Heatwave what Heatwave ?

[Cowley]

Being in the office today was great with the A/C. The problem was driving home (no A/C in my old banger!) I had to shut the windows of the car because the air outside was so hot. I really hope i never have to do that again...

I’ve been taking my daughters car to work recently as it’s cheap to run and it’s really easy going down the country lanes in a small car. I took the van this last couple of days though because it’s got really good aircon and I decided that the difference in price would have been taken up by the ice creams I’d have ended up buying on the way home.

 

[TheBigD]

Just back from my 30 mile bike ride. The temperature here has dropped a fair bit in the last 2 hours and it's quite a pleasant evening out there in South West Lincolnshire.

 

[adc82140]

Two local shops shut early today because of the weather, complete with the return of the obligatory meaningless "Stay safe" phrase. Funny thing is though they shut at 3, just as a band of showers passed through and caused an 8 degree temperature drop. I'm sure they will go bleating to the local rag again saying how difficult business is, and how it's everyone's fault except theirs...

 

[DelayRepay]

We just had about six drops of rain here in Milton Keynes.

It's slightly cooler than earlier but still very hot. There's no breeze and I am struggling to cool the house down. I do hope the promised drop in temperature comes soon.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jul 2022 ==

And as soon as I posted, the rain started and the breeze got going. It's a weird warm breeze but at least the air's moving. The sky's a strange dirty yellow colour too.

 

[philosopher]

Two local shops shut early today because of the weather, complete with the return of the obligatory meaningless "Stay safe" phrase. Funny thing is though they shut at 3, just as a band of showers passed through and caused an 8 degree temperature drop. I'm sure they will go bleating to the local rag again saying how difficult business is, and how it's everyone's fault except theirs...

I have just been a local convenience shop and the refrigerators were making a rather unhealthy sound. Not sure if it was heat related, but I suspect it was.

 

[DelayRepay]

I have just been a local convenience shop and the refrigerators were making a rather unhealthy sound. Not sure if it was heat related, but I suspect it was.

My local Sainsburys had the blinds shut on their fridges, and a couple had been emptied of stock.

 

[158756]

This year is not far off in terms of dry conditions, if this autumn and winter doesn't see much rain in the south-east we're in real trouble. Below is a map from the South-East Water Situation report showing rainfall relative to average over the last 1, 3, 6 and 12 months:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1089438/South_East_England_Water_Situation_Report_June_2022.pdf

View attachment 117911

I also happen to know from the April report that November 2021-April 2022 was the second-driest Nov-Apr on record, where the driest was, you guessed it, 1976.

Seeing the videos today of the fires around London, what's striking to me is how dry everything looks. I suppose it looks drier the further South East you go every summer, but from that report the area that looks like it covers Wennington had the lowest rainfall total of the lot for April-June. 80mm in 3 months isn't much at all. Has there been much focus on the danger of fires down there this week?

 

[krus_aragon]

Eurgh, and I have to drive down to the London area in that time period. At least I'll be able to head straight back to the relative cool of the North Wales coast...

Well, I drove down on Monday, stayed the night near Gatwick, then drove my relatives back north again, with no serious issues. Someone suggested I was unlucky to be busy driving on the two hottest days of the year, but I countered that I was quite happy to spend them sat in an air-conditioned car, thank you very much. (The first car I've owned to have it!)

The eleven-year old diesel had to work hard, though. It felt a low on power and asthmatic when the built-in thermometer was reading over 35 degrees (highest indicated was 37.5 on the M40 in late morning), and the gearstick wouldn't spring back left/right in the neutral position in the high heat. The poor thing was a lot happier this afternoon after we passed Birmingham and turned for the relative cool of the Welsh border.

Early morning in Crawley/Gatwick felt odd, as given the low sun and high heat my head said it should be late evening. (The patchy sleep in the non-aircon hotel with safety-catched windows didn't help.) But the weather I found when stopping for lunch in Birmingham, of intense dry heat and a stiff wind, was a memorable experience as I quick-marched across the car park.

6+ months ago, when planning this trip, I decided against meeting the family by train, due to the relative cost of return train fare and fueling the car. Recent diesel prices may have killed that price advantage, but I've ended up happy not to be trying to use the rail network today, given how rickety the service out of London turned out to be.

 

[Cowley]

Seeing the videos today of the fires around London, what's striking to me is how dry everything looks. I suppose it looks drier the further South East you go every summer, but from that report the area that looks like it covers Wennington had the lowest rainfall total of the lot for April-June. 80mm in 3 months isn't much at all. Has there been much focus on the danger of fires down there this week?

My slightly increasing worry is of forest fires in some of the pine plantations taking hold down here. It’s getting dryer and dryer and although we quite often get moorland fires I don’t think it’s something that can be counted out.

 

[jj1314]

Woken a few minutes before eight o'clock in Penzance by a rumble of thunder, after the longest continuous sleep I've had in months i.e. almost six hours! Now have back door wide open letting in the very fresh air, temperature down by about 15 degrees in last hour!

I'm in Penzance at the moment and have to say that storm was quite something! Very refreshing, too, as you say.

 

[Gloster]

Some light showers earlier in the evening on my bit of the Isle of Wight: just enough to take the edge off the heat. Quite a pleasant breeze now.

 

[Iskra]

Sadly no rain here although some was forecast for this evening. Still very hot and humid. Luckily I’ve been at work today and we have air con. Drove the scenic way home and the reservoirs are getting extremely low now.

Back to more normal weather tomorrow

 

[eMeS]

... Drove the scenic way home and the reservoirs are getting extremely low now. ...

