Summers in order with the best at the top and the worst at the bottom

 

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

2018 272

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

1947 255

2021 251 (up to 29th July)

1933 251

1901 249

1921 249

2003 247

2013 247

1925 246

2006 246

1996 245

1935 243

1994 240

 

If the rest of this summer had a mean max of 15C, zero sunshine and rain everyday, the index would be about 185. 

 

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You actually read his posts?

I walked out on his play act, ages ago. Conveniently forgets the positives.......I'll whisper in your ear but don't tell anyone:   "he had a  sunny winter 2020-21 compared to the poor folks on the west coast of Scotland"

  "Had a dry June 2021.....and sunnier than average..."   

"had a very sunny April 2021" 

But don't tell anyone.......

 

I block him from time to time (I'm prettty certain he's blocked me!) when he gets too tedious but when I do read them I just skim over them to see if he's said anything funny but even that is getting rarer these days.

Sunniest April on record in 2021 so I recall, but you didn't hear that from me....

 

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Summers in order with the best at the top and the worst at the bottom

 

1976 301

1995 298

1983 278

1955 277

1911 274

2018 272

1984 271

1959 269

1975 268

1949 267

1989 262

1947 255

2021 251 (up to 29th July)

1933 251

1901 249

1921 249

2003 247

2013 247

1925 246

2006 246

1996 245

1935 243

1994 240

 

If the rest of this summer had a mean max of 15C, zero sunshine and rain everyday, the index would be about 185. 

 

I suspect we have already passed the peak for this summer and it's only downwards from now on.

That sounds like an average summer in Aberdeen!

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I block him from time to time (I'm prettty certain he's blocked me!) when he gets too tedious but when I do read them I just skim over them to see if he's said anything funny but even that is getting rarer these days.

Sunniest April on record in 2021 so I recall, but you didn't hear that from me....

 

For those of us who are just looking for a decent summer every year (i.e. one which is warm/hot, dry and sunny) and who are much less bothered than what I am about experiencing the same weather conditions all the time over long periods of time, this has actually been our best summer overall for quite a while and that has also been the case in Aberdeen according to the data and various reports which I have seen.

However, you wouldn't think that this was the case if you went by Richard has been posting throughout this period.

This means that if you are after a true picture from this particular forum of what Aberdeen's weather is really like, my recommendation would be to just go by DoctorMog's reports as he at least, is a lot more honest than Richard about what Aberdeen's weather is really like, and is therefore more likely to tell us what it is really like up there whether that be good or bad unlike Richard who usually always only focuses on the more negative aspects of his weather.

Having said that though, Richard would probably get on quite well with Moomin75, someone else who usually only focuses on the more aspects of his weather though usually in a different way by writing off entire summers or winters at the very beginning of them (or sometimes before these seasons have even started), usually within the MO threads.

 

 

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For those of us who are just looking for a decent summer every year (i.e. one which is warm/hot, dry and sunny) and who are much less bothered than what I am about experiencing the same weather conditions all the time over long periods of time, this has actually been our best summer overall for quite a while and that has also been the case in Aberdeen according to the data and various reports which I have seen.

You must be looking at the wrong data then. In contrast to Edinburgh, Aberdeen has had a dreadful July. One of the most hellishly overcast months I've ever experienced.

Here's some data:

Sunshine hours up to yesterday: 149.8 hours making it the dullest July since 2016. That was despite 7 days with 12 hours+ so you can imagine how horrendous the rest of the month was. By contrast Swanston had a well above average 204.7 hours

Only 4 out of the last 15 July's here have managed average sunshine. I'd be surprised if there was anywhere else in the country with such an appalling record.

