Summer 2020/Summer 2021 complete north/south divide

[Harry233]

Two summers that happened very recently but both had some very different weather patterns depending on where you were.

Summer 2020 is talked about in quite a high regard by a lot of people particularly in the south where it did seem to have a lot of good weather but for me in central Scotland it was a poor summer. June had a brief heatwave right at the start and at the end but it was mostly a dull, boring month with some notably cold days thrown it but due to the heatwave temperatures were unremarkable. July was generally cool and wet throughout the month with a few nicer days thrown in and aside from the last day there was virtually no hot weather. August did provide a respite from the cool and wet weather in the first week with something a little bit more settled and warmer but after a massive thunderstorm and flooding on the 12th the weather completely flipped again and the second half of August 2020 was one of the worst summer patterns I can remember. Very cool, very wet and dull many days failed to reach the low teens in this spell.

Then onto summer 2021 which I have very good memories from. Coming after a very disappointing May it was an absolute blessing. June was generally warm, dry and sunny throughout with only a couple of unsettled days. Consistently warm without any heatwaves either for example the highest maximum was 24.C which is a little bit low for June but the lowest maximum was 16.C which is the highest locally for me on record. July for the first three weeks was absolutely glorious. Plenty of sunshine and temperature well into the low/mid 20’s pretty much every day. Again like June there wasn’t much extreme hea, highest maximum was 27.C which is a little bit higher than average but even in some poorer July’s I’ve recorded higher. A brief cool and unsettled spell came in the last week which after all the nice warm weather was quite welcome. August was a little bit more unsettled particularly in the first half but nowhere near as bad as other August’s and there was still plenty of sunshine and reasonable temperatures. Then we had an amazing spell of warm sunny weather between the 22nd-29th. There was barely a cloud in the sky during that time after the early morning mist burnt off. The highest maximum was 26.C that month so again nothing spectacularly hot but still a little bit above average.

Summer 2021 was the hottest summer on record for parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland but in the south it was a much poorer summer.

 

what are your memories on these two seasons?

[TheOgre]

Being in the midlands we get a mix of both northern and southern features.

Summer 2020 is remembered for having intense heatwaves surrounded by weeks on end of dross. It was a very dull summer but 31 July was phenomenal considering how it sprung up out of anywhere and early August was extremely hot but was very wet, cool and dull afterwards.

Summer 2021 was more benign in comparison. There was no notable heat but it had a nice first half of June and a normal heatwave in mid July. Late June/early July was very wet and August was a drab, dry, dull month.

Edited January 17 by TheOgre

[LetItSnow!]

Peculiarly, I spent some of the summer of 2020 in the south and the north and it seemed to coincide with when both had poor periods. I spent all of June 2020 at home in the south-east. The month began bright but rather chilly with a northerly plunge. I remember the 6th being very windy and cool but bright. Mostly fine weather remained up until the middle of the month though it did eventually become somewhat cloudier and showery by the 12th. There were isolated and severe thunderstorms (one I got caught on foot in!) around the middle of the month, I wanna say about the 16th. It was more humid around this time but it wasn't especially hot. The hottest weather of the summer that I experienced was in late June when we got into the low-thirties. It was very sunny and there was virtually no thundery breakdown that I can recall. Cool weather resumed by the end of the month.

July 4th until mid-August I had to spend some time in the north-west of England for personal reasons. I remember the opening days of July were bright but showery and there was some intensely dark thunder clouds on the 2nd. The day I arrived in Carlisle was very cold and grey. Most of July followed suit. July 2020 was probably the first true poor summer month in my adult life I'd ever experienced as in the south-east, even in months like July 2012 and July 2015 you get spared by the location. There was virtually no sunshine all month and the temperature constantly seemed hoverered in the mid teens Celsius, rarely much above. I don't remember any great deluges but just lots of light to moderate rain and a very misty, murky feel. The 6th was a day of sunshine and blustery showers and the temperature fell into the low teens Celsius at points in the afternoon and I remember it feeling Artic and having warmer days in the winter just gone down south! Carlisle did see a glimpse of the heat spike on the 31st, the day itself being a strange one as it was very blustery yet very humid. The air smelled like the ocean. It was weird having the air be so hot and humid yet so windy. It got to about 30C there on that day so I'm not sure where that stands in the local records but it's probably impressive. The heat was literally gone the next day.

