UK Weather - Summer 2013

[Simon Culling]

A change of season and at last an improvement in the weather with three glorious sunny days in a row...Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (2nd to 4th June), although it is still on the cool side, with max temps here in Milton Keynes of 17-18*C on all three days. The nights have been nippy with a touch of ground frost locally.

The CET for June up to the 3rd is 12.2*C (-0.9*C) and the EWR is zero....no rain over England + Wales.

The settled weather is thanks to a high pressure cell that has moved north over the UK, but the feed has remained off a cold North Sea.....SST's are 2-3*C below average thanks to the cold spring. It should remain fine into the weekend and a little warmer as well, but the more changeable conditions look likely to return next week. No sign of any decent convection.....yet.

[Simon Culling]

West is best at the moment in the UK with persistent east or north east winds meaning the cold North Sea (SST's of between 8-10*C) is keeping the east rather cool. Despite wall to wall sunshine yesterday (Tues 4th June) over all of England and Wales there was quite a big difference in temperature. Max temps near the east coast were cool, with just 13.2*C at both Cromer (Norfolk) and Donna Nook (Lincs), but it reached 23.5*C at Auchincruive (Ayrshire, SW Scotland) and 22.2*C at both Crosby (nr Liverpool) and Prestwick (also Ayrshire). It was also warm in Wales and SW England with max temps of 22.9*C at Porthmadog and 21.1*C at St Athan (nr Cardiff) and Yeovilton (Somerset).

Current model predictions give us a warm and sunny end to the week and through the weekend, but the cooler and changeable weather is due to return next week.

[Simon Culling]

Some unexpected convection yesterday - Friday 7th June - and into Saturday morning. The generally dry and sunny weather has continued with cool conditions in the east and rising temperatures as you head west - up to 24.7*C at Porthmadog in west Wales on Friday. Here in Milton Keynes it was mostly sunny on Friday with a max of 20*C, but we did have patchy Ac and some of it castallatus in form, which is indicative of thundery weather.

Storms had developed over northern France during Thursday (6th June) and the plume of mid level moisture and instability extended north overnight into Friday morning and the showers and storms were able to keep going despite the English Channel having SST's of 10-12*C at the moment. The instability was too high above the boundary layer to be affected by this reservoir of cool. The storms only affected southern counties of England but evidently produced a decent lightning display and some loud booming thunder and up to 10mm of rain in places. The thundery pool moved SW overnight into Saturday and gave some potent storms in the far west of Cornwall with some flooding and power outages reported.

[NZstorm]

Interesting report Simon. I notice the European thunderstorm season is finally firing up.

[Simon Culling]

CET for June up to the 9th (Met Office page not updating) is 13.0*C (-0.4*C) and the EWR was just 1mm. It has been cool and showery this last week with a few thunderstorms in the Midlands so the rainfall total will have risen quite a bit since them. I have been in London this week on an environmental course and it has been mostly cloudy and breezy with a few showers, although it has been very muggy. The photos below were taken on Thursday (13th) evening (about 8pm) from Putney Bridge in the SW of the capital. The Cu is at 3500ft and the Sc sheet at 6000ft according to the observations from Heathrow a few miles to the SW. You can see an underground train on the bridge in the first photo as the tube is often above ground away from the centre of London.

[Orion]

Nice pictures

[Simon Culling]

Thanks Orion. The week ahead offers a small hope of convection, although much of it is likely to be elevated. A thundery low will persist over France for much of the week and this will push some of the warmth and moisture northwards at times, particularly Wednesday and Thursday. It is going to be hot over the near continent, but it appears little of that real warmth will reach the UK. However, it is a finely balanced situation and there is at least some chance of a few thunderstorms.

Another rather cool day today with a max of just 17*C and a little rain in the middle of the day. At least we had a little late sunshine and the cirrostratus sheet this morning did give a good full halo around the sun for a couple of hours.

A close finish to the one-dayer in Cardiff at the moment with New Zealand needing 30 off 11 balls. The wicket of Williamson was a bit controversial, but the key point is where the bowlers foot lands rather than where it ends after sliding. A very close one for the umpires.

[Simon Culling]

I know you guys are occupied with your own snow at the moment, but it has warmed up, albeit briefly, here in the UK, with some of that hot and humid air making it across the Channel. Today (Weds 19th) it was warm in the SE of England, although the sun was rather hazy due to plenty of Ac and cirrus. Max temps were:

26.4*C at Herstmonceux (E Sussex)
26.3*C at St James Park (central London)
26.1*C at Charlwood (Surrey), Gravesend (Kent) + London Heathrow Airport
25.2*C at Church Lawford (Warwicks)
24.7*C at Exeter Airport

It has been hot on the near continent (France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria etc) with temperatures up to 36*C and there have been plenty of powerful thunderstorms, but they are staying on that side of the Channel. Some rain and the odd storm will move north over us tonight and tomorrow but we will be on the cool side of affairs and a big low is set to move in at the weekend returning us to cool Atlantic air....so it looks like summer has lasted for one day!

