Summer 2021 General Discussion

SNNUS

Well it is kind of Summer already but it feels like February, Hopefully a cool May will mean some kind of a decent few months ahead but who knows.

Long range forecasts and opinions and observations welcome.

highdef

SNNUS wrote: »

Well it is kind of Summer already but it feels like February, Hopefully a cool May will mean some kind of a decent few months ahead but who knows.

Long range forecasts and opinions and observations welcome.

It's actually kind of/most definitely still Spring and will remain so for another 3 weeks but I do look forward to see how summer pans out after a generally cool and often wet Spring, thus far.

Oscar Bravo

Bit early for this thread. Most certainly spring for another few weeks.

US2

I hear summer is on a Saturday this year. Cant wait!!

SNNUS

Still very springy but not too far to the summer months, let's hope it will be a good summer.

scouserstation

Really hard to tell this early on, even some of the long range "experts" are struggling to forecast a pattern, one thing we've seen in previous summer's is when low systems like we've been getting take hold it usually lasts for a few weeks, so if I was to take a punt on it I'd say it will be a few more weeks, we'll into June before we see any significant improvement in weather patters, we may see a nice run around the June - July period all going well

Jpmarn

By September there will be a busy thread up and running discussing the upcoming winter. Why not for the upcoming summer season. I don’t consider that this thread is too early as we are almost into summer.

US2

Jpmarn wrote: »

By September there will be a busy thread up and running discussing the upcoming winter. Why not for the upcoming summer season. I don’t consider that this thread is too early as we are almost into summer.

Last Winter thread started on the 01 of August!!

SNNUS

Jpmarn wrote: »

By September there will be a busy thread up and running discussing the upcoming winter. Why not for the upcoming summer season. I don’t consider that this thread is too early as we are almost into summer.

Yeah I usually look for the summer threads in early March, it's almost mid may

Gonzo

Summer is only 3 weeks away and FI will soon show the signals for the first week of summer. Hopefully we will start to see some signs of an improvement in the weather but most of May looks completely forgettable and the cool/chilly theme of Spring 2021 continues.

pauldry

Yes May looks a write off and it could be hard shift this pattern into June also but we live in hope.

Dont think there will be any 26c this May like last year.

Thelonious Monk

Worrying this is that if August does its usual sh*tshow, we're looking at what 8 or 9 weeks where we might get some nice weather?

who_ru

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Worrying this is that if August does its usual sh*tshow, we're looking at what 8 or 9 weeks where we might get some nice weather?

8 or 9 days spread across 8 or 9 weeks would be more likely.

Donegal Storm

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Worrying this is that if August does its usual sh*tshow, we're looking at what 8 or 9 weeks where we might get some nice weather?

The shortness of the season is what I hate most about Irish summers. We're 5 weeks off the longest day of the year and it still doesn't feel much better than winter. August is seemingly always a write off so we've maybe got a few weeks in June/July then back to another 10 months of miserable crap. Roll on international travel

Gonzo

who_ru wrote: »

8 or 9 days spread across 8 or 9 weeks would be more likely.

We didn't even get that many nice days last summer. First 2 days of June were decent and then another day or two midway through June. July was a complete write off and final day of August was decent after an almost completely overcast and cool month.

SNNUS

Irish summer's are getting shorter every year.. We have this low system that is not going to shift until at least another week or 2.

highdef

SNNUS wrote: »

Irish summer's are getting shorter every year.. We have this low system that is not going to shift until at least another week or 2.

Even if it's the full two weeks before it shifts, it'll still be Spring then so at that point the summer is no shorter as it still will not have begun.

Fair enough, if in two weeks from now it looks like a continuation of what we're getting now is expected for another two weeks, then I might get slightly less positive but no point in complaining about summers getting shorter when the stuff you speak about is only about Spring.

But at the end of the day, summer is always June, July and August from a meteorological point of view. That is summer, full stop. You may have unseasonable weather during those months (just like any season), but summer is still three months long.

SNNUS

highdef wrote: »

Even if it's the full two weeks before it shifts, it'll still be Spring then so at that point the summer is no shorter as it still will not have begun.

Fair enough, if in two weeks from now it looks like a continuation of what we're getting now is expected for another two weeks, then I might get slightly less positive but no point in complaining about summers getting shorter when the stuff you speak about is only about Spring.

But at the end of the day, summer is always June, July and August from a meteorological point of view. That is summer, full stop. You may have unseasonable weather during those months (just like any season), but summer is still three months long.

I'm talking about the summer, how August is bad etc, I know how long the seasons last thanks ðŸ‘ðŸ»

Cosmo Kramer

I see the BBC are referencing 2001 and 2012 in their outlook for the early part of summer. Not a good sign if those two summers are the equivalent of what we're facing into, I remember them both as being rubbish weatherwise.

