What short memories we have. After such a hot summer, it is easy to forget that last August was a washout, to use the language of the Daily Mirror. Actually, it wasn’t that bad: but we did have lower temperatures and slightly higher rainfall than usual, which cast a blight over the summer holidays.
But in fine Fleet Street tradition, on 27 August the Mirror proclaimed that Britain “was braced for a September scorcher, as temperatures could reach 30C” in a late-summer heatwave.
Unfortunately, as the Met Office report for September 2017 reveals, things didn’t quite work out that way. The month did, it’s true, begin with a weak ridge of high pressure and settled weather, but things soon went downhill, with bands of cloud and rain crossing the country from the west. The first proper storm of the autumn, Storm Aileen, caused flooding and fallen trees, and sporting events were cancelled later in the month.
Overall, the temperature for the month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was a shade below the long-term average, although things were slightly better in Scotland. So, despite the media hysteria, it was neither a heatwave nor a washout – just a typical British September.
