So there was 1976, basically dry and hot for the whole of June, July and to some extent in August. Very rare in Scotland. The July of 1983 wasn't bad either, I remember the tar on the roads and pavements bubbling during the very hot days, water pistol fights that lasted for hours (usually with a makeshift 2nd hand washing-up liquid bottle). Those were the days! 1989 & 1990 had a good summer spells too I recall.
Many argue about this but; I reckon the summer of 1995 beats them all. I don't have the statistics to compare it with the previous scorchers. But for sheer glorious, almost Mediterranean like conditions, it was fabulous.
1995
The scorcher!
I guess it really began in the 3rd week of June, although the six weeks beforehand had been dry with more than a few warm days. The longest day was marked by wall to wall maximum sunshine. The rock festival "T in the park" was held during the last weekend in June in Hamilton, only 4 or so miles from here, the venue was like a dustbowl and in the heat of the day many were suffering from dehydration and sun-burn. On both days the temperature reached over 30°C. A truly fantastic weekend of music and weather. By the months end over 300 hours of sunshine had been clocked up - still the monthly record here.
July began in much the same vain with most days being warm, dry and sunny. As is often the case in Scotland though, such hot weather breaks down spectacularly. And the 2nd week of July had easily the most incredible thunderstorms I've ever witnessed (read elsewhere). We all thought this marked the end of the great weather, - and even if it had - it would still have been remembered in Scotland for being the best in a long, long time. But it wasn't the end at all. Indeed it was barely the beginning
By the end of July the weather was back on track again, with most days heading toward or surpassing 80°F. It did rain from time to time, but always seemed to do so overnight. The first 3 weeks of August were very warm indeed and bone dry, almost every day seen the mercury easily pass the 70°F mark. Then on August the 11th I finally recorded the magic 90°F at my site, almost a national record. The number of times 90°F has been recorded in Scotland can be counted in one hand. The last week of August saw somewhat cooler conditions return, but it was still (by average standards) good weather. On the 1st of September the weather finally relented with a cool and damp day.
Statistics prove how warm that summer was here. On 49 days the temperature passed 70°F, this is more than twice the average. And on a staggering 17 days the temp' passed 80°F, a mark which otherwise is usually only reached once a year on average. If only all summers were like 1995!!!
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The spring drought
After the snows of the first week of February melted - the next 11 weeks were dominated by very dry and particularly sunny weather. Overnight mists and frosts were common place, but pretty much as soon as dawn broke these dispersed and gave way to glorious blue skies and pleasant conditions. No rainfall fell between 11th March -1st April, the longest running on drought in site records. The 10.6mm that fell on 1st April was followed by another three weeks of completely dry weather. On the 16th April temperatures soared to 24.6°C ( the monthly record), and for a few days much of Britain was under the influence of Saharan weather (including dust). Sadly the warm period was marred somewhat by vandals setting fire to areas of tinder-dry heath land and forests.
Both February and March had record sunshine totals with over 300 hours being recorded in those 2 months. The weather finally relented on the Easter Monday bank holiday (21st April) with some thundery showers.
Below is a splendid satellite image showing the Saharan dust that had been transported over the UK in mid-April, particularly prominent over the North Sea.
a good summer?
Not quite a scorcher by 1995 standards! May had thoroughly broken the spring drought, the wettest May on record - helped undoubtedly by a severe thunderstorm on the second last day. But the final day of May 2003 gave an insight as to what lay ahead.
June had no outstanding single days temperature wise, but it was warmer and sunnier that average - the best since 1995. July began in much the same vein, then on the 13th a four day spurt of glorious weather came along, peaking with a high of 28.9°C on the 14th, the warmest day since 1995. With cloudless skies and extremely low humidity (down to 18% RH at one point) it was probably the most beautiful day I can ever remember here in my life. The final two week of July were slightly disappointing, often wet, though not cold.
The first 16 days of August brought along another heat wave, particularly warm during the week that commenced on 4th August. The hottest day of the year was on the 9th when 29.3°C was reached (again, the hottest day since the summer of 1995). Unlike July's better days, it was sometimes an uncomfortable and sultry heat. The final week of August was cool, particularly at night, and this helped peg back any chance of the month being outstandingly warm. It did take the record for being the driest August on record though and was also very sunny.
Overall, a dry summer. Pleasant indeed, but not a patch on 1995.
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2005
Dry July and September fry
June had been rather warm, but rather wet also. July began rather tame then from the 7th to the 13th the weather was outstanding. And the best day of all was the 11th.
