Summer 2018 - General Discussion

BliainanAir

sryanbruen wrote: »

Why referring to September or October though when we haven't even reached that point in 2018?

Yes this September and October could be lovely. But the summer has lost it's sparkle since mid July and especially August.

August is fine in terms of a very good Irish summer month but it's far from exceptional, and that's why i can't compare 2018 with 1995 or 1976. It's not as consistent. 1st June to mid July....probably the best on record. Since then, good but not where it needs to be to make an exceptional summer.

sryanbruen

appledrop wrote: »

This is it in a nutshell. The start of August was warm but after that very little sunny hot days. Yes a few days over 20 degrees but only barely + most humid cloudy days which are no use I suppose we have short memories + for an amazing summer you need a few memorable days in August which we didn't get this year.

June 2018 was perfect enough for me to bank this Summer in my memories, it's not hard to impress me though in honesty (my favourite Summer before 2018 was 2010 for example).

I will be looking at things like 20c days when all the stats come into the historical data page on met.ie. I haven't really monitored August's ones because the month has just been so boring.

BliainanAir

sryanbruen wrote: »

June 2018 was perfect enough for me to bank this Summer in my memories, it's not hard to impress me though in honesty (my favourite Summer before 2018 was 2010 for example).

I will be looking at things like 20c days when all the stats come into the historical data page on met.ie. I haven't really monitored August's ones because the month has just been so boring.

But you're young sryan! On the law of averages you're going to see summers that eclipse 1976, 1995, 2018!

You get a great feel for a summer when you work outdoors i feel. I'm office based now and it's not the same.

Clonmel1000

BliainanAir wrote: »

For me this was an excellent summer. Though from mid July until today it lost it's brilliance. No 'remarkable' heat or wall to wall sunshine in the second half of the summer. Many cool nights like late last week.

1995 was far more impressive for me, when judging a summer to the highest standards. June was very cool to start with but quite dry from the 6th or 7th on. As Cork Boy says it started to take off from 18th June and it's end was as spectacular as this years.

July had very hot weather and sunny, around Sunday 9th July, Munster hurling final day when Clare ended their Munster famine back to 1932. There was a wet interlude mid month and then solid warm dry days, mid 20s C, mixed with sun and cloud for the last 10 days of the month.

August came in in glorious fashion and bar the odd days blip here and there we had spectacular weather up until around the 24th or 25th of August. 30C still being reached around Sunday 20th August. There was a cool down for a few days and it warmed up again for the last few days of the month.

A real top summer for me must have a very good June, July and August. This years August will come in around 0.7C above average temperature wise for most of us. The south and east are at half rainfall. But there have been too many days like today, cloud/sun mixture wise. The temps haven't stayed in the mid 20C range or reached 30C. That's what an excellent August should do.

This summer was front loaded if you like. But it doesn't compare with 1976 or 1995. It has felt like autumn for 10 days now. We all know the phrase 'a long hot summer'. This one just doesn't feel long enough as a large chunk of the really nice weather was in May.

As Danno said, 1995 had very warm weather around the 10th September. October was a month you didn't need to wear a jacket in 1995. The old Kilkenny mean temp came in at 12.5C for the month.

We really have to think back to late June for the 30C temperatures. In 1995 you had them up until the 20th August. I remember 1995 so well as i spent the whole summer picking stones out in the weather on the home farm.

Great post I’m sure you’ll be called negative for not sticking to the narrative though.

appledrop

I just had a quick look there. 2-6 Aug in Dublin nice around 24 degrees each day. After that loads on days on 18/19 degrees at Dublin Airport. Gave up after about 19th Aug as got bored + doubt any other nice days.

sryanbruen

BliainanAir wrote: »

sryanbruen wrote: »

June 2018 was perfect enough for me to bank this Summer in my memories, it's not hard to impress me though in honesty (my favourite Summer before 2018 was 2010 for example).

I will be looking at things like 20c days when all the stats come into the historical data page on met.ie. I haven't really monitored August's ones because the month has just been so boring.

But you're young sryan! On the law of averages you're going to see summers that eclipse 1976, 1995, 2018!

You get a great feel for a summer when you work outdoors i feel. I'm office based now and it's not the same.

If I were to believe Summers aren’t as good as they used to be, I wouldn’t.

Oneiric 3

sryanbruen wrote: »

I will be looking at things like 20c days when all the stats come into the historical data page on met.ie. I haven't really monitored August's ones because the month has just been so boring.