[Simon Culling]

I have been in Greece for the last week or so where it was hot and sunny everyday, although not oppressive. Back in the UK it was a mixed week but still rather cool. We returned to a lovely sunny day in the UK yesterday (Sunday 30th June) with the highest temperature of the year so far of 27.2*C being recorded at London Heathrow Airport. The warmth was concentrated in the south east with stations local to me only reaching 22-23*C, but at least it was sunny!

CET for June up to the 27th was 13.8*C (-0.2*C) and the EWR to the 26th was just 29mm, only 44% of the average. The Met Office have boldly predicted a warmer, drier and sunnier than average July. Many are hoping they are correct this time.

[jamie]

Ive never been to the UK before so i might be worng here but everything I read about the weather there says its a dreary old place thats cold/cool and cloudy.

No sun in the winter and no real warmth during the summer. How do so many people put up with that?

[spwill]

Ive never been to the UK before so i might be worng here but everything I read about the weather there says its a dreary old place thats cold/cool and cloudy.

no real warmth during the summer.

UK Summer weather can be great, the heat comes in spells and it can be very humid, a warmer feel than NZ heat generally, certainly the case for London from my experience.

[Simon Culling]

Hello Jamie, the weather is not so bad here in the UK, but we do complain about it all the time, whether it is hot, cold, wet or dry! That is why your friends across the Tasman Sea call us 'Whinging Poms'....well, maybe only one of the reasons.

Spwill is correct about the heat......we do get warm spells, but it is often humid at the same time, which can make it rather uncomfortable. The weather has changed today (Thurs 4th July) with a high pressure building from the SW and this will take residence over the UK for the next week or so giving us a long dry spell with increasing temperatures. It should reach 27-28*C this weekend and upwards of 30*C next week. Doubtlessly, we will be complaining about how hot it is.

I will post some average figures for my part of the UK shortly that will show that the weather is not all bad.

CET for June ended at 13.6*C (-0.6*C), meaning all 6 months this year have been below the average. The EWR was just 37mm which is only 57% of the average.

[spwill]

I see London had a max of 28.1C yesterday, 28C forecast again today, dewpoint 15-16C.

[Simon Culling]

Yes indeed spwill, the high yesterday of 28.1*C at Heathrow was the highest so far this year in the UK. It is likely to be exceeded today, Sunday 7th. Max temps for Saturday were:

28.1*C at London Heathrow
28.0*C at RAF Northolt
27.7*C at St James Park in central London
27.3*C at Church Fenton + RAF Dishforth (both in N Yorks)
26.0*C at Fyvie Castle (Aberdeenshire).....the highest temp in Scotland so far this year.

Surprisingly the CET up to the 5th is only 15.4*c (-0.1*C) but this will rise quickly this week. The EWR up to the 5th is only 4mm and that will be going nowhere soon.

Dry, hot and sunny is the forecast this week with a bit of a cool off mid-week (as the winds come in off the North Sea), but warming up next weekend when we could see 32*C+ in England.

[Simon Culling]

Sunday 7th July was another sunny and warm day....it was very hot playing cricket, believe you me. Maximum temperatures recorded at Met Office sites were:

29.7*C at Bournemouth Hurn Airport
29.5*C at London Heathrow
28.7*C at RAF Northolt
28.4*C at RAF Brize Norton + Middle Wallop
28.2*C at Santon Downham + Cardiff Bute Park (the highest temp in Wales so far this year)

With the winds from the NE the highest temperatures tend to be SW and W of London and in this case were probably near the coasts of Dorset + Hampshire. Further to the SW there were notable highs of 27.2*C at Cardinham (on Bodmin Moor) and 25.7*c at Plymouth the most south westerly English city. These are high temperatures for these two stations.

[Simon Culling]

The heat has remained but has migrated west and north, with Ireland, Scotland and the SW of England unusually having the highest temperatures for the last four day, with:

Monday 8th July, 29.9*C at Edenfel, Co Tyrone
Tuesday 9th July, 29.4*C at Shannon Airport, Co Claire
Wednesday 10th July, 29.5*C at Shannon Airport
Thursday 11th July, 28.8*C at Castlederg, Co Tyrone

It has been mostly sunny in the south of England but much cooler as the feed has been from the N Sea. However, the warmer air is coming south in the next few days and we should see 30*C somewhere in England by Saturday.

EDIT: 29.0*C was recorded at Newport, Co mayo on the 11th, just pipping Castlederg to the hotspot.

