Today is a cooler 23c but blue sky, sunshine and much more pleasant.  Still no sign of rain here though.  This will certainly go down as one of the better summers for me even if it goes downhill now, although what I’d hate is a long Autumn!

Manchester Summer Indices

1976 301
1995 298
1983 278
1955 277

2018 276 (up to 13th July)

1911 274
1984 271
1959 269
1975 268
1949 267
1989 262
2013 260 
1947 255
1933 251

If the rest of the summer starting from today recorded zero sunshine, a mean maximum of 15.0C and rain everyday, the index would drop to 173, which would still be above summers 2012 and 2008.

What.about absolute max if this continue to end of August? Very interesting stats.

If the mean maximum stays as it now but we had zero sunshine and rain everyday, then the index would be 216. 

If we sustain the current averages til the end of the meteorological summer then it will end up as 328.

1976 301
1995 298
1983 278

2018 278 (up to 14th July)

1955 277
1911 274
1984 271
1959 269
1975 268

If the rest of summer had a mean max average of 15C, no sunshine and rain everyday then the index will end on 179

Ahead of summers 2007, 2008 and 2012 as recent examples.

Some of the sunshine totals figure since the start of May up to now have been sensational.

Aberdaron: 698hrs

Valley: 688.5hrs

Wow, level pegging with 1983, we're really up amoung the big boys now!

Still, the ref is just about to blow his whistle for half time on this summer and unfortunately as we know the second half can bring rather different conditions to the first....

Kev, I’m really loving your Manchester stats.  

I’d like to see someone doing the same for a Southern location.  Although I do realise there’s a lot of time and work involved in collecting, calculating and presenting the data. 

That wasn't really a forecast as such, just my excuse to get a footballing metaphor in 🙂 Of course the hallmark of this summer so far has been the sheer consistency of the heat and dry conditions rather than any particularly high temperature. I think the max so far is 33C, which I think ocurrs in many 'normal' summers. Well this is far from a normal summer. It would only take the right synoptics to tap into the European heat and somwehere would be pushing up to 35/36C which would more fitting for the 'classic' summer this could well turn out to be.

What has been so good, so far this year, is the better weather hasn’t been confined to the South. I think those of us who are further North are the ones raving about it more because it’s such a treat!  

That's quite right. The north/south weather divide has been a lot less sharper than normal. In years gone by there seemed to be many occasions when it got to say 27C in London but I was struggling in the high teens up here, not so this year! That 33C highest temp I think wasn't even recorded in England but in Wales (Porthmadog?)

.. and of course, we can't also forget that even parts of Scotland saw temperatures getting above 30ºC during the latter part of June.

I’m sure the highest temp of the year will be in its home in the SE before summer is over!

The weekend maxima at St James’s Park since 1 May: 23, 25, 15, 18, 22, 21, 26, 27, 24, 27, 23, 23, 20, 19, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31, 31, 28, 30 (guess for today).

That’s an average max of 24.6C!

Adding in the 2 bank holiday Mondays (28, 26) we do even better: 24.8C.

Bear in mind this is for May, June and half of July so the average max across these months in central London would be 19.4C. Weekends have been over 5C warmer than the seasonal average.

It also rained on a sum total of 3 weekend days, all in May.

Gravesend had not been a hottest place yet this year when it was in the poor summers.   Current temps here is 29C and Isle of Grain 28C so Gravesand seem not in the low 30's today so more like 28 or 29C as everywhere is.

By this time, 2018 beats 2013 - but wasn't 2013's best week still to come?

But when 2013 broke, it was poor thereafter (at least in the west and north of Britain)

I suppose people may differ in opinion according to where they live. I get the impression from some posters, that this year this isn’t such an improvement for Southerners.  Whereas it is for those further North.

At this rate I'll be exchanging the car for a camel 

I don't think I've seen any kind of proper rain for about 5/6 weeks, back to when we had all that Flooding 

August 2013 was okay here, warmer than average with average sunshine levels. Better than most summer months post-2007 - in fact, excluding this year, only July 2013 and July 2014 were any better imo.

As for this summer - June 2018 was obviously much better than June 2013. July 2018 is so far warmer than July 2013, but there's half of the month left.

August will be the clincher imo.