Only 14 days in this disgusting July recorded at least 3 hours sunshine which is horrific for a summer month and worse than July 2012 in which 16 days had at least 3 hours 

All of the following winter months recorded more than 14 days with at least 3 hours sunshine:

January 2015 (20)

February 2020 (20)

December 2006 (19)

January 2012 (19)

December 2014 (18)

February 2008 (17)

February 2016 (17)

February 2019 (17)

February 2015 (16)

February 2018 (16)

January 2020 (15)

There are just no words for how ridiculous this is 

Today is the 5th in a row of virtual wall to wall overcast. There's been 3.5 hours of sun in the past 5 days. This follows on from only 4.4 hours in a week earlier in the month. Another two days of this garbage will make two separate weeks with under 10 hours sun this summer. I have only recorded that in two other summers - 2007 and 2012.

That just says it all but apparantly I'm supposed to see positives in our summer weather becoming more like the Faeroes 

 

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You must be looking at the wrong data then. In contrast to Edinburgh, Aberdeen has had a dreadful July. One of the most hellishly overcast months I've ever experienced.

Here's some data:

Sunshine hours up to yesterday: 149.8 hours making it the dullest July since 2016. That was despite 7 days with 12 hours+ so you can imagine how horrendous the rest of the month was. By contrast Swanston had a well above average 204.7 hours

Only 4 out of the last 15 July's here have managed average sunshine. I'd be surprised if there was anywhere else in the country with such an appalling record.

Only 14 days in this disgusting July recorded at least 3 hours sunshine which is horrific for a summer month and worse than July 2012 in which 16 days had at least 3 hours 

All of the following winter months recorded more than 14 days with at least 3 hours sunshine:

January 2015 (20)

February 2020 (20)

December 2006 (19)

January 2012 (19)

December 2014 (18)

February 2008 (17)

February 2016 (17)

February 2019 (17)

February 2015 (16)

February 2018 (16)

January 2020 (15)

There are just no words for how ridiculous this is 

Today is the 5th in a row of virtual wall to wall overcast. There's been 3.5 hours of sun in the past 5 days. This follows on from only 4.4 hours in a week earlier in the month. Another two days of this garbage will make two separate weeks with under 10 hours sun this summer. I have only recorded that in two other summers - 2007 and 2012.

That just says it all but apparantly I'm supposed to see positives in our summer weather becoming more like the Faeroes 

 

First of all, I am not looking at the wrong data and secondly, there is a lot more which makes up a decent summer other than just the sunshine totals and you haven't gone into any of those other factors here.

I do agree with you with having above average sunshine totals is one of the factors which makes up a decent summer, but we also need to look at the temperatures and the rainfall totals as well, and neither of those things have been dealt with here.

To me, the other factors which make up a decent summer overall is that it should be drier than average overall, and warmer than average overall. Earlier on today on this month's PW thread, Doctormog more or less confirmed that this has been a drier than average month in his part of Aberdeen (he didn't specifically say that, but the figure which gave for this month shows that this is likely to have been a drier than average month there).

In addition to that, just about all of Scotland had an exceptionally dry June, so it is very likely that the summer as a whole has been drier than average overall where you are. This therefore, means that at least one of the tests for a decent summer has been passed already as a result.

In addition to that, it wasn't all that long ago that Aberdeen had a temperature of 28°C which is over 80°F. Here in Edinburgh on the other hand, this year is on course to be the first year since 2016 where the temperature has failed to reach 80°F at any point in time. I have no doubt that if you were here in Edinburgh, you would be pointing that out all the time and trying to use that as a means to convince everyone that this has been a poor summer overall.

That is not how I work though because I know that even with that, this month has still been warmer than average anyway. I would imagine that it has been a similar story in Aberdeen and we must also remember that June was also a warmer than average month across Scotland. This means that the summer as a whole has been warmer than average which therefore passes yet another criteria for this summer being a decent summer.

Even when it comes to sunshine totals, you have failed to mention that June was actually one of the sunniest Junes on record in Aberdeen as confirmed by many other members of this forum. This means that regardless of whether this month was sunnier than average or not up there (and I will accept your word on that one), this summer can't possibly be anything other than sunnier than average overall, so even criteria for a decent summer has been passed as well.

When you take all of the above into consideration, I really don't understand how you can possibly claim that this hasn't been a decent summer overall where you are.

