Worryingly Wet & Worryingly Sunless

[LetItSnow!]

I feel like years like 1986 where grey and unpleasant weather lasted well into the spring, while they probably did get taxing, they at least had cold and snow to make it enjoyable (for some of us). If 2024 had been similarly unsettled but an inverted temperature profile, aka cold and snowy throughout, at least it would have been fun and worth it. I feel like persistently mild and dull zaps the life out of everything. Everything gets grown prematurely, before you know it the blossom has blown away by early April and the daffodils look sad and then it's just muted greens by May. At least in a delayed spring I feel like you can enjoy things eventually. I don't remember spring 2013 feeling so bland. April 2013 even had a very warm and sunny spell. April 2024 just had a very warm sector within a low pressure system lmao.

[Emz by the Thames]

As well as the well documented issue of Thames Water and the sewage discharge into he Thames, riverside businesses also have to contend with almost constant Red Boards since autumn due to so much rainfall. Even if it goes yellow, either it's poor weather for it's back onto red within days, so no-one is taking their boats out.

A dangerously fast river full of poop.....plus endless grey skies in May = no customers.

Edited May 3 by Emz by the Thames

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 SunSean Yeah I'm generally a positive, outgoing person but this prolonged period has made me feel so insular, subdued, and just sort of...hollow, I guess is the word. Like i'm in a sort of fugue-state, an extra from the Walking Dead, lol.  

Several factors are involved here - the last 3 or so months of weather can not be taken in isolation. Conditions like this (dull and wet) compound over time, mentally, and in this case, 2024 is more-or-less just a continuation of the dominant theme of 2023. We are not having these conditions after a mostly dry and sunny year like 2022 was, wherein it wouldn't feel so all-consuming. 

High Summer 2023 was incredibly poor. Probably the worst in my life aside from 2012. Spring 2023 was also largely dire, especially in the SE. In the entirety of the last 12-14 months, for sunny, dry and warm weather we've basically had 3 weeks in June, a literal handful of days in Jul-Aug, the week in Sept and a few days in Oct, and then the week in Jan this year (not warm, obviously, but dry, sunny and great wintry weather IMO, so adding it to the list). 

Proceeding that, Feb, March and April this year were effectively write-offs, bar 2 or 3 reasonably warm, sunny days. May is looking mixed, but will be nothing special undoubtedly. Indeed, even next week's weather which everyone is foaming at the mouth about, is just smack-bang average weather for May in the SE - 17-20c and sunny spells. Sure, a far sight better than whatever Cthulhu-esque depths today's weather has spewed from, but nevertheless, largely just average weather (and hence very telling about how deprived we've been of anything pleasant to be jumping for job at 5 days of high teens and partly sunny).

It's the protracted nature of this 'pattern' (can we even call it that by this point?) that makes it seem so hopeless. A real 'never-ending' feeling. 

[B87]

 LetItSnow! Didn't spring 2013 still have bare trees at the start of May? April 2013 may have had a sunny spell, but that spring was still very dull overall. Of course June 2013 was still cool and dull, and it didn't really get going until July.

I'd rather have a spring with average temperatures, rainfall and sunshine. I'm sure such a season would be appreciated by most, and shouldn't be too difficult to ask for.

March: 12c, 35-40mm, 120-130 sun hours

April: 15c, 40-45mm, 175-180 sun hours

May: 18c, 40-50mm, 200-215 sun hours

Edited May 3 by B87

[LetItSnow!]

 B87 Some but even then there was a nice spring feel. This is an image taken on Primrose Hill on 6 May 2013. I remember this day well actually. It was a warm and sunny day with temperatures around the 20C mark. One of the only warm days like it during that month . That image is how parts looked this year about a month earlier than that.

 

These were taken on the 12th and growth was established.

 

 

 

Edited May 3 by LetItSnow!

[B87]

 LetItSnow! A very late leaf out in spring 2013. Not what I'd expect when I think of spring colour.

Heathrow stats suggest just 3 days of 20c for the entire month, closer to a typical April than May.

Edited May 3 by B87

[LetItSnow!]

 B87 I dunno, looks pretty green to me. Even though there's no doubt it was behind that year, very mild springs in recent times have warped our sense of normal leaf, particularly the young (me!).

[B87]

 LetItSnow! I'd expect to see things leafed out by late April in an average spring. The picture from the 12th is what I'd expect it to look like on the 1st. The picture from Primrose Hill I'd have guessed 15th April had I not known the year.

May 2013 had 184 hours of sun, so quite a dull month as well. February and April had average sun, but then nothing sunny until July and August that year, before it then turned dull again. November was sunnier than average, December was average. Overall a dull year. Do not want a repeat of that!

Edited May 3 by B87

[Sun Chaser]

 B87 I don't know about the rest of the country but down here we've actually fallen behind leaf wise. The tree growth seems to have stayed stagnant since early April and some trees are still bare. What's strange is how blossom and leafing started so early this year - mid Feb on some trees - yet the trees now are easily as behind as they were this time in 2021 or 2013.

