[summer '85]

A very warm, dry, sunny July with a CET of 18.6. Temperatures were often above 25C and many stations recorded at least one day with a maximum above 30C. Thunderstorms broke out during the 11th-15th and around the 27th and these gave locally large rainfall totals. The height of the heatwave occurred when high pressure built over Scandinavia at the end of the month and this drew in a very hot easterly continental flow with temperatures soaring into the low 30s.

Aberdeen
Mean Max: 19.8C (+2.0) Highest Max: 25.6C Sunshine: 228hrs (145%)
Rainfall: 40mm (67%)
Glasgow
Mean Max: 20.9C (+2.1) Highest Max: 28.0C Sunshine: 200hrs (118%)
Rainfall: 94mm (152%)
Manchester
Mean Max: 23.7C (+4.1) Highest Max: 30.6C Sunshine: 239hrs (141%)
Rainfall: 40mm (62%)
Birmingham
Mean Max: 24.5C (+3.9) Highest Max: 32.0C Sunshine: 252hrs (139%)
Rainfall: 23mm (49%)
Heathrow
Mean Max: 26.3C (+3.8) Highest Max: 32.6C Sunshine: 247hrs (127%)
Rainfall: 20mm (43%)
Cardiff
Mean Max: 22.8C (+2.8) Highest Max: 30.1C Sunshine: 216hrs (103%)
Rainfall: 40mm (56%)
Belfast
Mean Max: 20.7C (+2.2) Highest Max: 25.5C Sunshine: 169hrs (114%)
Rainfall: 70mm (109%)

[cool j]

I remeber when I lived at home near Dublin there were a couple of days that month when it got to 30+ and literally it was too hot to go outside [wow]

[Dave K]

It was month of consistent warmth here rather than notable extremes. I can't really remember anything about it TBH but here are my stats:

Daily Ave max = 25.0 ºC
Daily Ave min = 13.6 º

Highest max = 31.0 ºC on 31st (14 days max => 25 ºC, 2 days > 30 ºC).

Rain fell on 6 days (20mm on 3rd, 8mm on both 26th and 27th)

[BUTTERFLY]

"I remember when I lived at home near Dublin there were a couple of days that month when it got to 30+ and literally it was too hot to go outside"

 

Actually according to the Monthly Weather Bulletin of Meteireann for July 1995, the highest temperature in the Republic of Ireland in July 1995 was 28.0 deg. C. on 26th July at Belmullet, NW Mayo, its warmest July day since 1983, so in some respects it was good that you weren't living in NW Mayo at the time! In August 2003, another warm month, almost the highest temperature (30.2 deg. C.) was also in North Mayo, at Belderg (aka Belderrig) on I think 5th or 8th. Only Birr, Co. Ofafly, exceeded this at 30.3 deg. C. I understand that 31.3 deg. C. was recorded at Athy, Co. Kildare, around 18th or 19th July this year which is the highest temperature in Ireland this century (or millennium); Northern Ireland also had its highest temperature of 30.0 deg. C. at Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, about the same time (and at 29.3 deg. C. on 5th August 2003, Castlederg also had the 2nd highest NI temperature this century).

The warmest station on average in July 1995 in the Republic of Ireland was Merrion Square in Dublin with a mean of 18.4 deg. C. (21.6, 15.1 deg. C., recording 27.2 deg. C. on 28th) with Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, a little behind at 18.1 (21.4, 14.7). However Ardee (Boharnamore), Co. Louth, had the highest average maximum at 22.3 deg. C  but as its mean minimum was 11.4 deg. C., the next lowest being 12.0 deg. C. at Derrygreenagh, Co. Offaly; Boharnamore also recorded the lowest temperature during the month of 3.1 deg. C. on 3rd, with a grass minimum of 3.0 deg. C. on 3rd and 9th.

