| General introduction . . . | |
| Quick-Look summary: 1960 to current . . . | |
| Holiday highlights . . . | |
| Selected holidays: pre-1960. . . | |
| Catalogue: 1960 - 1989 | |
| Catalogue: 1990 - present day | |
| "We're all going on a ... Summer Holiday! . . . | |
| Weather notes relating to August Bank Holidays . . . | |
| Notes re: UK Bank / Public holidays . . . |
General introduction . . .
These notes generally only make reference to the weather over
England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI), as this is a public holiday in
these places, not just a bank holiday. Scotland have their public holiday, as
the rest of the UK used to do, at the beginning of August. However, from 1997,
I have included Scotland as well for the sake of completeness. The change (for
EWNI) occurred in 1965 .. enacted by a Labour government, although the change
was promulgated in March of 1964, when the Conservatives were in
power.
(note that I have included the Friday, as most people seem to
'slope-off' on that day.)
(The Republic of Ireland also have their PH at the beginning of
August, although there is some debate about whether they might change the
holiday to the end of the month.)
(For more on Bank / Public holidays in the UK, click
HERE)
Holiday Highlights . .
.
Some GOOD ones ....
2007
Coming after a summer of high rainfall and indifferent or low temperatures,
this August Bank Holiday (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) was very
welcome! With the high pressure settling down to the west or west-south-west of
the British Isles, the further south and east you were, the more the sun shone,
and temperatures responded as a result. They weren't spectacular, because the
surface wind had the north or northwesterly component, but the south coast
fared very well. As you went further north or northwest, then more cloud (at
times), with some patchy rain, but even here not too bad. Shetland though had a
poor weekend of declining temperatures & on a couple of days strong (or
gale-force) winds, ending up with a maximum of only 11degC on Monday - though
of course it wasn't a holiday in the islands.
2001
Not bad overall. Very warm, locally hot across the English Midlands and
southern lowlands - also SE Wales on Friday & Saturday: Warmest Bank
Holiday Saturday in London/Home Counties since the holiday was switched to the
end of August (1965). However, whilst central & northern areas (including
Scotland & Northern Ireland) had a fine Sunday, the south, particularly SE
England had an overcast, humid, thundery day on Sunday - temperatures 10degC
lower than the previous day. Monday made up for all though, with most having a
fine, sunny day. Subjectively, overall: the 'best' since 1993.
1991
On the Friday, it was cool and windy, and did not promise well, with a
scattering of sometimes heavy showers. However, with a good recovery of
pressure behind a retreating/filling deep depression, day maxima on Sunday
reached 22 or 23 degC over Northern Ireland and northern England, locally
higher, and up to 25 degC in the south. By Bank Holiday Monday, all areas were
fine and warm, though there was a lot of cloud at times in the north as a weak
cold front fragmented on coming southeast. Best locations once again on the
English south coast and Channel Islands: with Herne Bay, Southsea, Guernsey and
Torquay all figuring in the max. sunshine stakes. Highest Temperature over the
weekend: 27.0 degC on Monday at Heathrow.
1955
Pressure was already high to the north and west of these islands on Friday, but
a chill north wind brought showers to some eastern areas for a time. However,
even these faded away as the ridge toppled southeastwards during Saturday -
with dry weather for most for the rest of the weekend. A fine Holiday Monday,
with light or moderate breezes, large amounts of sunshine and inland afternoon
temperatures for many into the mid-20's degC, and locally higher in the
sheltered east and sunnier central and southern districts of England. Not a
'spectacular' one in terms of temperature, but it stands out in the middle part
of the 1950's as many of the others were rather poor.
Some BAD ones ....
1986
The weekend got off to a bad start on the Friday, with a morning (night
minimum) temperature in the Belfast area of just 10 degC, and during the day,
with lots of thick cloud, (but not much rain), day maxima only reached 11 or 12
degC across the Province! In England and Wales, day maxima on the Friday were
somewhat better, but only in the range 16 to 20 degC. The depression bringing
areas of cloud and rain moved away, and the weather tried to pick up during
Saturday and Sunday, though day maxima on Sunday were still disappointing: 17
degC across Northern Ireland, and 18 or 19 degC across England and Wales. Many
areas were dry as well, though sunshine was fitful in places. However, come the
Monday, and ex-tropical depression 'Charley' brought strong winds, heavy rain
and notably cool conditions to most of the UK. The day maxima ranged from 12
degC in Belfast to 17 or 18 degC across southern and some eastern areas of
England, with notably heavy falls of rain, and some flooding. (See attached
sheets for other details.) For most, it was a disastrous Bank Holiday Monday,
but its worth noting that in Scotland, where it wasn't a public holiday, the
weather was dry, if rather cool.