The first-half of August I spent there was mixed but quite decent for the average summer weather. Early August was quite mixed and cold with temperatures back into the mid to upper teens and the 5th I remember being a very cool and wet day. The hot air never made it to the north of England but high pressure did turn it warmer and drier. While the south baked in the mid-thirties it was rather humid but fine weather here with it in the mid-twenties. There were some thunderstorms in the area that didn't directly hit but I remember seeing lightning in the sky.

Mid-August I returned home, just as the heatwave was ending. The 14th was a horrendous day driving down with torrential rain. The second-half of August 2020 back home honestly felt like a warmer version of July up north. It rained almost every day with some intense showers and rain bands but oddly I don't remember thunder. I remember an exceptionally cool end to the month. The night of the 28th felt like November with some cold temperatures, blustery misty rain and a spooky feel. It did brighten up in the closing days and I remember the 31st being a nice evening but cool.

Had I experienced the heatwaves I think I'd have a far different perception of the summer of 2020 but I had a unique perspective of all the poor parts of the summer. I also had some personal bad times so when I think of the summer of 2020 I think of cloud, rain and misery - and that's from someone who likes cloud and rain!

It's interesting compared to the summer of 2021 which was cloudy, (relatively) cool and very dull in the south-east yet at no point felt quite as grim as 2020 did. Goes to show you how your life circumstances impact your perspective. I actually enjoyed the summer of 2021 for being cool, green and lacking heat spikes! 

[Harry233]

16 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

Peculiarly, I spent some of the summer of 2020 in the south and the north and it seemed to coincide with when both had poor periods. I spent all of June 2020 at home in the south-east. The month began bright but rather chilly with a northerly plunge. I remember the 6th being very windy and cool but bright. Mostly fine weather remained up until the middle of the month though it did eventually become somewhat cloudier and showery by the 12th. There were isolated and severe thunderstorms (one I got caught on foot in!) around the middle of the month, I wanna say about the 16th. It was more humid around this time but it wasn't especially hot. The hottest weather of the summer that I experienced was in late June when we got into the low-thirties. It was very sunny and there was virtually no thundery breakdown that I can recall. Cool weather resumed by the end of the month.

July 4th until mid-August I had to spend some time in the north-west of England for personal reasons. I remember the opening days of July were bright but showery and there was some intensely dark thunder clouds on the 2nd. The day I arrived in Carlisle was very cold and grey. Most of July followed suit. July 2020 was probably the first true poor summer month in my adult life I'd ever experienced as in the south-east, even in months like July 2012 and July 2015 you get spared by the location. There was virtually no sunshine all month and the temperature constantly seemed hoverered in the mid teens Celsius, rarely much above. I don't remember any great deluges but just lots of light to moderate rain and a very misty, murky feel. The 6th was a day of sunshine and blustery showers and the temperature fell into the low teens Celsius at points in the afternoon and I remember it feeling Artic and having warmer days in the winter just gone down south! Carlisle did see a glimpse of the heat spike on the 31st, the day itself being a strange one as it was very blustery yet very humid. The air smelled like the ocean. It was weird having the air be so hot and humid yet so windy. It got to about 30C there on that day so I'm not sure where that stands in the local records but it's probably impressive. The heat was literally gone the next day.

The first-half of August I spent there was mixed but quite decent for the average summer weather. Early August was quite mixed and cold with temperatures back into the mid to upper teens and the 5th I remember being a very cool and wet day. The hot air never made it to the north of England but high pressure did turn it warmer and drier. While the south baked in the mid-thirties it was rather humid but fine weather here with it in the mid-twenties. There were some thunderstorms in the area that didn't directly hit but I remember seeing lightning in the sky.

