To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

On 26 Aug, 21:23, wrote:
To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

Hi, Stephen,
Just 78.5hr (48%) so far here. Eskdalemuir 38.6hr(28%) so far
according to Roger Brugge's site!
I wonder if we will manage 100 hours by 31st? The only Augusts with
100hr at the University Observatory (Durham) were 1896, 97.1hr. 1939,
96.0hr, 1942, 95.6hr and the appalling 1912, 56.8hr.
I seem to recall reading that the whole poor summer of 1912 was due to
volcanic dust in the atmosphere following the eruption of Novarupta in
Alaska. The weather for that summer was unbelievably cold, dull and
wet.
Ken
Copley, Teesdale

On Aug 26, 10:23*pm, wrote:
To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

I don't keep sunshine records but I'm sure it has been just as
dull here, which may account for the fact that the mean daily range so
far this month (6.3 degC) has been quite easily the lowest for August
in my 26-yr record. Mean max is 19.3° and min 13.0°.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, NE Surrey, 556 ft.

On Aug 26, 10:23*pm, wrote:
To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

These are spells that present negative anomalous behaviour in the
North Atlantic:


2008

8 Jan 11:37 6
15 Jan 19:46 2
7 Feb 03:44 4
14 Feb 03:34 4
21 Feb 03:31 4
29 Feb 02:18 2
21 Mar 18:40 6
29 Mar 21:47 4
6 Apr 03:55 4
12 Apr 18:32 6
20 Apr 10:25 4
28 Apr 14:12 2
5 May 12:18 6
12 May 03:47 4
20 May 02:11 2
26 Jun 12:10 6
3 Jul 02:19 2
10 Jul 04:35 4
18 Jul 07:59 8
1 Aug 10:13 4
8 Aug 20:20 2
23 Aug 23:50 6
30 Aug 19:58 2
7 Sept 14:04 2
29 Sept 08:12 2
14 Oct 20:03 2
21 Oct 11:55 6
6 Nov 04:04 4
13 Nov 06:17 6
19 Dec 10:29 4
27 Dec 12:23 6

That last colum in each row placing the spell in its type.

There are more from last week perhaps there seems to be a measure of
that so called negativity in an erstwhile positive spell if the timing
is just right.

21:00 being a thundery spell and 21:16 making it a little more than
that unstable; possibly sending it over to the dark side?

And sunshine this year so far here in the Otter Valley, Devon:

1st Jun 233
2nd May 199
3rd Apr 194
4th Jul 188
5th Feb 135
6th Mar 132
7th Aug 106
8th Jan 67

Total so far of 1148 hours.

But a better guide to actually how cloudy/sunny a month was is to use the
sunshine as a percentage of the available time the sun is above the horizon.
Thus the months so far will be:

1st Jun, Apr & Feb 47%
4th May 42%
5th Jul 38%
6th Mar 36%
7th Jan 26%
8th Aug 22%

August may move up a place if it turns sunny for the last few days but so
far the sun has shone for only 22% of the available 448 hours.
________________
Nick.
Otter Valley, Devon
83 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk

On 26 Aug, 21:23, wrote:
To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

Nil sunshine again today. So with 12.0 h sunshine only just possible
in the closing days of August at this latitude, if the next four days
see unbroken sunshine then August will equal February's total.
Personally, I don't rate the odds!

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

On 27 Aug, 21:16, wrote:
On 26 Aug, 21:23, wrote:





To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

Nil sunshine again today. So with 12.0 h sunshine only just possible
in the closing days of August at this latitude, if the next four days
see unbroken sunshine then August will equal February's total.
Personally, I don't rate the odds!

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Still not reached 100 h - assuming no sunshine this evening, we're
just north of 97 h month to date. Still 20 hours needed to exceed the
dullest August on record (1968) in 70 years' local records, seems
unlikely in the two days remaining.

Per Nick's comments on percentage sunshine above, and taking 'maximum
sunshine' as astronomical day length minus 1.0 h (for the 30 min at
the beginning and end of day when the sunshine recorder will struggle
to record due to low solar angle - although 20 min might be a better
yardstick for electronic sensors) then this represents about 23 per
cent of possible - close to his figure of 22 in Devon.

Jan 1996 (19.9 h sunshine, C/S recorder) was the absolute dullest
month on my records here, representing only about 9 per cent of the
possible. I recall the very long dull spell after the bitter cold and
heavy snow in Jan 1987, when there was no sunshine for 15 consecutive
days from 13th, and how everyone brightened visibly when the sun
finally came out again at the very end of the month. I can't imagine
how depressing it must be to live north of the Arctic Circle and to
lose the sun all winter.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

wrote in message
...
I can't imagine
how depressing it must be to live north of the Arctic Circle and to
lose the sun all winter.
-
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

"I can't imagine how depressing it must be..."
Its pretty depressing here - as far as i am aware there haven't been any
investigations done into ranges of depressability by living in Britain v
living north of the Arctic circle, therefore I would think theres not a lot
of depressing difference. Its been depressing all this week in blinkin'
August! and we had excellent synoptic chart of a HIGH, in theory we did.
Well we all know what happened - depressing cloud all week, with a lighting
up time of 6pm. My energy bills this year are soaring what with the
occasional need for central heating as well. Couldn't be more depressing.
--
Dave R. [west London]

Per Nick's comments on percentage sunshine above, and taking 'maximum
sunshine' as astronomical day length minus 1.0 h (for the 30 min at
the beginning and end of day when the sunshine recorder will struggle
to record due to low solar angle - although 20 min might be a better
yardstick for electronic sensors) then this represents about 23 per
cent of possible - close to his figure of 22 in Devon.

I haven't made any allowances for the low angle of the sun when rising and
setting as I find this varies due to distant hills to the ENE which means
that the sunshine recorder doesn't turn on until 17 - 20 mins after sunrise
during the summer months.

During the winter this is less of a problem and the sunshine recorder can
switch on just 12 - 14 minutes after sunrise with very clear skies.
________________
Nick.
Otter Valley, Devon
83 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk

In article ,
Dave R. writes:
as far as i am aware there haven't been any investigations done into
ranges of depressability by living in Britain v living north of the
Arctic circle,

ISTR once reading that the Lapps have the highest suicide rate in the
world.
--
John Hall
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history
that man can never learn anything from history."
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)