For those of you due to arrive, particularly London and the South East, in the next couple of days. Today is warm but muggy and overcast.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8122969.stm
I know that it gets hot/hotter elsewhere but after the last couple of summers, forgive us for sometimes going over the top!
Yowsa! It's warmer there than where I am! I'm two weeks out from my trip - it doesn't need to be a heatwave, but freedom from rain, particularly during the horse show, would be nice.
Stock up on the water and fans!
We were in England a few weeks ago and smiled as the local populace sweltered when it soared to 75F. For the record, because Ohio isn't bad enough at 85, we're heading for New Orleans! Not too smart, is it.
It is quite hot. There is actual "heatwave" warnings out. We were discussing it at work today. I think one difference to keep in mind is that places are not designed with the high temperatures in mind and facilities are not designed to handle it as well as some Hot Weather locations in the states.
We said last week that our current heat wave in Texas is getting us ready to feel cool in Rome. It was 107 F here one day recently.
Current Google temps says it will coast down to the mid-seventies to high 60's by Sunday. Does that seem possible? Our flight is Wednesday and I would like to chuck a few more ounces off my carry-on. My first readings said high 50's to mid 60's in Dublin with London loading on another 5 degrees or so. Sorry, but my life reads in Fahrenheit.
To Karen:
I don't quite understand your question. Where are you going on your trip and for how long? What are you thinking of leaving home?
I just read that Wednesday or Thrursday will be the hottest days of this week. But yes of course the temps. can drop quickly....it does that where I live!
The long-range forecast for England this summer is for higher than normal temps. It is also quite warm on the continent.
The weather website I like best is the weather wunderground......google it..I forget the exact name.
I have it in my favorites.
The one thing to remember about the British weather is that it is very changeable and, due to our geography and the effect of the Gulf Stream, very difficult to accurately forecast. I certainly wouldn't make firm plans based on a weather forecast about Britain more than a day in advance.
I think a lot of Americans don't realise this and get worried when the two week forecast shows rain for their trip or post asking if it will rain in first week of September and such. These posts are often responded to with amusement, which is perhaps unfair and the posters don't realise how impossible to answer their questions are.
I say unfair because I think most British people are equally ignorant of just how predictable the weather is in some parts of the USA - especially the flats bits in the middle. I certainly was until my Mother in Law (who lives in Indiana) made some comment about the snow being a a week late this year. I assumed she was being facetious but apparently their weather is that regular. Their weather forecast will also predict, in all seriousness, as precisely as "precipitation at 3.45PM." It's just an accident of geography makes their weather relatively easy to forecast.
I think anyone travelling to the UK should memorise this Bill Bryson quote:
Take this, for instance: "I have a small, tattered clipping that I sometimes carry with me for the purposes of private amusement. It's a weather forecast from a regional paper and it says, in toto, 'Outlook: dry and warm, but cooler with some rain.'"
Peter, "the flat bits in the middle" is that all we are to you?
Two years ago when we went to England, it had been raining steadily for over a month (with flooding) and was forcast to continue. Not a happy thought. It stopped raining the day we arrived and started two weeks later the day we left. We had beautiful weather for the entire two weeks. This has happened to us a couple of times - you just never know.
Karen: I think it's a good truism that if someone is looking to find offence they can find it anywhere - especially where none is intended.
If you honestly interpreted a conversational post about how geography affects the predictability of weather forecasting as some kind of slight then I truly am sorry.
Peter, my turn to apologize. I haven't yet found the emoticon that shows tongue in cheek.
No worries - I hate emoticons but they are useful.
Of course I know there's more to the Midwest than weirdly punctual weather. There's Steak n Shake and corn, lots and lots of corn...
We once drove from 95/high humidity/ozone alert Fort Wayne to an island in Ontario. The highs there never went over 80, and we were enjoying the relief. The Canadians, though, were wilting. I will say, it's harder to endure the unusual high temps when air conditioning is rare.
Back to Bill Bryson, he once said that when he lived in England, he liked being able to where the same clothes year round.
The weather in the UK is extremely variable due to lots of factors.None of my friends there ever put much faith in the weather forecast(compared to here).
On one month-long July trip, it started off very much on the coolish/rainy side(which was a relief to me coming from HOT and HUMID New York) and halfway through the month it turned hot and steamy.
The same thing can happen in the cooler months as well(well not hot and steamy). I have spent lots of time there in November, December, January and had lots of what I consider balmy weather, as well as
rain(but rarely all day). Since I am from the NE, it always seems much warmer to me than at home. I have seen snow (rarely) but it always disappears very quickly. I always get a chuckle over the weatherman saying on TV...there will be a frost tonight.....as we have frost every night in winter!!!
It is a much more moderate climate than the Northeast and North Central US and I imagine most of Canada. If you are from the deep south, you may regard it as cold in winter, but I consider it
just right!!! I don't go too often in the summer
but the last 2 years have been extraordinarily rainy causing awful flooding in some areas. That said, I managed to be there in July 2008 for a few days of hot weather(I think the only ones they had) which was very uncomfortable.
The moral of the story is that you rarely have extreme weather in the UK but you should always be prepared for whatever comes down the pike. You will not find everything air conditioned, but you rarely need it anyway. If you are from the hotter parts of the US, you may find it cold in winter but I find it more damp than cold and always bring my cold weather gear!!