Mid-August I returned home, just as the heatwave was ending. The 14th was a horrendous day driving down with torrential rain. The second-half of August 2020 back home honestly felt like a warmer version of July up north. It rained almost every day with some intense showers and rain bands but oddly I don't remember thunder. I remember an exceptionally cool end to the month. The night of the 28th felt like November with some cold temperatures, blustery misty rain and a spooky feel. It did brighten up in the closing days and I remember the 31st being a nice evening but cool.

Had I experienced the heatwaves I think I'd have a far different perception of the summer of 2020 but I had a unique perspective of all the poor parts of the summer. I also had some personal bad times so when I think of the summer of 2020 I think of cloud, rain and misery - and that's from someone who likes cloud and rain!

It's interesting compared to the summer of 2021 which was cloudy, (relatively) cool and very dull in the south-east yet at no point felt quite as grim as 2020 did. Goes to show you how your life circumstances impact your perspective. I actually enjoyed the summer of 2021 for being cool, green and lacking heat spikes! 

That heat spike of the 31st July was bizarre. I remember the day started really misty and clammy. Kind of reminded me of being abroad, then the sun briefly came out and then it clouded over again by late afternoon but it was still very humid. Like you say I do remember the air smelling very weird. I can’t remember too many humid, warm, cloudy days ever in my area. 
 

Summer 2021 is definitely one of my favourite summers. It was a brilliant summer up in Scotland. The sun was out near enough every single day, there was only I think maybe three days that whole summer where it was cool and rainy all day and it was pleasantly warm with only a few really warm days. Coming after a very disappointing May it was very well appreciated.

[BruenSryan]

Summer 2020 was an abomination in Dublin, worst summer I have lived through for somebody who seeks the most amount of sunshine possible in this cloudy climate. It was my cloudiest on record, each month was very cloudy... June the cloudiest since 1993, July the cloudiest since 1986 and August the cloudiest on record. It was also very wet with below average temperatures. I did not get any heat from the August heatwave after the 7th. In fact, whilst places had nearly mid 30s on the 10th, I had low cloud, drizzle/light rain and 16C. This must be what it's like living on the northeast England coast during a heatwave or easterly period. Not jealous, don't usually get that here but that occasion had high humidity which was a recipe for it.

Summer 2021 was just fine. Doesn't stand out overall. I'd take it any year but meh. July heatwave was absolutely brilliant though and final week of August minus last 3 days was also wonderful bringing the best August weather I had seen in years despite such a poor, cloudy 3 weeks beforehand though August 2022 would be even better. July either side of that heatwave though was rubbish and June was fine but rather benign. Very dry but not much standout memorable warm, sunny days. 

[Summer8906]

Speaking as someone in the south I'd rate both summers as on the poor side but neither were utterly dire. 2021 probably the worst of the two. Certainly summer 2020 wasn't a good one here - it wasn't the worst, but was almost constantly rather unsettled. 2021 was poor from June 15 to around August 20 aside from that week or so in July.

June 2020 was very cloudy and rather unsettled though not horrendously wet, aside from a warm, rather cloudy and thundery spell from the 12th-17th or so and 4 fine days from the 20th-23rd.

July 2020 was mostly cool and cloudy though rather dry on the whole, though somewhat warmer in the 2nd half and then the short-lived heat spike on the 30th/31st. The former day was the sunny one while the 31st had a rather cloudy afternoon, it looked like a front went through but the evening remained very warm and humid even though the air had a more "Atlantic" look. Then the heat disappeared just like that overnight, though without rainfall, to produce more rather dull Atlantic westerlies until August 6th.

August 2020 had that one week of intensely hot and humid weather though was dull and unsettled for almost the remainder, except the Bank Holiday weekend which was cool and dry.

June 2021 was fine up to around the 15th then dull and wet.

July 2021 was dull and wet except between around the 13th-21st when it was hot and rather humid,

August 2021 was similarly dull and rather damp, though caused now by Atlantic westerlies rather than the earlier slack lows. The final third of the month was very much drier though still cool and cloudy at times.