Summer 2001 I was working outdoors as a labourer and the weather was awful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/outlook

SNNUS

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I see the BBC are referencing 2001 and 2012 in their outlook for the early part of summer. Not a good sign if those two summers are the equivalent of what we're facing into, I remember them both as being rubbish weatherwise.

Summer 2001 I was working outdoors as a labourer and the weather was awful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/outlook

2007 and 2012 were Shockers.

sryanbruen

If we look at May 2021's Northern Hemispheric 500mb height anomaly so far and compare it to that of June 2012 which was the most cyclonic month of that terrible summer, you can see a lot of similarities. Both feature a significant level of blocking in or around the Greenland peninsula with a trough of below average heights from the Atlantic into UK & Ireland and above average heights displaced well southward towards the southeast of Europe and the med.

2011-12 was a moderate La Niña winter and 2020-21 was too. Why I mention this is because whilst the state of the equatorial Pacific tends to go back neutral through the spring and into the summer (not always), there tends to be a lag on atmospheric impacts with the atmosphere still prone to producing patterns that are characteristics of Niña-esque composites historically such as a mid-Atlantic ridge. This can delve into a very complicated discussion so want to make it as straightforward to understand as possible, I'm still trying to learning it all to this day myself.

In the case of 2012, we saw an easterly in the first half of February like 2021 but it had little impact on Ireland. The second half of the month was much milder everywhere across the UK & Ireland, same as 2021. Both months were fairly zonal upstream after that Scandinavian high delivering the European cold waves in first halves of February 2012 and 2021. Late March was very mild to warm both years. We saw a change in April 2012, quite a dramatic one with the jet stream going on a southerly track and blocking areas of high pressure began to form around the Arctic and into Greenland which we hadn't seen much of since the winter of 2010-11. April 2021 seen a similar change after a zonal second half to February and much of March was zonal too but the difference being in 2021, the Greenland block sent a ridge which meant a dry month unlike April 2012. The first half of May 2012 was very cool and often unsettled whilst the second half seen a big improvement with a heatwave in the final week before that exceptional wet and dull June.

Why do I mention 2012 here? The similarities are quite interesting, like ignoring the surface conditions, the resemblance or comparison between the two years with regards to patterns and drivers is something to note. Both Januaries were quite different however with 2012 being more zonal and much milder. You'll never find a year that's like-for-like.



Do I expect a repeat of June or even summer 2012? No, that's not what I'm getting at. But what I will say is I am personally not optimistic for this summer, especially the early part with the trends of late. This Greenland block just doesn't seem to want to recede at the moment and reminds me a lot of what happened in 2012. Greenland blocks are so commonplace in summers since 2007 (except 2013 and 2018) that it's just something I've come to expect.

As for the very personal part of this post, I would love to be so wrong because I don't think I have wanted a good summer as much as I do now, particularly following on from the atrocity that is 2020. I loved April but now getting seriously fed up of the cool conditions and would really like a warm, dry spell or some good storms at least.

highdef

highdef wrote: »

It's actually kind of/most definitely still Spring and will remain so for another 3 weeks but I do look forward to see how summer pans out after a generally cool and often wet Spring, thus far.

Cool definitely, but very dry from St Patrick's Day to the end of April in most parts of the country, and remarkably so where I am. We've had a wet start to May, granted. We have short memories when it comes to weather.

beggars_bush

Deleted User wrote: »

Cool definitely, but very dry from St Patrick's Day to the end of April in most parts of the country, and remarkably so where I am. We've had a wet start to May, granted. We have short memories when it comes to weather.

East and north wind for a lot of April so it was very harsh on any plants

beggars_bush

beggars_bush wrote: »

East and north wind for a lot of April so it was very harsh on any plants

Scaraveen. My garden is a bit worse for wear because of those easterlies.

But not wet.

SNNUS

Huge difference to May 20202!!

Nigzcurran

Sorry I thought summer started in May! What’s the difference in how people call the seasons?

The One Doctor

SNNUS wrote: »

Huge difference to May 20202!!

I don't think you need to worry about May 20202 tbh.

Harry Palmr

We're going to reach the summer solstice without a hint of heat aren't we?

SNNUS

The One Doctor wrote: »

I don't think you need to worry about May 20202 tbh.

