Summer 2022 - General Discussion

appledrop

Slasher, I 100% agree with you has been an amazing summer in Dublin.

2018 probably just pips it for me as best summer ever. The fact that we had weeks of continous gin blue skies and high temperature all at once, I'll never forget it.

Calibos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119556050#Comment_119556050

I can see where he is coming from. Second half of July and August saved it. A lot of June and July was Dry and warm/muggy...but dull milky white sky with persistent mid height cloud cover IIRC. I remember talking about it back at the time harking back to the fabulous Summer of 2014 in Dublin/Bray. Making the point to say that it wasn't a typo where I actually meant the Epic Summer of 2013. Point being that for a coastal strip of about 20 miles wide down the east coast, the Summer of 2014 was nearly as good as the countrywide epic Summer of 2013. However for half the population and 90% of the land-mass if the country, the Summer of 2014 was one of dryness, warmth, but a persistent near countrywide convective blanket of cloud forming before noon every single day. Most of the country and half the population don't remember 2014 as being a great Summer for very valid reasons just as many people don't consider 2 out of 3 parts of the Dryness/warmth/Blue Skies trifecta making June and most of July Epic Summer months. They were decent thanks to the dryness and warmth (if you could tolerate the humidity) but nothing to write home about because we were missing the Sun and Blue skies to go along with them. Like I said it was the second half of July and August that saved this Summer from being a decidely boring 'Meh' one.

acequion

Tend to agree with Calibos. A lot of overrating goes on. Here in Kerry we've had lovely spells but a lot of bad ones too, so on balance an above average summer here, but not massively so. Today was a beauty. I headed for a walk on the beach after work and marvelled at how warm it was. It's wonderful when you can stroll about comfortably in shorts and tshirt as if abroad. And can stay in same shorts and tshirt until bed time, no cardigans needed.

I'm really hoping the bad spell won't be so bad. I love a fine September and am just not ready for summer to end, at least not end abruptly and miserably.

Graces7

WHAT IS THAT SOUND? A kind of pattering..

AH RAIN! AT LAST! A lovely delicious downpour... WELCOME, LONG ABSENT FRIEND

Sheer bliss ,, and a moody moist, misty view from my front gate,

West Mayo offshore

DellyBelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119555087#Comment_119555087

It's amazing how localised the weather can be in and around the same area...I'm in Dublin 8 and I'm guessing your Dublin 7 yet the weather seemed to have been so different...

appledrop

Thankfully we are still holding on to fine weather here in Dublin this morning, I'm sure the rain is on its way, the clouds are rolling in now.

I do understand that not everyone had a great summer but it really was an unbelievable one in Dublin.

Artane2002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119556050#Comment_119556050

I said it was a better than average summer but not by much.

June was actually warmer than average, it was just windy which probably made it feel cooler than it actually was.

Temperatures in July and August were definitely not constantly in the 20s, both Dublin Airport and Casement had around 35 days of 20C or above between the two months, which is very respectable but definitely not constant.

I don't have 'crazy high expectations', surely one should hope for average sunshine at the very least, which July miserably failed to do. Summers 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2018 were all better in my opinion, so far from one of the best ever.

Artane2002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119558750#Comment_119558750

Dublin 5, I don't think our weather was any different, most people here just seem to value warmth and stillness over sunshine which is why the general outlook on the summer is so positive.

appledrop

Artane we got loads of sunshine here in Dublin, especially in August.

I have a 6mth old baby so half of my summer was spent trying to find shade to feed him when I would be in the park with 6 year old. Thankfully when not feeding him it's grand as have brilliant buggy that fully shields him from sun.

Even yesterday in Malahide Castle after school we were in full sunshine for hours and there I was the only one squeezed into tiny bit of shade to feed him🤣

appledrop

We are in for some shock tomorrow if the forecast plays out.

As well as rain predicted, max here in NCD will only be 14/15 with average for most of day 11 degrees!

Slashermcguirk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119558869#Comment_119558869

We dont live on the mediterranean! So you honestly think dry, warm (sometimes hot) weather for nearly 60 consecutive days merits a really good summer. August has seen an abundance of sunshine here in D5, while there was plenty of cloudy days in July, there were sunny intervals in between and regardless it was constantly between 23 - 27 degrees, then of course days in high 20s to low 30s.

I think we need to be realistic about what constitutes a very good summer relative to our location in Western Europe. While we would love it to be sunny every day, to have near constant dry weather for two months and temperatures nearly constantly in the 20s until even late evening, that surely has to constitute a brilliant summer. I have not worn anything other than tshirt and shorts since the 1st week of July, that is most definitely not possible most summers for such a long period of time.

I think some people really need to manage their expectations of our climate! Surely all that matters is that its dry and warm and then you can do pretty much anything you want outdoors without having to even think about rain. I was chatting to a bunch of lads in my local club yesterday and they were all commenting on what a summer it had been as not one match had been postponed with rain over the past couple of months.

squarecircles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119559367#Comment_119559367

It was overcast cool and at times very wet in the northwest.

overall the summer here was poor.