Just to give you a quick sample, Oak Park recorded 13 days with 20c or above this August, with 3 of them coming in at greater than 25c +. In contrast,Claremorris, on the other side of the island, recorded just 4 days with a temp of 20c +, with top temp of 22c.


Nationally speaking, August 2018 will come in around average temp wise, but of course local variation will occur.

BliainanAir

sryanbruen wrote: »

If I were to believe Summers aren’t as good as they used to be, I wouldn’t.

Well since 2007 they're not! Bar 2013 and this year. 2010 and 2014 not bad. But 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015..horrendous. When i grew up in the 1980s you had 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989..all warm summers.

1995 isn't a nostalgic look back. June, July and August all had hot spells, heatwave type weather. In 2018 you have to go back 2 months to the end of June for 30C or 28C+ even. 1995 was providing those temps right through to the 20th August..staggering..

You should see more hot than most of us here with your age and accelerating global warming

Oneiric 3

BliainanAir wrote: »

For me this was an excellent summer. Though from mid July until today it lost it's brilliance. No 'remarkable' heat or wall to wall sunshine in the second half of the summer. Many cool nights like late last week.

1995 was far more impressive for me, when judging a summer to the highest standards. June was very cool to start with but quite dry from the 6th or 7th on. As Cork Boy says it started to take off from 18th June and it's end was as spectacular as this years.

July had very hot weather and sunny, around Sunday 9th July, Munster hurling final day when Clare ended their Munster famine back to 1932. There was a wet interlude mid month and then solid warm dry days, mid 20s C, mixed with sun and cloud for the last 10 days of the month.

August came in in glorious fashion and bar the odd days blip here and there we had spectacular weather up until around the 24th or 25th of August. 30C still being reached around Sunday 20th August. There was a cool down for a few days and it warmed up again for the last few days of the month.

A real top summer for me must have a very good June, July and August. This years August will come in around 0.7C above average temperature wise for most of us. The south and east are at half rainfall. But there have been too many days like today, cloud/sun mixture wise. The temps haven't stayed in the mid 20C range or reached 30C. That's what an excellent August should do.

This summer was front loaded if you like. But it doesn't compare with 1976 or 1995. It has felt like autumn for 10 days now. We all know the phrase 'a long hot summer'. This one just doesn't feel long enough as a large chunk of the really nice weather was in May.

As Danno said, 1995 had very warm weather around the 10th September. October was a month you didn't need to wear a jacket in 1995. The old Kilkenny mean temp came in at 12.5C for the month.

We really have to think back to late June for the 30C temperatures. In 1995 you had them up until the 20th August. I remember 1995 so well as i spent the whole summer picking stones out in the weather on the home farm.

I honestly can't recall when the Summer of '95 started; I just know it went on forever. Very sunny and very hot for what seemed like months.

BliainanAir

Just as a little aside, we can still have a late heatwave

The first 6 days of September 1991 were 25C +. It was 28C on 5th September.

Even as late as mid September. 2003 just lost out by a day. 14-17 September hitting 25C and the 5th day, 18 September was 24C. So 1C shy of 5 days at 25C.

DOCARCH

Had a quick look at my stats for summer 2018 (Jun-Jul-Aug). Had...

20c+ days : 66
21c+ days : 54
25c+ days : 17

In comparison, for 2013, the other 'good/stand out' summer this decade, for same period. Had...

20c+ days : 65
21c+ days : 54
25c+ days : 11

Very similar other than a lot more 25c+ days this summer.

BliainanAir

1995 was just something else. On Halloween i remember football training in college and it was 20C that day. With sunshine, not a damp southerly..

Met Eireann Monthly Report
31 October 1995

'With a ridge of high pressure over the country it was a fine end to the month. It was a good dry day in all areas with sunny spells. Very mild. Top temperatures 15-20C'.

sryanbruen

BliainanAir wrote: »

Well since 2007 they're not! Bar 2013 and this year. 2010 and 2014 not bad. But 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015..horrendous. When i grew up in the 1980s you had 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989..all warm summers.

1995 isn't a nostalgic look back. June, July and August all had hot spells, heatwave type weather. In 2018 you have to go back 2 months to the end of June for 30C or 28C+ even. 1995 was providing those temps right through to the 20th August..staggering..

You should see more hot than most of us here with your age and accelerating global warming

I wasn't saying 1995 was nostalgic, it was exceptional stat wise as shown by the Oak Park graph I posted.

Just being my pedantic self, the last 28c that occurred that I know of was 2nd July at a Cork climate station (given by Met Éireann on Twitter).