The sun seemed stronger that day than I can ever recall it feeling before in Scotland. Alike July 14th 2003 (referred to above), the temperature reached +28.9ºC and the sunshine was uninterrupted from dawn 'til dusk. The temperature remained above 80ºF (26.6ºC) for more than eight consecutive hours - a feat never recorded before at this site, despite recording higher maximum values.
It was the sunniest July since 2000 and, the first month that temperatures exceeded 80ºF more than once, again since July 2000. The very warm second week was counter-balanced by a cold final week. But it was also the driest month for 10 years and the driest July since 1984.
The dry weather continued for the first three weeks of August 2005. Between July 1st and August 20th (51 days), only 31.2mm of precipitation was recorded at this site. Sadly the hot days were not repeated in August though.
Whilst the US was still figuring out how to cope with the destruction and havoc wreaked by hurricane Katrina on its Gulf states, Scotland was about to have its finest start to the month of September for 99 years. On September 4th, the temperature at this site reached a miraculous +27.5ºC which smashed the previous September record by more than 3ºC. To the best of my knowledge this is the highest September temperature recorded in locally since 1906! By the middle of September things were pretty much back to normal.
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2006
The good side of global warming?
May was a cool month overall, but with some very pleasant days in week one and two. June began with warmer weather for the time of year than I can remember. On seven consecutive days (from the 6th to the 12th), the temperature exceeded 70ºF. Peaking on the 10th with 27.7ºC / 82ºF - a good day to have a garden party, which is exactly where I was. The heat and alcohol got to one of my friends that day (I'm sure you remember Andy! :P). The warmest June day since 2000, and the most sustained period of heat in June since 1995. The second half of June was cooler, but still the average maximum for the month of +19.4ºC was the best for 11 years.
The first week of July was very warm, sticky and thundery, not the most pleasant of conditions. A fresher week followed. Then from the 14th an amazing spell of hot weather, perhaps eclipsing 1995 at it's height, came along. For the next seventeen days the temperature exceeded 70ºF every day, and on four occasions surpassed 80ºF. The hottest day being the 25th when, alike July 2003 & 2005, it reached +28.9ºC once again. Many days were very sultry and humid, particularly the 18th - by 9am the temperature had almost reached 24ºC, and despite cloudy skies the temperature remained well above 26ºC from 11ish til well into the evening. This heat was something many natives were unaccustomed too. Having got wall cavity insulation in my house four or five years back - it certainly made for some uncomfortable nights here - with temperatures sometimes over 90ºF at night indoors. Air conditioning would have been a welcome luxury! It was the warmest July since 1976 overall and the warmest of all months since the record breaking August 1995. One of the most sunny months also.
August was certainly nothing special, it was surely asking too much to have three very warm months in a row? But September was pretty much as warm as August (unusually) and had some lovely days to extend one of the finest summers in my lifetime. The evening and night of the 21st September was particularly remarkable, it had been a warm day and the temperature dipped below 20ºC around sunset - only to rise back up to 22°C by 10pm where it remained for around 3 hours. I don't believe I've ever recorded such a warm temperature at midnight even in the height of summer, never mind at the autumn equinox. The warmth continued throughout the autumn of 2006, the warmest Autumn on record here.
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2007
Where art thou April showers?
The warmth of the tail end of the previous year spilled into 2007, giving rise to one of the warmest winters on record - with no significant snowfall lying on the ground at any stage. The winter months had been rather wet mind you, if frustratingly mild.
Just over 10mm of rain fell in the whole month of April 2007 and almost all of this in a 4 day period from the 22nd - 25th. The cloudy skies on these nights acted as a blanket and gave rise to the three warmest April nights on record. The rest of the month was dry, sunny (especially at the end) and outstandingly warm (particularly so midmonth). The driest of all months since June 1995 and the warmest April overall on record by quite some margin.
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2009
One hot and sultry day
July 2nd! Maximum temperature of exactly 30.0ºC in Wishaw,
the first time since 1995 we've reached the big three-O here and the site record
for July. The temperature had passed 25ºC by 9am, quite incredible - and this on
a day of broken cloud, rather than wall to wall sunshine. It's only the fourth
time I've recorded 30.0ºC here since I began keeping unbroken records in 1993.
(The other three occasions were twice in June 95 and once in Aug 1995). And
going back through other local records, it's probably the warmest July day in
North Lanarkshire since 1983. The dew point was also above 20ºC for a short time
late morning, this is also a site record.
Phew!
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Feel the heat on 11.07.05 below!