Cumhachtach

I think it's a sign of getting older but summer 1995 at 19, seemed to go on forever. Summer 2022, very good in south east Laois for July and August, seems to have passed in the blink of an eye! The Late Late Show is back this evening🙈

Artane2002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119559367#Comment_119559367

You clearly didn't read my posts properly. I explicitly said August was a fantastic month! As I've said numerous times now, July was duller than average and not just slightly so. That is disappointing relative to what you should expect in Ireland! And you're really telling me 6 days out of 31 of temperatures above 23C is constant? Some of you would have people believing that a summer like 2012 is an average Irish summer.

Oneiric 3

Nice feeling day today with a lovely breeze but there is a real 'looming' aspect to those clouds in the sky.

DOCARCH

For general Autumn discussion, Autumn thread...👉️

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058261291/autumn-2022-general-discussion#latest

Slashermcguirk

Ok just to clarify official stats from met eireann for Dublin for the months of July and August alone, 20 degrees was exceeded on precisely 45 days. 23 degrees was exceeded on now fewer than 22 times. Of those over half were over 25 degrees.

Those are official measurements from Met Eireann for Dublin. You will be hard pushed to find a July and August where we had 45 days of over 20 degree temperatures and nearly half of those in the in the mid 20s or higher.

I have no idea where your 6 days out of 31 is coming from. There were 10 in July alone that were over 23 degrees and 13 days in August over 23 degrees.

All those numbers to me suggest summer 2022 was among the very best summers since 1995. If you disagree so be it but that in my mind is an exceptionally good summer

sryanbruen

Locally (Dublin Airport), Summer 2022 had the 4th highest summer index since 2006 (my earliest weather memory) with 2006, 2013 and 2018 having been higher. If we were to go back further to 1942 when available records began, there were 14 summers with a higher summer index than 2022. 1995 unsurprisingly having the highest with 277.82.

Total rain days (>0.2mm) was the third lowest out of these with 2018 and 2021 having less. This summer index uses rain days instead of total rainfall because one deluge can skew rain totals greatly which in the case of thunderstorms wouldn't take any marks off of for a lot of weather enthusiasts.

Mean max was the third warmest out of the summers since 2006 with 2018 and 2006 being warmer. July was similar to 2021 whilst August was the warmest since 1995. June was only slightly above average and unremarkable.

For sunshine, Summer 2022 was slightly above average thanks to the sunniest August since 1995 whilst June and July were cloudy. June was the 27th cloudiest and July was the 13th cloudiest since 1942. 2018, 2014, 2013, 2010, 2009 and 2006 were sunnier (the exact same summers Artane2002 says he prefers).

My summer thoughts remain the same as per my last opinionated post. June was disappointing. July was great for warmth and dry weather for getting out but the lack of sunshine was a big disappointment for a blue sky lover like myself. August was stunning and certainly the best of my lifetime. That second week of August especially will live long in the memory with the epics like mid-July 2021, late June/early July 2018 and mid-July 2013. Still can't get over the fact we had such a fantastic August.

Artane2002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119560627#Comment_119560627

Something tells me you are using Phoenix Park for those stats, my 6 days were for both the airport and Casement and for July only.

Slashermcguirk

yes Phoenix park, it is in Dublin and is where the largest population of people would be close to and therefore would have experienced this summer. It is the most central station within Dublin too. I would think Casement was pretty close to those figures too. Dublin airport is always a bit more random due to its location.

pauldry

Meanwhile as an estimate of index in Sligo if we use the past 100 years as a gauge I'd say June was the 80th best in the index July 45th and August 9th. Giving an average of 44th best Summer. This of course is only a guesstimate and not withstanding relatively low rainfall here but low sun spoiled most of it. And cold in June and some of July.

sryanbruen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119560934#Comment_119560934

Lol 😂 June 80th, you must be feeling generous today pauldry 🤣

Gaoth Laidir

What's the Summer Index and how isn't calculated? I've never heard of it.

sryanbruen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119561716#Comment_119561716

There's various ones out there available for you to try. I've attached an old short article on Dublin summers from years ago back in 1965 and it uses the Poulter index which the Met use themselves but haven't made reference of for a good few years now. You'll find a short note on it typically at the end of a summer seasonal summary in the old bulletins.

The one I happen to use is the Manchester summer index, I am unaware of an actual name for it. It is calculated by:

10[(summer mean max in degrees Celsius) + (total sunshine hours/67) - (total rain days/8)].

Summers in Dublin.pdf

Indexes like this created to find out statistically how good or bad a summer was without skewed perceptions from poor memory but of course nothing is perfect and different people will have very different definitions of what is a good or a bad summer.

Danno

Interesting discussion upon the reflections of this summer and everyone's thoughts upon such are equally welcomed. Perception of a season versus the cold hard data are often two very different beasts long before we bring in the old "location, location, location" angle in to things - that's where it gets even more messy!

As half the folks posting on this forum well knows, I collect climate data for Met Eireann here and I've yet to crack open the Excel sheet and pop in the numbers for the last 91 days that are jotted down in the journal beside the cupboard in the kitchen.