I'm talking long time scales, I'm talking back to when records began, gotta remember that I do stats.... A LOT. When I think of people saying Summers aren't as good as they used to be, I think of 1912, 1922, 1954, 1956, 1958, nearly all 60s Summers, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 etc; all really awful Summers especially 1912. There was no "very warm" type Summer from 1960 to 1974. I'd much rather personally Summers like 2009 and 2010 than any named here.

A British meteorologist I speak to on Twitter brought up this point:

So, will people look back and remember the dry and hot summer of 2018? Only time will tell, but the evidence of “forgotten” recent heatwaves seems to suggest it won’t get the recognition it deserves.

Perhaps it’s a generational thing.

Perhaps people don’t spend as much time outside anymore – as someone who’s outside a lot (aside from being a meteorologist) I have always noticed the warmer spells even in a poor summer.

Perhaps, because the summers preceding 1976 were so much poorer (the 1960s lacked anything that could be called a ‘heatwave’ summer), we’ve just become accustomed to warmer summers and there’s less of a ‘wow’ factor when a heatwave does come along.

I found this point fascinating as I wouldn't have thought of it myself but I think he'd be right (although August being dismal most of the time since 1995 can also play a part).

I don't like to be a negative fuss as you might have seen from some of my posts, especially pre the Beast from the East.

If you like thundery type Summers then I'd see the point of Summers aren't as good as they used to be. Although, I'd like to know some potential theories why this is the case.

BliainanAir

DOCARCH wrote: »

Had a quick look at my stats for summer 2018 (Jun-Jul-Aug). Had...

20c+ days : 66
21c+ days : 54
25c+ days : 17

In comparison, for 2013, the other 'good/stand out' summer this decade, for same period. Had...

20c+ days : 65
21c+ days : 54
25c+ days : 11

Very similar other than a lot more 25c+ days this summer.

Looking at some old Kilkenny records i store online and there were 35 days of 25C+ days there in 1995. Amazing really.

appledrop

Right analysised Dublin airport there for August. Only 1 day over 25 degrees-18th August was 25.1.

2-6 Aug was nice 22-24 degrees each day. I was away during this typical! Apart from this 3 days at 21-24+ 2 days at 20 degrees. That's it. Majority of days 17-18 degrees. Since 23 August no day more than 18 degrees. Very cold on 24th 15.2 degrees.

BliainanAir

sryanbruen wrote: »

I wasn't saying 1995 was nostalgic, it was exceptional stat wise as shown by the Oak Park graph I posted.

Just being my pedantic self, the last 28c that occurred that I know of was 2nd July at a Cork climate station (given by Met Éireann on Twitter).

I'm talking long time scales, I'm talking back to when records began, gotta remember that I do stats.... A LOT. When I think of people saying Summers aren't as good as they used to be, I think of 1912, 1922, 1954, 1956, 1958, nearly all 60s Summers, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 etc; all really awful Summers especially 1912. There was no "very warm" type Summer from 1960 to 1974. I'd much rather personally Summers like 2009 and 2010 than any named here.

A British meteorologist I speak to on Twitter brought up this point:



I found this point fascinating as I wouldn't have thought of it myself but I think he'd be right (although August being dismal most of the time since 1995 can also play a part).

I don't like to be a negative fuss as you might have seen from some of my posts, especially pre the Beast from the East.

If you like thundery type Summers then I'd see the point of Summers aren't as good as they used to be. Although, I'd like to know some potential theories why this is the case.

Oh totally agree re bad summers in the past and the 1960-74 period. 2013 felt amazing, and was a great summer, as it came after a bad run. I don't subscribe to 'the summers were warmer, the grass was greener' at all I'm a 1995 nut as it was special. In the 80s, 1985 and 1986 very wet, August 1986 exceptionally cold and Hurricane Charley, 1987 average. 1988 great June, poor after. 1989 very good. 1990 was good, esp July on.. 1991, got going late August and into September. 1992,1993 poor enough (bar June 1992). 1994 cool. 1996 dull and poor. 1997 warm but wet, mad August Bank Hol 3 day rain fest in the south of the country. 1998 poor. 1999 average. Nice mid July spell. 2000..average. 2001 average. 2002 a bit like 1991, came good in August. 2003 very good. The best August between 1995 and now.

BliainanAir

If you were around in 1995 Sryan it would really leave an indelible impression on you

Just Dorcarch's station recording 17 days 25C+. Imagine Kilkenny with 35 of the same that year and they scattered over 3 month, August with the most. Just that longevity of hot days til so late in the season.