 

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For those of us who are just looking for a decent summer every year (i.e. one which is warm/hot, dry and sunny) and who are much less bothered than what I am about experiencing the same weather conditions all the time over long periods of time, this has actually been our best summer overall for quite a while and that has also been the case in Aberdeen according to the data and various reports which I have seen.

However, you wouldn't think that this was the case if you went by Richard has been posting throughout this period.

This means that if you are after a true picture from this particular forum of what Aberdeen's weather is really like, my recommendation would be to just go by DoctorMog's reports as he at least, is a lot more honest than Richard about what Aberdeen's weather is really like, and is therefore more likely to tell us what it is really like up there whether that be good or bad unlike Richard who usually always only focuses on the more negative aspects of his weather.

Having said that though, Richard would probably get on quite well with Moomin75, someone else who usually only focuses on the more aspects of his weather though usually in a different way by writing off entire summers or winters at the very beginning of them (or sometimes before these seasons have even started), usually within the MO threads.

 

Yup, if I want to know what Aberdeen's weather is like I will read Doctormog's accounts, they will give a measured & balanced view. If I bother to read Richard's posts at all, it will be for amusement purposes only.

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While I’m a cautious optimist myself, I feel bound to make a few comments in support of Richard here.

1. This is the summer moaning thread
2. This is the summer moaning thread (if this isn’t a safe space for moaning then where is?)
3. Aberdeen has a s*it climate
4. Sunshine is, to my mind, THE most important variable in our appreciation of good weather.

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While I’m a cautious optimist myself, I feel bound to make a few comments in support of Richard here.

1. This is the summer moaning thread
2. This is the summer moaning thread (if this isn’t a safe space for moaning then where is?)
3. Aberdeen has a s*it climate
4. Sunshine is, to my mind, THE most important variable in our appreciation of good weather.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and yes, this is meant to be a safe place for moaning.

However, I am just as entitled to moan here as what Richard is and if somebody to trying to make a claim about a particular season which isn't even factually correct, I think that we are all still entitled to challenge that as I was doing here.

I have never at any time, said or even hinted that sunshine isn't important, but it is only one factor which makes up our weather at the end up the day.

I know that you might well disagree about whether or not, I think that sunshine is the most important aspect of our weather, but that's fine by me as well because it is these differing opinions which at the end of that day, is what makes these forums more interesting.

 

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While I’m a cautious optimist myself, I feel bound to make a few comments in support of Richard here.

1. This is the summer moaning thread
2. This is the summer moaning thread (if this isn’t a safe space for moaning then where is?)
3. Aberdeen has a s*it climate
4. Sunshine is, to my mind, THE most important variable in our appreciation of good weather.

Your first, second and fourth points are valid. However in relation to point 3, Aberdeen has one of the driest and sunniest climates in Scotland (and significantly more so than some parts of England and Wales too in terms of rainfall in particular).

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Rainfall_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Sunshine_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

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Your first, second and fourth points are valid. However in relation to point 3, Aberdeen has one of the driest and sunniest climates in Scotland (and significantly more so than some parts of England and Wales too in terms of rainfall in particular).

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Rainfall_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Sunshine_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

The sunshine stats are interesting - I assumed some of the lower lying western isles would do much better than Aberdeen.

That said even the annual totals on the South coast are utterly s*it by comparison with just about any other place on earth, with the honourable exceptions of Iceland, Norway, the Faeroes, Coastal Alaska and the Aleutians. That is our curse, as Brits. That we live in a land of perpetual grey.

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Your first, second and fourth points are valid. However in relation to point 3, Aberdeen has one of the driest and sunniest climates in Scotland (and significantly more so than some parts of England and Wales too in terms of rainfall in particular).

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Rainfall_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Sunshine_Average_1981-2010_17.gif

 

I don’t know why Manchester gets so much stick when you look at Glasgow on those maps. 

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The sunshine stats are interesting - I assumed some of the lower lying western isles would do much better than Aberdeen.

That said even the annual totals on the South coast are utterly s*it by comparison with just about any other place on earth, with the honourable exceptions of Iceland, Norway, the Faeroes, Coastal Alaska and the Aleutians. That is our curse, as Brits. That we live in a land of perpetual grey.