1976
This Bank/Public Holiday is notable of course, because of the infamous
break-down on the 1976 drought/hot spell. After several weeks of hot, baking
dry weather, cooler weather spread south-westwards on the Friday and Saturday,
bringing heavy rain/thunderstorms in places. Many stations recorded an inch or
more of rain in 24h ... some places 2 inches, and because we had all got rather
fed up with the drought, and Denis Howell (Harold Wilson's "Minister for
Drought"), by this time, no-one minded!
1966
A lot of dry weather on the first three days, with sunshine, but spoilt by the
nagging southeast or easterly winds on the southern flank of a strong
anticyclone centred in the southern Norwegian Sea. As a result of the winds,
and sometimes cloudy skies, temperatures were held back to 'near-average'
values, but some sheltered western areas fared well. The weather started
breaking down on 28th(Sunday) in the southwest as a depression edged
northeastward, and by Monday, in addition to strong/gusty winds, there were
outbreaks of heavy/thundery rain in many places. Violent thunderstorms occurred
on the Monday. The storms did considerable damage; many main roads were
flooded, in places to a depth of 30 cm or more causing chaos to holiday
traffic.
1956
The weather pattern was very disturbed. Bank Holiday Monday was a notably poor
day - regarded at the time as 'one of the worst on record'! The day was
dominated by a cool northerly airflow: There were some spectacular
thunderstorms, with large hail and some 4ft (around 1m) of water causing
flooding in Tunbridge Wells (Kent). At one point, the centre of the town was
buried under a foot (~30cm) of hail-ice, with drifts of hailstones up to 4ft
(~1m) deep. The midday temperature in central London was just 13degC (c.f. the
average day maximum of 22degC). On this measure, it was regarded as the coldest
Bank Holiday Monday in the capital since 1880.
[ This August was one of the coldest and wettest of the 20th century. ]
The Great British Bank
Holiday . . .
Over the period that the main summaries on this site cover
(1960 onwards), the holiday habits of people in these islands have changed
dramatically. In 1960, disposable income (the amount left over to a family once
essentials had been paid) was limited - though growing. For many
'working-class' families, a holiday of any kind was something to be planned and
saved-for in the twelve-month before the event, and savoured when it actually
arrived. Unlike now, for instance, it was unheard of to take your children out
of school for a 'break', and the August Bank Holiday (at the beginning of
August for the whole of the UK until 1965), was part of the annual one or
two-week getaway to the seaside or the Dales. Poor weather was not welcome, but
we were more stoic then - if it rained, or it was cold, you found shelter as
best you could, or got wet! The more adventurous camping out peered through
tent-flaps at the river of mud flowing across the camp-site; the lucky ones
with caravans or their cars were better off: munching through food carefully
prepared in the morning, hoping that the clouds would lift and the waves of
driving rain would go away somewhere else. Fun Fairs did thriving business:
this was the 'heyday' of the holiday camp, where guaranteed shelter and
"something to do" could be found. A holiday to sunnier, warmer spots
was something for 'the rich'.
Then, along came the package holiday - these first appeared in the latter part
of the sixties, but the real explosion of same came through the seventies and
early eighties, though initially the horizons were limited: the Spanish
'Costas', followed by the Greek islands found hordes of 'Brits' decamping from
aircraft and turning up at hotels - the latter sometimes not quite finished!
Now, although there were ups and downs, prosperity spread wider and deeper
through the population, and the importance of the (now) last weekend in August
faded. No longer part of the extended holiday - it was more likely to be
something where you dug the car out and headed for the coast 'on the
offchance': the rise of the Bank Holiday car-boot sales, pop/rock concerts,
carnivals etc., dates from the 1980s shift in holiday habits.
Today, the August Bank Holiday weekend is the last major holiday of the year,
and as such is psychologically important - but no longer does is perhaps carry
the import of old: many now will have two or more periods away - and not
necessarily within the British Isles. With transport links cheaper, more
frequent and varied, the rise of the short-break to almost anywhere
other than your own back yard has arrived!
The weather at the end of August . .
.
Average day maxima at the end of August vary from 17 or 18degC
across inland urban areas of lowland Scotland and eastern Northern Ireland, to
as high as 20 or 21degC in the English Home Counties. In the principal south
coastal resorts, average afternoon 'highs' are around 20degC.
The day-length at this time of year (late August) is noticeably decreasing (and
with it the potential sunshine), and temperatures generally fall steadily
during the first few weeks of September. However, the sun is still high enough,
and therefore strong enough to feel very warm. We are, however, over 2 months
past the longest day (21st or 22nd June in most years), and also past the
period when the highest temperatures are usually found: in broad terms, for
many sites the highest temperatures on average are found within the last two
weeks of July, or the first two weeks of August - there are however notable
exceptions when June and September can claim this honour. The end of August
though is as good a time as any for a break: the sea temperatures are at a
maximum and the evenings and nights (for the ubiquitous Barbecue) are not
usually too chilly - unless the wind blows!
Martin Rowley
August, 2008
http://booty.org.uk/booty.weather/metindex.htm