Edited January 21 by Summer8906

[Sun Chaser]

Summer 2020 much worse having lived in the south west for both. Two brief heatwaves surrounded by weeks upon weeks of cloudy dross. Summer 2021 was mixed with some glorious spells of weather mixed in with some pretty poor ones but the poor spells of 2021 weren't as bad as the poor spells of 2020.

But 2020 was more memorable I guess with its heatwaves and the insanely sunny spring!

[Weather-history]

July 2020 was easily the worst summer month from those two summers. One thing going for summer 2020 was the thunder, best summer for thunder for some time. It had some similarities with summer 2004 how it panned out. 

Summer 2021 was a half decent summer here with June being the best. Also some decent thunder as well. 

[Frigid]

10 hours ago, Weather-history said:

July 2020 was easily the worst summer month from those two summers. One thing going for summer 2020 was the thunder, best summer for thunder for some time. It had some similarities with summer 2004 how it panned out. 

Summer 2021 was a half decent summer here with June being the best. Also some decent thunder as well. 

Same thoughts, mid June 2020 had some spectacular storms. The summer as a whole was quite cool, July 2020 could've easily been the coolest since 1988 but the late heatwave scuppered that. August had possibly the most humid spell of weather I can remember, incredibly uncomfortable. The final few days were quite pleasant and cool, an early start to Autumn that year. 

[Metwatch]

I always look back at summer 2020 fondly, and for various reasons not just the weather.

However it followed an incredible spring, leading into quite a thundery June, with that mid June storm outbreak. Late June was fairly nice with that heat spike, July less good, but still some usable days mixed in. Mid July to mid August I was away from the UK so didn't see the end of July heat spike / August heatwave. Came back just as storm Francis was approaching, an ok end to the summer nothing overly interesting. Then September was a stunner, warm days and quite dry before a more chilly end. The thing that makes me like the most in the extended summer of 2020 was the good balance between warmth mainly spring to early summer and September and the storms in June. 2023 was too wet for my liking, and 2022 / 2021 poor for storms, though 2022 wasn't too bad as September delivered for thunderstorms, and spring / summer was good enough for warmth / dryness.

Personally I loved the lockdown combined with the lovely spring, then being able to escape in mid summer, for some (especially younger folk or those who are extroverted) it seems it was some of the best times of their lives, while for older groups it was some of the worst.

 

For summer 2021, I remember it as very poor for thunderstorms, some nice days in June, but again I was out of the country mid July to mid August, and in 2021 most thunderstorms were in July. August 2021 was a borefest from what i've read but when I came back around the 20th at least it was mostly dry. I think @In Absence of True Seasons he mentioned also being away for a lot of August 2021 like me so missed a lot of that poorer part of the month. Following on from a cold spring I rate it fairly low. Was a shock to see such a chilly spring after 2020, but April wasn't too bad. Some warmth during September again which was nice though.

Edited January 23 by Metwatch

[East Lancs Rain]

First of all I am surprised 2021 was the hottest summer on record for parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland. I would’ve thought summer 2018 would have been hotter as I remember there were some very high temperatures recorded in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland during that summer.

 

Here in the north west of England, summer 2021 was the better summer here, although by the sound of it, it wasn’t as spectacular as it was up in Scotland, although it was still better than it was down south (at least from a sunshine perspective).

 

So here is how both summers panned out here.

 

 

Summer 2020

 

The first half of June was unseasonably cold and very cloudy with many days only in the low teens, thanks to a chilly NE flow. The middle of the month was warm and thundery. The last week was extremely hot with temperatures very close to 30°C. In the strong June sunshine, it felt way too hot. Then, the closing days of the month, it went to the other extreme - very cold, very wet and very windy, with temps only in the low teens. Within a couple of days it went from conditions you’d expect in Late July to conditions you’d expect in late November. I hated both extremes. I can’t remember such a huge change in temperature and weather conditions in such a short space of time before.