As Christy Ring used say about hurlers, there are good ones now, but always better to come.. I think you'll get a summer that has June 2018 weather in it over the 3 summer months and breaks a few records.

SleetAndSnow

No change here really. Still drizzling. Over 14 hours now around. Really rotten day.

Clonmel1000

MJohnston wrote: »

One of the best summers in memory and you still manage to find a negative slant - fair play, you're really committed to the misery!

What did I say that’s not true by the way?

Clonmel1000

SleetAndSnow wrote: »

No change here really. Still drizzling. Over 14 hours now around. Really rotten day.

No it’s a beautiful day your just being negative.

sryanbruen

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

What did I say that’s not true by the way?

Nothing really, in fairness to you. August was indeed alarmingly average (and really boring I might add).

Artane2002

I'm looking forward to see Dublin Airport's sunshine stats, then I can judge Summer 2018 properly because I'm still not sure how to feel about August.

MJohnston

acequion wrote: »

And are you committed to hyberbole??

Yes it was one of the best summers of recent memory but that's because most summers of recent memory have been total shyte.

No that's because "total shyte" is just our normal summer weather. What we had this year was well above the average. There's no hyperbole there, you've seen the stats posted here about it.

It does bug me when a poster puts in a touch of realism and they get "ate"by what I call the denial brigade.

May, June and a lot of July had some really beautiful spells that the whole country got to enjoy. But even in those lovely months, there were some average spells too. August was average at best,with some very poor spells, especially in the west and south west.

So all thing considered, it was a very good summer by recent Irish standards, but please let's not get carried away and let's not cod ourselves.

Carried away with what? You might be bugged by "the denial brigade" but I'm equally bugged by people who can't help but whinge even though we just had a very good summer.

If anyone is codding themselves, its you and others who believe that Ireland should magically be having fantastic summers every year! Our climate just doesn't work that way (that's an actual touch of realism for you).

MJohnston

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

What did I say that’s not true by the way?

Did I say you said anything that wasn't true? I said you put a negative slant on it, didn't say you made anything up.

Clonmel1000

I put out what I believe was our summer you’re the one putting slants on it.

MJohnston

Artane2002 wrote: »

I'm looking forward to see Dublin Airport's sunshine stats, then I can judge Summer 2018 properly because I'm still not sure how to feel about August.

The solar radiation measurements are probably a decent indicator of the sunshine stats (Joules/cm2):


May: 56900 (average: 52530)
June: 64896 (52648)
July: 52340 (50860)
August: 42506 (38370)


August might just about catch up with average (these are up to 30th Aug), but it shows you how different August usually is from the preceding months!

MJohnston

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

I put out what I believe was our summer you’re the one putting slants on it.

'slipping' and 'peaked' aren't objective terms, so you were already being subjective here:

summer that peaked in late June and has been slipping since about the 10th July

Like I say, it certainly seems like a negative slant to me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'll be curious to see the purely stat-based summer roundups from M.E.!

appledrop

Well Johnston if its stats you want Ive analysised Met Eireann temperature stats for August + they are nothing to write home about in Dublin anyway. Summer was amazing in June + July but not August. 1 day in whole month that hit 25 degrees. 20 days under 20 degrees in August at Dublin Airport. That's not great for a summer month.

Oneiric 3

I think Clonmel, who is obviously a sun/heat lover, rightfully sees this summer as ending on a not so sunny and warm note. (Personally, it is still far too warm for me!) I think what made this August seem more 'Autumnal' than most was just down to relativity. It was a typical August in many ways but after that freaky warmth and sunniness during a large part of the late May-July period, it just seemed to stand out more.

MJohnston

appledrop wrote: »

Well Johnston if its stats you want Ive analysised Met Eireann temperature stats for August + they are nothing to write home about in Dublin anyway. Summer was amazing in June + July but not August. 1 day in whole month that hit 25 degrees. 20 days under 20 degrees in August at Dublin Airport. That's not great for a summer month.

Yep, nobody is going to argue that August was anything other than poor. But that's always been August!

One could argue that in Dublin, this has actually been a better than average August in fact, because rainfall totals are way below mean rainfall for the month.

But, better than average doesn't mean good! It just means better than average.

Original point though: an Irish summer that consisted of an excellent June, a good-to-great July, and an average August is just still going to be one of the better summers in memory! Made even better by the fact that May ended quite strongly too.