Spring is the time to go to the Western Isles if you want to see the sunshine. It’s the time of year they regularly do very well on that front.

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The sunshine stats are interesting - I assumed some of the lower lying western isles would do much better than Aberdeen.

That said even the annual totals on the South coast are utterly s*it by comparison with just about any other place on earth, with the honourable exceptions of Iceland, Norway, the Faeroes, Coastal Alaska and the Aleutians. That is our curse, as Brits. That we live in a land of perpetual grey.

It should be borne in mind though that daylight length during the summer is longer, the further north you go with the reverse of that being true during the winter.

Furthermore, we would normally expect the vast majority of our sunshine to occur during the late spring and early summer in particular as that is when our daylight lengths are at their maximum values for the entire year.

This means that before we take any of the other factors into consideration (such as average cloud cover, etc.) we would therefore expect the north of the UK to get more sunshine throughout the year on average than the south, although the south does benefit from the Sun being higher in the sky during the day than is the case in the north, which is what makes it warmer down there on average.

 

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For those of us who are just looking for a decent summer every year (i.e. one which is warm/hot, dry and sunny) and who are much less bothered than what I am about experiencing the same weather conditions all the time over long periods of time, this has actually been our best summer overall for quite a while and that has also been the case in Aberdeen according to the data and various reports which I have seen.

However, you wouldn't think that this was the case if you went by Richard has been posting throughout this period.

This means that if you are after a true picture from this particular forum of what Aberdeen's weather is really like, my recommendation would be to just go by DoctorMog's reports as he at least, is a lot more honest than Richard about what Aberdeen's weather is really like, and is therefore more likely to tell us what it is really like up there whether that be good or bad unlike Richard who usually always only focuses on the more negative aspects of his weather.

Having said that though, Richard would probably get on quite well with Moomin75, someone else who usually only focuses on the more aspects of his weather though usually in a different way by writing off entire summers or winters at the very beginning of them (or sometimes before these seasons have even started), usually within the MO threads.

 

 

Yes I do, and I'm often right too.

Noone south of the North Midlands can say that this summer has been anything other than disappointing to say the least. I've recorded more rainfall this year so far than any summer since 2012. (I started recording stats after the deluge summer of 2007.

This summer has (stats wise) been the wettest and dullest summer since 2012 in my neck of the woods.

Its been warm at times, but certainly a write off so far in terms of wet weather.

Incidentally, I do NOT always write off seasons. Quite the opposite in fact.

Look back through the archives to 2018 for example, and you will see I was calling a hot summer as early as Mid-april.

Patterns get stuck in ruts, and often you can judge a general pattern for a whole season based on patterns before it starts.

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Yes I do, and I'm often right too.

Noone south of the North Midlands can say that this summer has been anything other than disappointing to say the least. I've recorded more rainfall this year so far than any summer since 2012. (I started recording stats after the deluge summer of 2007.

This summer has (stats wise) been the wettest and dullest summer since 2012 in my neck of the woods.

Its been warm at times, but certainly a write off so far in terms of wet weather.

Incidentally, I do NOT always write off seasons. Quite the opposite in fact.

Look back through the archives to 2018 for example, and you will see I was calling a hot summer as early as Mid-april.

Patterns get stuck in ruts, and often you can judge a general pattern for a whole season based on patterns before it starts.

That is why I keep saying that our weather hardly ever changes from one day to the next any more, as we just don't get the same changeable weather which we used to get.

This just makes our weather more boring and uninteresting over time, and I'm sure that climate change has probably had a lot to do with that by causing the Atlantic jet stream to buckle up a lot of the time and become stuck in certain positions for long periods of time.

Given that most of the wet weather has been in the south during this summer, this implies that there has been a lot of very intense northern blocking.

Northern blocking during the summer would normally result in the low pressure underneath sitting right on top of the UK, so this would normally result in the whole of the UK (including here in Scotland) experiencing a wet and miserable summer as a result.