 

July 2020 was the worst July I can ever remember. There was no warmth whatsoever, almost every day was unseasonably cool. It was also wet and very cloudy. A triple whammy. The temperature was stuck in the low to mid teens. Every day was below 20°C, which is the average high in July here. One day around the middle of the month it was only about 12°C, overcast and rain and I had to put the central heating on as I was freezing. The temperature did not even reach 20°C until the final two days. I remember the 31st was sunny in the morning but cloudy in the afternoon, and very warm with temperatures in the high 20’s but overcast, an unusual combination here. It was the coldest July I’ve ever known, I recorded an average high of just 17°C, 3 degrees below the long term average here. Only two days exceeded 20°C. While July 2023 was also very cool, very cloudy and even wetter, it was at least a bit warmer than July 2020 was.

 

August was the best month of the summer here, although it still wasn’t great. Unlike further north, we did get the heatwave here, although (thankfully) it wasn’t as extreme as in the south. It was very warm/hot, quite sunny and quite humid. Temps I think were around high 20’s, maybe low 30’s on one or two days. I remember one evening around 10 pm it was about 22°C with 80% humidity. Quite a tropical feel, kind of like a Florida summer. 

 

I actually found it more bearable than the June heatwave however, because although it was more humid, it wasn’t as sunny and the sun isn’t as strong in August anyway. I saw a user on here say they actually found the August 2020 heatwave worse than the July 2022 one, but for me it was the other way around, I definitely found the July 2022 one much more intense. Maybe it’s because I don’t sweat that much so the humid conditions don’t bother me as much, as humid conditions make it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool you down. Think I’d rather deal with  lower temperatures and higher humidity than higher temperatures but lower humidity. When my mum had a dog, she noticed that the dog struggled more on days with high temperatures, but on days that were humid (but with lower temperatures) the dog was fine. This is because dogs don’t cool themselves down by sweating like we do, but by panting. So I think in general people who sweat a lot will tend to manage better in very high temperatures but with low humidity than people who don’t sweat much, as all that sweat evaporating will help to cool them down, but when it’s hot and humid, the person who sweats more will probably have a harder time, as they’re sweat does not evaporate as easily, but for the person who doesn’t sweat much, the high humidity won’t be as much as a problem for them. Perhaps those who enjoy the heat and can tolerate high temperatures are those who sweat more. Just a thought. Anyway, I went off on a bit on a tangent there. Back to talking about August 2020…

 

 

I remember one day a named storm (can’t remember the name) brought some unseasonably windy weather. I remember one afternoon it was around 16°C, wet and windy, and one afternoon it was around 18°C, partly cloudy and windy. I remember the closing days of the month were unseasonably cool. Temps were in single digits at night and only in the low teens by day. One afternoon it was around 13°C and overcast but also dry with light winds, so it didn’t feel too bad, although there was definitely a chill in the air.

 

Overall it was a very bi-polar summer, with rapid swings between unseasonably cold, wet and dull weather and extremely hot weather. I’m not a fan of either cool/cloudy/wet or baking hot weather, I prefer a happy medium, around 18-24°C and dry with plenty of sunshine is ideal for me, so there was very little usable and enjoyable weather in that summer for me. It was either too hot or it too cold, too wet and too cloudy. Summer 2019 was similar in some ways, with its intense heatwaves and periods of cool, wet weather, although July 2019 was much better than July 2020 here.

 

I enjoyed the Spring of 2020 a lot more than the summer. Spring 2020 felt summery a lot of the time with many sunny days in the high teens and low 20’s, whereas a lot of the time, Summer 2020 felt more like October. September 2020 was also much more pleasant than a lot of the actual summer, with a lot of pleasant sunny days in the mid to high teens. It was one of those years where the best weather occurred outside of the summer.

 

 

Summer 2021

 

This summer was better here and much more enjoyable for me. June 2021 was warm, dry and sunny here, I remember plenty of nice days with highs in the low 20’s, which is just about perfect for me. 