Would this be a good time for removing the build-up of silt in the reservoirs? Is this ever done in the UK?

 

[Broucek]

We’ve had rain in North London but it’s still obnoxiously hot…

 

[MikeWM]

Couple of claps of thunder and a small amount of rain here. Would have expected something a little more spectacular after the last couple of days; hopefully tomorrow afternoon will be a little more interesting.

Second night sleeping on the couch for me I think. It's about 29 upstairs and still about 29 outside, so no chance of getting it to cool down before I go to bed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

For the last 48 hours, I have had an air ionizer unit running in the lounge.

 

[DelayRepay]

Couple of claps of thunder and a small amount of rain here. Would have expected something a little more spectacular after the last couple of days; hopefully tomorrow afternoon will be a little more interesting.

Second night sleeping on the couch for me I think. It's about 29 upstairs and still about 29 outside, so no chance of getting it to cool down before I go to bed.

It was the same here in Milton Keynes. A hot and stuffy night. It looked like we were going to get some respite when the rain arrived, but it quickly passed.

Even this morning, it's cool outside but the house is still hot, despite me having all the windows open.

But I have nothing to moan about compared to those poor people whose houses have burned down. Some dreadful pictures on the news and social media this morning

 

[yorksrob]

Was hot and stuffy all night here in Yorkshire, but from about 6:00 onwards there has been a delightful cool breeze.

 

[D821]

Cooler here today, but the house is still stuffy, but not as bad as yesterday. No rain, but I enjoyed a cool walk along the seafront with the dogs at 10 last night that helped.

 

[AndrewE]

Would this be a good time for removing the build-up of silt in the reservoirs? Is this ever done in the UK?

They do. I have seen the Longdendale reservoirs drained down in turn and the stuff that came out was sold as "Pennine gold" soil conditioner.
I guess that they plan it well in advance though, and have other problems to manage at the moment. It's like suggesting that the railways should relay a junction at short notice on a day when there is a strike.

 

[adc82140]

Looking back at yesterday, it was all quite fun chasing the maximum, until those fires broke out. Then it hit home how serious this is. A good few houses burned to the ground, all caused by a small fire in a back garden. We desperately need rain. The band of showers yesterday was nowhere near enough. It just evaporated. Whilst the temperatures are back down to something more "normal", we still have no rain forecast until at least the middle of next week.

 

[D821]

I do wonder how many if those fires in London were started by kids messing about and they rapidly spread out of control.

 

[reddragon]

Seeing the videos today of the fires around London, what's striking to me is how dry everything looks. I suppose it looks drier the further South East you go every summer, but from that report the area that looks like it covers Wennington had the lowest rainfall total of the lot for April-June. 80mm in 3 months isn't much at all. Has there been much focus on the danger of fires down there this week?

That area around the East London / Essex border along with The Wash are the 2 driest places in Europe with minimal rainfall. Western Britain has 4 to 8 times the amount of annual rainfall, and even west London has 1.5 times as much.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Going to the Trafford Centre last night to put the deposit down for the new engagement ring (eeek) felt like going to a US mall somewhere once out of the air-conditioned car. I think the temperature was still around 30C at 8pm.

Much cooler in Stockport today which is more conducive to working in an upstairs room. Hoping for hybrid work soon and the office to be air-conditioned, just to give me the option in future summers!

 

[DelayRepay]

It's lovely here now. Warm but not hot, with a gentle breeze. All windows open, breeze blowing through the house and temperature returned to normal.

But if this is to be a regular occurrence, we are going to have to think about how we insulate our houses from the heat, in the same way that we think about insulation to keep us warm in the winter. Installing air-con in every house wouldn't be viable due to cost and electricity consumption, but are there other measures we can think about? E.g. are external shutters on windows more effective than closing the curtains?

I guess we also need to become more aware of the risk of fires, given yesterday's experience. Not sure how much we can do to prevent a repeat though.

 

[TwoYellas]

Looking back at yesterday, it was all quite fun chasing the maximum, until those fires broke out.

Those maximums are anything but fun. I didn't want to see them in the first place! Nightmare

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I am unsure whether my age of 77 has had anything to do with this, but since Monday morning I have totally lost my appetite and have just had cold drinks made with cordial and sparkling water.

 

[nlogax]

I am unsure whether my age of 77 has had anything to do with this, but since Monday morning I have totally lost my appetite and have just had cold drinks made with cordial and sparkling water.

I think it's pretty normal. Hot weather doesn't usually inspire the appetite unless it's for something cold and fizzy.

 

[MikeWM]

It was the same here in Milton Keynes. A hot and stuffy night. It looked like we were going to get some respite when the rain arrived, but it quickly passed.

Even this morning, it's cool outside but the house is still hot, despite me having all the windows open.

But I have nothing to moan about compared to those poor people whose houses have burned down. Some dreadful pictures on the news and social media this morning

The heat stuck around longer in Ely than most places, minimum was about 19 but the humidity has zoomed up to compensate. Still about 28 an hour or two ago today, but I think we've peaked for the day now.

Tonight looks a bit damp and that will keep the temperature up somewhat too, but things are improving. Or they were until the people replacing the gas pipes outside sliced through an electricity cable and cut off our power... Suppose at least they waited until today to do that, wouldn't have been good the last two days!

 

[CaptainHaddock]

It's about 15 degrees centigrade cooler than it was yesterday but are all these climate scientists saying today this proves the planet's getting cooler? Of course not.

So why were they all saying yesterday that two days of unusually hot weather proved that the planet's getting hotter? You need to look at the average temperature over the course of the year, not take a freakishly hot spell out of context.