[Simon Culling]

The hot weather continued today with the highest temperatures still in the north and the west, but the hot air will be migrating south over the weekend with the heat transferring to southern and central England with the prospect of a few isolated thunderstorms developing. Top temperatures on 12th July were:

29.5*C at Oak Park (Co Carlow, Eire)
29.2*C at Bramham (N Yorks)
29.1*C at Church Fenton + Thomastown
28.7*C at Dishforth, Leeming + Linton-on-Ouse (all in Yorkshire)
28.5*C at Dublin Casement Aerodrome, Charterhall (Berwickshire) + Leuchars (Fife)

It is likely that 30*C will be exceeded for the first time this year somewhere around London on Saturday (13th) and this should be high enough to trigger a few showers to the north of London up into the east Midlands. My grass could do with some rain.

CET is 17.1*C (+1.4*C) up to the 11th and the EWR is just 4mm up to the 10th. All the models are suggesting at least another week of hot weather, but do hold out the prospect of a number of convective opportunities.

EDIT: A late report from an Eire climate station gives 30.1*C as the max for the 12th. This figure was reported from Durrow in Co Laois.

[Simon Culling]

The hot weather has continued with the high pressure (only 1029mb) to our SW with a strong enough ridge to keep any Atlantic weather fronts mostly to the north of the UK, although Scotland has and will get some cloud and rain from these systems. Hot in the south yesterday with the highest temperature of the year (so far) recorded in both England and Wales. Max temps on Saturday 13th were:

31.4*C at London Heathrow Airport
30.8*C at Exeter Airport + Pershore College (Herefordshire)
30.7*C at Pershore (Throckmorton) Airfield
30.5*C at Brize Norton, South Farnborough + St James Park, London
30.4*C at RAF Benson (Oxon)
30.2*C at Llysdinam (Powys)

It was a lot cooler on the English south coast due to an onshore breeze from the English Channel with max's of just 18.0*C at Langdon Bay (Kent) and 19.1*C at Shoreham (W Sussex). I expect those who went to the beach for the day from inland areas got a bit of a shock. For example, at Herstmonceux (5km form the Sussex coast) the max was 23*C and at Wiggonholt (15km from the coast) the max was 28*C.

[Richard]

Getting some good summer time temps now Simon

[Simon Culling]

Yes indeed we are Richard. And its been a shock to the system for some. Since the first of the warm days in this run (Thursday 4th July) the maximum temperatures here in Milton Keynes up to today (Monday 15th) were:

23, 24, 26, 27, 23, 25, 19, 20, 24, 30, 28 and 28. This gives an average of 24.8 compared to an average of 21.5 for July as a whole.

9 out of those 12 days were either mostly sunny or sunny, so it has been very nice to get what we might consider as 'continental' weather here at home.

The run of hot sunny days is expected to continue until at least Friday for most of England + Wales with some independent forecasters saying it will last through next week with temperatures peaking at 32-33*C. We shall see.

[Janos]

Ive never been to the UK before so i might be worng here but everything I read about the weather there says its a dreary old place thats cold/cool and cloudy.

No sun in the winter and no real warmth during the summer. How do so many people put up with that?

Admittedly im originally from Dunedin but to be perfectly honest ive had better summers here in England than i recall experiencing back home in NZ. This latest spell is an example what I find is that the periods of fine weather do tend to last longer. England is a great country to live in with delightful country side unlike the almost treeless farmland that I grew up in.

[Richard]

yes Dunedin doesn't generally get very good summers.

[Simon Culling]

Another four sunny days here in Milton Keynes (Mon-Thurs 15-18th July) with maximum temperatures of 28*C, 29*C, 30*C and 27*C respectively. Its getting a bit boring now.

The sunny and hot weather has persisted over England and Wales, although a few heat of the day thunderstorms did develop on Weds and Thurs. One to thewest of London on Wednesday gave 24mm in three quarters of an hour, but they were very localised. The air was only just moist enough and they formed on sea-breeze convergence fronts and died as soon as they got established. I could see one from home, but it was 30 miles to my south. Maximum temperatures for the last 4 days in the UK were:

Monday 15th July, 30.9*C at London Heathrow
Tuesday 16th July, 31.2*C at Kew Gardens, London
Wednesday 17th July, 32.2*C at Hampton Water Works, south London
Thursday 18th July, 30.5*C at Bournemouth Hurn Airport

These are no where near records, but the length of this warm/hot spell is noteworthy. Much of England and Wales have already had their average amount of July sunshine after just 18 days...approx. 200hrs.

[NZstorm]

Admittedly im originally from Dunedin but to be perfectly honest ive had better summers here in England than i recall experiencing back home in NZ. This latest spell is an example what I find is that the periods of fine weather do tend to last longer. England is a great country to live in with delightful country side unlike the almost treeless farmland that I grew up in.

The climate of Otago is very similar to the UK climate and London would get a better summer than Dunedin. I have lived in both Dunedin and London and London's summer is hotter, no question. London is inland like Alexandra where as Dunedin is coastal.

[spwill]

Dunedin has a better Winter than London but yes the coastal Otago climate suffers from the onshore wind being a cool/cold wind due to sea temperature and proximity to cold air flows to the south.