 

I remember the first week of July 2021 being quite wet and cloudy. I remember the rest of the month being a lot better though. There were plenty of days with highs in the low 20’s, plenty of dry days and plenty of sunshine. There was a heatwave during the third week, bringing lots of clear sunny days with it, although the heat was much more sensible compared to the mega heatwaves of summer 2019 and 2020, with highs of around 25-29°C here.

 

August was the poorest month of the summer here, although it wasn’t terrible by any means. It was quite a coolish, dry and benign month with no heatwaves, but there were a lot of pleasant days with a mix of clouds and sunshine and temperatures in the high teens and low 20’s, which is the most comfortable range for me in summer. The middle of the month was quite poor with some very overcast days, with rain and drizzle at times at temps only in the mid teens. This was the poorest period of the summer. However, the final week or so of the month was quite pleasant with an anticyclonic easterly flow, bringing a lot of gentle, pleasant, benign days with temps again in the high teens and low 20’s, with some cloudier days and some sunnier days. It wasn’t spectacular like it was further north, but it wasn’t the cloudfest that it was further south either, I remember some people in the midlands and the south complaining that they hadn’t seen the sun for days. I believe many eastern areas were very cool, cloudy and misty during this spell thanks to the wind coming from off the North Sea.

 

Overall, it was a pleasant summer here, with plenty of dry, sunny, usable weather and mild/warm temperatures in the high teens and low 20’s a lot of the time. June was warm, dry and sunny, July was also warm and quite sunny, although wet at times, and August was quite dry, although rather cool and cloudy at times. Overall, not a bad summer, with a lot of pleasant, dry, benign weather with comfortable temperatures and a lack of extremely hot weather and also a lack of extremely poor weather too which I really liked. It was like the opposite of Summer 2020 in many ways, where it was either one extreme or the other. I enjoyed Summer 2021 a lot more than Summer 2020. In fact, I’d say I enjoyed Summer 2021 more than Summer 2022 or 2023.

[Summer8906]

Interesting that July 2020 appears to have been the worst of the 6 months in the north, down here - while it wasn't great - it was easily the least bad month.

First half was cool and dull, second half was still cloudy at times but had a few bright days with temps reaching the average, even before the 2-day heat spike. It was also (at a guess) the only one of the 6 months which was drier than normal.

All the others were varying degrees of unsettled. No fan of August 2020 - the 7-day heatwave was perhaps the most humid and oppressive weather I've experienced, in or out of the UK, and the remainder of the month was quite horrendously dull and wet. One of the worst Augusts of the past 15 years, even considering they're a pretty poor lot! And June 2020 was basically unsettled throughout, except a warm/thundery 5 days beginning on the 13th and a warm/sunny 4 days beginning on the 20th.

Edited January 24 by Summer8906

[Harry233]

  @East Lancs Rain Yeah I didn’t explain it too clearly. Summer 2021 as a whole in Scotland was the fourth hottest on record. 2018 was hotter. In some western parts of Scotland and in a few areas of Northern Ireland 2021 was the hottest summer on record. 

[Harry233]

  @Metwatch September 2020 was a very good month as well and I do rate it very highly. We had some beautiful late summer weather during it especially around the 12-24th coupled in with some notably cold nights it was really good. I actually recorded my coldest September minimum during this month at -2.0.C on the 27th, beating 2012’s record of -1.1.C. It was a really good happy medium of some beautiful late summer weather but also the first of the real autumn chill.

[Sun Chaser]

  @Harry233 September 2020 was a brilliant month, a rare combination (in Sept) of very warm and sunny. I rate it higher than 2021 and 2023 for that reason. The extended summer of 2020 as a whole was great it was just a shame about the 3 months of actual summer!

[Thundery wintry showers]

I spent the summers in two different locations - summer 2020 in Exeter and summer 2021 in Lincoln, so this will influence my perspective. 