[SunSean]

 In Absence of True Seasons I'm a fan of balance in nature so to balance out the conditions since March 2023-

12 out of those 14 months have seen above 50mm rainfall so I think it would be only fair now, to see 12 of the next 14 months, below 50mm. Not a big ask as I'm not exactly asking for a load of sub 10mm months (Although that would be lovely jubbly)!

11 out of those 14 months (For my area, Shoebury) have been below average for sunshine so for balance sake, it would be fair for 11 of the next 14 months to be above average for sunshine!

Even worse, only 14 out of the last 94 days in my area have had days with 50%+ sunshine, which is by all intents & purposes, utterly, utterly dreadful so to compensate, I'd expect 80 out of the next 94 days to be above 50%+ sunshine!

Only fair surely?

Anyone that is a fan of the current weather cycle we've been in since March 2023, has pretty much won the lottery. We're well overdue a different type of weather.

[Sentinel]

 SunSean For balance, I refer you to the years 1990 - 1994 when Essex had below average rainfall for five consecutive years. I remember 1990 when we had just 10.5 inches of rain in Southend, by 1994 the whole area was parched and my rugby pitches were painful to play on. All we are getting now is a redistribution of nature but over many years.

I normally swim in the sea off Thorpe Bay but have only swum twice this year due to the cold and the constant south / south-westerly winds. I have never known so much of our sailing to be cancelled. Having said that 1990 - 1994 we sailed almost every week all through the year. Swings and roundabouts as far as the weather is concerned.

[SunSean]

 Sentinel I was only a little toddler in that time period unfortunately. Would love another 1995 Summer, or even year in general!

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 SunSean Agree.

Issue is, our climate has no concept of a sense of 'fair'. It just does what it does, and most of the time, that 'does' is utter dross. 

A balancing out of 'the force' would be great, but I don't bet on it happening in the way we want it to.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

 Emz by the Thames I feel awful ...

[Wade]

 SunSean Fair doesn't come into it, I tell you why it has been this pattern since spring 2023, spring 2023 was ruined by the late SSW and then El Nino kicked in after that which fires up the jet and we've been in El Nino since then and we have had another late SSW this year which has ruined this spring as well. It hasn't got anything to do with unfairness, it is just the way nature has been recently.

[Summer of 95]

100.4 hours for Shawbury in April, just scraped the 100 but a 10th successive month under 120 for the first time since the records start in 1946. Some stats about how dull it has been since last July:

209.7 hours for February to April 2024 (60.3%; average 347.6); three Aprils in the last 10 years have had more than that by themselves (2015, 2020 and 2021). The dullest such period on record (second dullest 219.3 in 2005). A nearly 40% deficit over a 3-month period is just atrocious!

Dec 2023-April 2024: 294.2hrs (65.3%, average 450.3). The average Dec-April sunshine in Reykjavik is 372.5 hours, just for comparison.

July 2023-April 2024: 780.1hrs (70.6%, average 1105.4)- only one month, November, sunnier than average. Less than the only such period that was remotely close, in 1957-58 (794.5). The 325 hours below average over 10 months is around the equivalent of an average April plus an average August, or an average June plus an average September (Reykjavik July-April average: 970 hours).

And we haven't even started in the rainfall yet.....

 

[Fen Wolf]

 Emz by the Thames thank you mate, hope you feel good too soon.  
 

Yes i have really struggled and still am.  We need thunderstorms at night following long dry sunny dats with no humidity for the perfect day ️

 *Stormforce~beka* i promise you will feel good very soon . Sending a big furry warm wolf hug your way

[*Stormforce~beka*]

 Fen Wolf Awww your a sweety. Thank you x

[SunSean]

What a refreshing change LOL.

Back to the same old pattern. Last week seems like a dream & now I've awoken back to the nightmare of reality!

Not the filth I want to see dominate a year.

How long til we get out of it this time? I'll be optimistic and guess for mid July lol.

[Metwatch]

I was going to mention how quiet it's been in this thread in recent weeks which is definitely a good sign! An extra 6mm this morning here bringing the monthly total to 12mm, an improvement by far no rain between 4th May and yesterday evening. Footpaths last week were also much drier and pleasant to cycle / walk on finally!

I imagine many places won't see a drier than average May now, but I think for parts of the Midlands and in the east it's possible given it's been much drier than the south west, as long as this week isn't too wet and any longer spells of rain stays further north / east.

Only a handful of flood alerts left in the south which are all from groundwater rather than rivers and that's pretty normal following a wet autumn / winter, can take months to subside.

[richie3846]

A couple of screenshots from the English environment agency water reports. The north west has its wettest April on record. It's extraordinary to see saturated soils at the end of April for so much of the country. 

[Heat lover]

My personal preference would be for it to be hot and sunny all the time from May to September, but one encouraging thing I'm seeing for the next few days is a bit of what I'd call "average" UK weather: i.e. not especially sunny, bit cloudy but without too much rain and reasonably warm for the time of year. My impression is that this has really been lacking for the past 18 months. Apart from the relatively brief spells of settled, sunny weather (e.g June 2023), it's otherwise been cloudy AND very wet. I'll take this for now. Is this an encouraging sign of a change?

[Fen Wolf]

Was lovely today where i was, dry all day somehow