Oops that was my next thread

Wilmol

When people think of cold countries, they usually think of something like Russia and Canada, well it is 25c - 30c in Moscow nearly every day and 20c in Toronto. Seems the people that say that have never been outside of Ireland and always bring up "muh temperation" response. Yes they get cold winters but they are far less windy which doesn't make it as bad as it might seem and they are guaranteed a good summer.
My dream is to go fully remote at some point in my job and move to Spain or somewhere similar. I was in awe when I went to Spain in February 2019 and seeing all the sunshine and warmth every day. Life is too short to suffer here hoping to get a glimpse of sunshine. I've been spoiled by living for 2 years in other countries as part of my job so now I suffer, wish I didn't so I would be satisfied here not knowing better.

mcburns07

There's more to life than weather though. As much as people complain, our weather is generally alright. I'd love to live somewhere sunnier tho, the regular grey skies we get here can be pretty depressing at times.

beggars_bush

mcburns07 wrote: »

There's more to life than weather though. As much as people complain, our weather is generally alright. I'd love to live somewhere sunnier tho, the regular grey skies we get here can be pretty depressing at times.

And there are regions and communities who dream of the amount of rain we get and how it could improve their lives

igCorcaigh

I find Mediterranean weather very bland after a while.

Relentless heat and blue sky. I do love the balmy evenings and low humidity, but it's ultimately boring IMHO.

Donegal Storm

A more sub-tropical climate would be perfect for me, warmth and sunshine year round but with some nice big thunderstorms to keep things interesting. Maybe somewhere like Madeira though I've never been

Seanachai

Donegal Storm wrote: »

The shortness of the season is what I hate most about Irish summers. We're 5 weeks off the longest day of the year and it still doesn't feel much better than winter. August is seemingly always a write off so we've maybe got a few weeks in June/July then back to another 10 months of miserable crap. Roll on international travel

I think there's nothing like a nice summer evening in Ireland, but saying that there is something medicinal about a nice sun holiday abroad.

SNNUS

I have lost all hope with the recent weather, storms and cold temps is not what I think k of for late may..

DOCARCH

SNNUS wrote: »

I have lost all hope with the recent weather, storms and cold temps is not what I think k of for late may..

It's Spring....wait for Summer.

Gonzo

SNNUS wrote: »

I have lost all hope with the recent weather, storms and cold temps is not what I think k of for late may..

We had similar weather to this from mid June to end of August last summer, plenty of rain and cool temperatures and barely any sunshine. Still 10 days to go to summer. Let's hope this summer is better than last years horror show of a summer.

Thelonious Monk

It better improve or it wont be only Africans arriving in the Canaries in overcrowded illegal boats

KanyeSouthEast

Gonzo wrote: »

We had similar weather to this from mid June to end of August last summer, plenty of rain and cool temperatures and barely any sunshine. Still 10 days to go to summer. Let's hope this summer is better than last years horror show of a summer.

Go back through the summer 2020 forum and you’ll find plenty of comical Ali types telling us the weather was glorious!

The One Doctor

Donegal Storm wrote: »

A more sub-tropical climate would be perfect for me, warmth and sunshine year round but with some nice big thunderstorms to keep things interesting. Maybe somewhere like Madeira though I've never been

I lived in Brisbane for a while, that's a good description of the weather there. Warm with occasional epic thunderstorms.

mcburns07

KanyeSouthEast wrote: »

Go back through the summer 2020 forum and you’ll find plenty of comical Ali types telling us the weather was glorious!

Old threads a bit of bed time reading is it? :pac:

hatrickpatrick

FWIW, the CFS shows this horrible spell breaking in the last week of May, for a generally HP dominated and below average rainfall June.

Note the blue and green frames respectively at the beginning of each GIF, the current situation is well out of whack in terms of the average:

SNNUS

Tentative signs of a settled warmer spell from midweek on.

Thelonious Monk

Rte only have highs of 13c till next Friday and no sign of sun in Dublin

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Rte only have highs of 13c till next Friday and no sign of sun in Dublin

I can see bits of blue when I look up. Rumour has it that it's not the source of the wet stuff that falls.

Probably only a rumour though.

esposito

This high pressure next week won’t be anything to write home about. We will get a few drier days but sunshine won’t be guaranteed. Not complaining though, we need it. Some newspaper reports claiming that the first week of June will be warm and sunny... anyone who takes that as gospel will be very disappointed.

sgthighway

esposito wrote: »

This high pressure next week won’t be anything to write home about. We will get a few drier days but sunshine won’t be guaranteed. Not complaining though, we need it. Some newspaper reports claiming that the first week of June will be warm and sunny... anyone who takes that as gospel will be very disappointed.

I don't know much but weather is normally good around the Leaving Cert every year ;-)

KanyeSouthEast

sgthighway wrote: »

I don't know much but weather is normally good around the Leaving Cert every year ;-)

Ha one of the great Irish stories!!

DOCARCH

Mod Note: Updated thread title for general Summer chat and observations.

OldRio

Showers last night and woke up to the sound of the Cuckoo. Warm night. Heavy cloud cover this morning.
Co. Leitrim.