In Exeter I remember June 2020 being warm and changeable with average amounts of sunshine, following the record breaking sunny spring. It felt like a novelty in early June when it turned cloudier. There were a couple of thunder-days around midmonth. There was a brief hot spell around the 22nd-25th, moderated by southerlies off the English Channel, but the thundery breakdown at the end that had been forecast by GFS until the day before it was meant to happen failed to materialise. July 2020 I remember being cool, mostly dry but rather dull. August had 4 thunder-days which is pretty high for a summer month in Exeter, it got up to around 30C during the heatwave, then rather ordinary weather followed but I remember an unexpected thunderstorm from a frontal system around the 27th.

Summer 2021 in Lincoln was a mixed bag, but by May 2021, which produced 5 days with thunder, I was already finding out that Lincoln tends to get more thunderstorms than Exeter. June had a warm, dry, mainly sunny first half with one thunder-day on the 7th, but it was cooler and mainly cloudy in the second half. Overall though it was warmer, drier and sunnier than average. Then July was a particularly thundery month here, 7 days with thunder in total and some big thunderstorms on the 3rd and 4th. The first half was statistically somewhat dull but it didn't seem all that dull to me, probably because there tended to be a bit of sun on each day and I was excited by the frequent showery and thundery activity. The heatwave in the 3rd week saw plenty of sunshine, raising July's sunshine total close to the long-term normal, temperatures of up to 30C, a minor thundery breakdown on the 23rd and then more showers and thunder to end the month. August however felt like a "nothing" month, quite dry but very dull. I had high hopes of some sunshine from the anticyclonic spell in the last third of August, but after a day and a half of sunshine, North Sea stratocumulus spread inland and proved remarkably persistent.

Overall, two mixed bags really, and like TheOgre it is clear that I got a mix of the northern and southern features of summer 2021, but I think I timed the move well as far as thunder frequency goes, because Exeter had quite a thundery summer by Exeter standards in 2020, but had very little thundery activity in 2021, when in July Lincoln seemed to be a magnet for thunderstorms early and late in the month.

Edited January 27 by Thundery wintry showers

[Harry233]

  @Sun Chaser I agree. September 2021 was also a good month, although as much as a love the hot summer weather I do like a bit of autumnal weather come September. September 2020 was perfect for that, we had some lovely warm afternoons but then with the clear skies at night it meant that there was some notably chilly nights well into the low/mid single figures and even some air frosts. Which is what I like, it was nice to finally have some nice weather after such a poor summer. 

September 2021 was a lot more warm there was a lot of days well into the mid 20’s but there was also a lot of humid nights. The mean maximum for me was 18.8.C and mean minimum was 11.7.C. Around 2.C above average, warmest locally for me since I started keeping a record in 1999. I think after such a good summer I was looking forward to some crisp autumnal days, which never came and then it never came. October and November that year were also very mild. I didn’t record my first frost until the third week of October and then another one until the second week of November. 

[Sun Chaser]

 Harry233 Didn't love September 2021. The first week was stunning with some heat records broken but after that it was often wet, humid or cloudy (though there were some more nice days around midmonth). I do remember a cracking thunderstorm on the 8th though. Then it turned cool and unsettled around the 23rd.

Sep 2020 was a fair bit drier and sunnier which I find most important that time of year!

Having said that we've had 6 decent (or better) Septembers on the trot now. 2022 was iffy at times and 2023 had a poor second half counteracted by an incredible first half. But all had some consistent great moments which wouldn't have been seen in a lot of Septembers from 2007-2017

[Harry233]

 Sun Chaser Yep I agree, a poor September for me is pretty rare and I’ve recorded some very dry Septembers. Going back 25 years or so I would say the only poor September’s I can really remember are 2017, 2008, 2001, 2000 and 1998. 

[Sun Chaser]

 Harry233 I'd add 2012 and 2013 (and most of 2011) but I agree!