So, while some data is fondly remembered from those 91 days - alot is forgotten too! I'll give my thoughts on this Summer gone by before putting actual data and then reviewing said thoughts... here goes:

• June - breezy - mostly north westerlies, not overly cold but no generous heat either. Second latest plus 20c to be recorded in over a decade. Sunshine was variable - but not generous amounts either. Remembering a notably wet few days towards month's end with a clatter of thunder and lightning - one of two such thundery periods this summer. Rated 4/10
• July - slow burner to get going, never really felt cool at any time during the month, and the dreaded winds seemed to pi$$ off with themselves, finally. Though it was never windy this summer it started breezy. The hype mid-month about the uppper-20s heat delivering record breaking ground level temperatures failed to overwhelm - yes, we got near 31c here, but this was a flash-in-the-pan blast. The breeze again that day took the enjoyment out of the experience. Funnily enough, that day did have an interesting angle - went about 2km north of here to a friends house that evening and noted the total calm - it had been like that all day, and they spoke about the "hot" they experienced that day was like being in the south of Spain. Note to one-self - there are alot of very micro-climates in Ireland. I've probably more content for July as I was more outdoors this month - the local festival took off in the final week and eyes were peeled to the rainfall radar. Needless to say, any rains in July after the 1st were mostly night affairs and light. Not even an inch recorded. Rated 6.5/10
• August - again, as the aforementioned local festival drew to a close, there was little much rainfall followed by an unexpected 24c blast on Tuesday 2nd which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the month - though the next few days were slightly on the cool side with pleasant but unremarkable highs, the sunshine was plentiful and this translated to cool nights with a few 6s and 7s in the mix. At this stage the models were suggesting another settled spell and that is when it all took off here, surges of heat leading to record breaking temperatures for mid-month were supposed to have been followed by a rapid breakdown which never happened. Thunderstorms hit, but the precipitation didn't. Instead, we got further dryness, sunshine and notable heat right out to month's end - and the breeze was light enough throughout it all to enjoy it. Rated 8.5/10 (nipping 1995's heels).

One final note - luckily my work sometimes brings me to far different counties. Galway today. The difference between here and there is remarkable. Over there - green fields, typical Irish scene. Driving back home, Killimor was the first hints of a change in vegetation. Around Birr another, hit Ballacolla and geez, It was like going into Spain. Unreal.

Had to go to NW Kilkenny (Johnstown - Urlingford) this evening and the boundary between the "those who have had rain, and those who have had none" was even more pronounced.

All of the above sells what makes Ireland an amazing country (despite lack of extremes) to observe the weather and it's effects on our climate.

Of all the Summers I've lived through, this has been up there with the good ones... 2003, 2006, 2013, 2016 (and a notable mention to 2018) but 1995 still is king, by a long long shot.

Overall Summer scores a 19/30 for me right now - before I compile data!!! Lets see if it changes after that! :)

Dazler97

Convection forecast for today

Gaoth Laidir

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119561770#Comment_119561770

Thanks for that. It's interesting to see just how sunny and dry 1887 was. Conversely, 1912 was a real pig of a summer.

In graphical form

Orion402

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119567522#Comment_119567522

Judging what happened over a decade ago and the really poor summer and cold winter, I put a volcanic eruption into a google search for 1912 (anyone could have done this) and found a volcanic eruption that surpassed Kratatau in June 1912-

https://www.nps.gov/articles/aps-v11-i1-c2.htm

The intellectual atmosphere is presently too rough and driven by hysterics to take a closer look at short term weather anomalies and geological influences much less human influences. Humanity cannot change the planet's climate no more than a volcanic eruption can, however, there are instances of short term weather conditions displayed in the data.

Graces7

For me, the sheer fruit size and abundance of the wild blackberry crop bears simple strong witness to the high quality of the summer.. the blossom was like snow...

The elderberry fared less well as the blossom, being earlier than blackberries, was decimated by high winds.

"By their fruits..." In my many years here this crop is superlative and thanks to a splendid summer.

M.T. Cranium

From our contest stats:

MONTH _____ IMT __ MAX __ MIN __ PRC ___ SUN

JUNE _______13.8 __ 23.9 __ 2.1 __ 119% __ 85%

JULY _______ 16.6 __ 33.0 __ 6.4 ___ 51% __ 88%

AUG _______ 16.2 __ 31.7 __ 3.8 ___ 44% __ 153%

_____________________________

The composite result was a summer about 0.9 C above normal values (June only 0.2), with very high extreme MAX of 33.0 (second highest on record), rather high MIN values compared to many other summers, eventually rather dry (all that rain people were complaining about in early June was probably a blessing in disguise) and sunshine that ended up 9% above normal only due to the very bright conditions in August.

These are not quite all-Ireland averages, our IMT is based on five locations in central regions of Ireland, and the PRC on eleven scattered all around the country, while SUN looks at six locations. I would imagine the all-Ireland results were similar however. MAX and MIN are based on all official locations (and for those not familiar with our contest, they are the extreme values for each month).