July 1995 was also the warmest July on record at Belmullet, and also at Malin Head, Co. Donegal, where the temperature of 25.2 deg. C. on 25th was the highest in July since 1976. However the month that followed (August 1995) was even hotter and seems to have been the hottest month ever recorded in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (17.1 deg. C.). Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, averaged 19.5 deg. C. (24.2, 14.8) though Oak Park, Carlow, had the highest average maximum at 25.7 deg. C. and also the highest temperature of 31.5 deg. C. on 2nd, equalling the Irish August record at Ballybrittas, Co. Laois, on 3rd August 1975. Northern Ireland also had its highest ever August temperature on 2nd August 1995 of 30.6 deg. C. at Ballylisk near Tandragee, Co. Armagh, beating the previous record of 29.7 deg. C. (at the same station, also on 3rd August 1975). Once again the Boharnamore site recorded the lowest temperature, of deg. C. of 3.1 deg. C., with a grass minimum of -11.1 deg. C. on 9th. Some stations in Co. Wicklow recorded no rainfall at all and sunshine was very high, reaching 9.05 hours per day (153% of average or 62% of possible) at Rosslare, Co. Wexford (on average easily Ireland's sunniest place). Clones, Co. Monaghan, had 213% of its August average. Belmullet, Co. Mayo, which actually has a reasonable August sunshine average, had the lowest value at 6.36 hours, only 127% of its normal value, due in part to recording only 13 hours in the last 8  days, which was less than the daily totals in some places earlier in the month; 14.6 hours at Malin Head, Co. Donegal, on 5th, was the largest total. Sea temperatures reached 19-20 deg. C. off the south coast during the month which must be among the highest ever values reached. The summer as a whole in ROI was very dry and sunny (especially in the east) and the warmest on record; Shannon Airport averaged 17.8 deg. C., 2.8 deg. C. warmer than average. 

1995 was also the warmest and sunniest summer in Northern Ireland although 1983 with 108.4 mm was even drier than 1995 with 125.9 mm (1976 had 142.2 mm). 1968 with 565.8 hours was (surprisingly no doubt to many in Southern England who may remember that 1968 was a dull wet summer, indeed I believe one site in Nottinghamshire had only 71% of its normal sunshine for the year 1968), was NI's 2nd sunniest summer, surpassing 1976, 1975, 1989, and others.

Interestingly also, although Rosslare was the sunniest station in the Republic of Ireland with an average of 7.73 hours per day from June to August, I believe exactly the same figure was recorded near Newtownards, Co. Down, in Northern Ireland.

[Chris Alder]

A wonderful month month especially with the August that followed, that summer I completed my GCSE's and spent over 40days down the beach, amazing!

[Howard Kirby]

July and Aug 1995 were both excellent IMO. Regularly 18C at night I recall here.

[Lightning Hunter]

This is the summer that prompted me, aged 14, to start my weather records.  I haven't missed a day since, and still the same location!  I remember recording no rain at all in July 1995, the only month to do so in my records.  We also reached 32°C on a couple of days.

[brshort716]

July 1995 was very interesting here as well. That June had provided the first heatwave of any real standing since 1991 before the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The 2 weeks of hot temperatures were abruptly cut off in early July with a cold front that swept through dropping temperatures to a record low of 37*F on the 2nd, and then it warmed up again. A front moved through on July 13th and 14th with two devastating storms.. one morning coming from the east (a very rare thing indeed), and the next (14th) coming from the west that had 100mph straight line winds, wind bursts and unconfirmed tornados that blew down thousands of large pines at Itasca State Park (the headwaters of the Mississippi River) and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage where I lived.

The winds were so strong from the storm that we could actually see the glass bowing in and out on our windows (we lived in a log house with 6X6' windows on the front).

The rest of July and August were cool and the following winter was one of the most severe on record (with numerous blizzards, record cold, and persistent cold/snow that lasted about 1 month longer than normal).

[Adam D]

An awesome summer month.

More like that certainly would not go amiss!!!

[BUTTERFLY]

"This is the summer that prompted me, aged 14, to start my weather records.  I haven't missed a day since, and still the same location!  I remember recording no rain at all in July 1995, the only month to do so in my records.  We also reached 32°C on a couple of days."
-----
Paul

 

SURELY THIS MUST HAVE BEEN AUGUST 1995!