The fact that this wet weather has been pushed further south than that shows just how intense this northern blocking has been because we have just been lucky that we have much closer to this northern blocking as a result up here than normal, which has therefore been enough to keep it relatively dry and sunny up here.

That is similar to what happened in July 2014, but this is actually quite an unusual pattern because whenever we get a decent summer, we would normally expect that to come from a strong Azores High, rather than from any northern blocking.

However, this northern blocking is there just now and if it is still there when we get to next winter, this could be what leads us towards getting a cold winter this time, especially as last winter was seen by many, as a teaser winter.

Based on that, do you think that this will lead to a cold winter of 2021/22, or will you be writing off next winter before we even get there?

 

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Definitely shades of 2014 in this year’s patterns. That was a rubbish summer on the continent but decent in Britain. This time the dividing line is a bit further north but same overall idea.

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That is why I keep saying that our weather hardly ever changes from one day to the next any more, as we just don't get the same changeable weather which we used to get.

This just makes our weather more boring and uninteresting over time, and I'm sure that climate change has probably had a lot to do with that by causing the Atlantic jet stream to buckle up a lot of the time and become stuck in certain positions for long periods of time.

Given that most of the wet weather has been in the south during this summer, this implies that there has been a lot of very intense northern blocking.

Northern blocking during the summer would normally result in the low pressure underneath sitting right on top of the UK, so this would normally result in the whole of the UK (including here in Scotland) experiencing a wet and miserable summer as a result.

The fact that this wet weather has been pushed further south than that shows just how intense this northern blocking has been because we have just been lucky that we have much closer to this northern blocking as a result up here than normal, which has therefore been enough to keep it relatively dry and sunny up here.

That is similar to what happened in July 2014, but this is actually quite an unusual pattern because whenever we get a decent summer, we would normally expect that to come from a strong Azores High, rather than from any northern blocking.

However, this northern blocking is there just now and if it is still there when we get to next winter, this could be what leads us towards getting a cold winter this time, especially as last winter was seen by many, as a teaser winter.

Based on that, do you think that this will lead to a cold winter of 2021/22, or will you be writing off next winter before we even get there?

 

Very early days to start thinking about winter, but my hunch is that it will be a very interesting season indeed. There will be much less "latent heat" from the summer season, and the northern blocking we have seen this summer has been very intense at times, and I can't see the PV being anywhere near as potent this year.

Coming out of solar minimum and a weakly negative or neutral NAO all points towards something pretty tasty.

Time will tell, but personally, I think this winter will make headlines at times.

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Very early days to start thinking about winter, but my hunch is that it will be a very interesting season indeed. There will be much less "latent heat" from the summer season, and the northern blocking we have seen this summer has been very intense at times, and I can't see the PV being anywhere near as potent this year.

Coming out of solar minimum and a weakly negative or neutral NAO all points towards something pretty tasty.

Time will tell, but personally, I think this winter will make headlines at times.

Gavin P. in his annual NAO forecast went for a negative NAO, so that could be very interesting indeed, as well as the fact that we have just gone into an easterly QBO.

Those are things which should favour a colder winter this time in addition to where we currently are at the start of solar cycle 25.

Furthermore, it also looks as though we are going back into another La Nina after a very brief period at ENSO neutral. If this La Nina ends up being fairly weak, that is something else which could also favour a colder winter this time.

So, there could be some very interesting times ahead on that front but as you have said, it is far too early to be thinking about that and anything can end up happening in any case.

 

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It should be borne in mind though that daylight length during the summer is longer, the further north you go with the reverse of that being true during the winter.

Furthermore, we would normally expect the vast majority of our sunshine to occur during the late spring and early summer in particular as that is when our daylight lengths are at their maximum values for the entire year.

This means that before we take any of the other factors into consideration (such as average cloud cover, etc.) we would therefore expect the north of the UK to get more sunshine throughout the year on average than the south, although the south does benefit from the Sun being higher in the sky during the day than is the case in the north, which is what makes it warmer down there on average.

 

If there was no cloud cover, every place on Earth would get the same amount of sun during a year.

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