that this was the poorest summer in the second half of the twentieth century, and all months Jan to Oct bar March (+0.3) had below average temperatures, with just two days reaching 80F. So yes, a truly awful spring/summer which, perhaps fortunately, I do not remember as a 4 year old.