[baddie]

August 2021 is another one of those "let-down" summer months after a good first two months (as with 2006, 2014, 2017?? and 2018)

I quite liked June 2021 despite the second half being as dull as dishwater. I loved most of July 2021, but the last few days ruined it (The month was wetter and duller than average, but cloud was more hazy, so it didnt feel that depressing)

May was terrible in my area, but September was good, so they offset each other. So, I would say the extended summer 2021 period was average for me
 

Edited February 12 by baddie

[Sunshineandshowers84]

Summer 2021 up here in West of Scotland was actually a good summer. We didn’t beat in records but for weeks of sunny and dry weather this was a good one.. May was a dreadful once. We came out of lockdown partially and could only use pubs outdoors for drinking. May was awful for this and the up until the last few days it was very cold month with frequent wintry showers so not warm in anyway.

Come the final week of May the tables turned with much warmer weather and sunshine which was due too. This carried on right into nearly the full month of June.. There was several blips during July but the decent weather returned after early August and this continued into September. It was unusual for warm and dry weather in August but it turned out a good month with the high pressure continuing into the September. 
 

2022 turned into a decent summer further east but much more cloudier days here with Eastern Scotland getting much sunnier summer as often our winds were SW/W that summer and High Pressure brought a lot more cloudy weather or fronts pushing to the west adding to it.

[Harry233]

 Sunshineandshowers84 May 2021 was by far the worst May I have ever experienced. It was awful, cold wet and windy aside from the final couple of days. I recorded maxima of 5.C on the 5th and snow showers. It was absolutely abysmal. Considering April had many cold nights spring that year never seemed to get going. It was just cold then completely flipped to summer.

Summer 2022 was also a cracking summer and you’re right I think for eastern Scotland it was definitely better than 2021 (I usually get the best of both regardless of wind direction) . Spring 2022 was pretty unremarkable, May had some good weather but it wasn’t overly warm. I went to Mexico at the start of June on holiday. I came back on 15th and I remember June from then on was pretty much continually warm and sunny aside from a couple of heavy showers from time to time (first half was quite unsettled). July had two phenomenal heatwaves (6th-11th) and then again from the (17th-20th) I recorded a maximum of 32.0C on the 19th which I believe is a record for Perth. 31.1.C was my next highest both recorded in July 2013 and June 2018. July while it had its very warm and sunny weather I didn’t think wasn’t as settled as July 2021. There was still a few days of cloudy and wet weather. The last week I recall being rather disappointing. August 2022 was the warmest and sunniest August since 2003. It was a cracking month compared to recent August’s. There was plenty of hot and sunny weather in the first half and even the second half while a good bit cooler still had plenty of sunny weather. There was a lot of warm and sunny days on the east coast that year and that was a rare summer where I recorded a maximum of 26.C or above in every month. 

[danm]

Summer 2020 down here in the SE was a mixed bag but we had a very good "peak" Summer period (mid July to mid August). Heathrow records below show loads of hot and sunny weather between 12th July and 13th August, including one of the most intense heatwaves i've experienced in the UK with 6 consecutive days above 33c, four of which were above 35c.

 

 

The rest of August was poor and early July wasn't great either. There was a brief hot spell at the end of June which also had 3 consecutive days above 30c down here. 

When you combine the exceptional Spring, with the peak Summer heat and then an excellent September, that March to October period in 2020 had a lot of very good weather. 

[Summer8906]

 danm Just looking at those stats illustrates how much better London has it than coastal Hampshire these days!

Certainly looks a good deal warmer than I remember; many of the warm days you got I don't remember at all, for example I don't think we got anywhere near 28.5 on July 17th. I do remember about a week of pleasantly warm and moderately bright weather perhaps from the 16th onwards, but it didn't exceed around 23, if I remember right. Sat 25th was very dull and wet then we got a sunny day on the 27th and possibly the 28th, cloudy IIRC on the 29th before the heat spike arrived on the 30th.

I also seem to remember July 11th and 13th being isolated sunny days with average temps with all the other days in that period of July being cool and cloudy, before it improved on around the 16th as noted above.

The 3rd-5th August I remember as being distinctly dull, rather cool and at times damp - the heat arrived very suddenly on the afternoon of the 6th. Following the breakdown of the heat spike I remember the 2nd (Sunday) being sunny but none of the other first 5 days of August.

Edited February 26 by Summer8906