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Old 10-13-2015, 08:46 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irlinit View Post
Parts of coastal southern UK get close to 2000 hours of sunshine a year.
True, but that's a very tiny sliver of coastal area. The vast vast majority of the UK gets much less than that


Quote:
For US locations which use a different method for measuring sunshine data, you have to take about 200 hours from their totals.
Probably true if you want to compare it to the CS recorder


Quote:
Yes US is generally much sunnier than UK (to be expected given latitude differences) but places like Seattle are pretty similar to Portsmouth sunshine wise
Seattle is considered one of the gloomiest parts of the US, so your sunniest would still be gloomy here.

 
Old 10-13-2015, 08:56 AM
 
577 posts, read 667,939 times
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That's what I'm trying to say, the UK in general is gloomier than the US, and even the sunniest parts of the UK are only as sunny as the gloomiest parts of the US. Eastbourne got 2000 hours back in 2011, and was the highest in the UK. If you got that in most US cities it would be considered disappointing.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Arundel, FL
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Old 10-13-2015, 10:17 AM
 
Location: SE UK
14,831 posts, read 11,959,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwuk45 View Post
That's what I'm trying to say, the UK in general is gloomier than the US, and even the sunniest parts of the UK are only as sunny as the gloomiest parts of the US. Eastbourne got 2000 hours back in 2011, and was the highest in the UK. If you got that in most US cities it would be considered disappointing.
What you have to remember is that the sun is so low during the 3 months around Christmas that even on a 'good' day you are unlikely to record any sunshine at all, the fact that where I live gets around 2000 hours of sun a year is actually quite remarkable when its pretty much only across 9 months of the year, the summers are generally pretty sunny affairs here, of course Winter is not very pleasant because of the long nights and low trajectory of the sun but at least its usually not too cold. People that think the UK is just one long grey, drizzly affair are just wrong, I think perhaps that one reason that it gets a 'bad' rap is because the weather can be un-predictable, you are just as likely to have rain in June as you are in November (well almost as likely), August this year hear was unsettled yet so far this month there has been a lot of sun and just one day of rain, sunshine amounts where I live are not too bad but you simply cannot guarantee it, in other words if you have a weeks holiday you could be unlucky whereas you can be (almost) guaranteed sunshine in the Med. The biggest losers of the myth about the British weather? Tourists! Often you will see them in July on the tube (usually about 30+ degrees C down there in the summer) sweating profusely, dressed for the arctic, with ugly brightly coloured 'plastic' coats and lugging around an umbrella, actually I have never even owned an umbrella (apart from one that came with my golf bag) and I don't play golf in the rain :-)
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
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It's not remarkable. There's parts of Finland with more sunshine hours than you.

Southern England is not a northern latitude.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:21 AM
 
Location: Leeds, UK
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^^ 55N isn't either. It's mid-latitude.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:21 AM
 
Location: Top of the South, NZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nei View Post
Doubt it. Atmosphere inland tends to be often clearer here; deep blue skies combined with low relative humidity happen more frequently here than inland. I just don't notice the harsh sun you describe. Well standing in a field without shade midday with the temperatures in the low or mid 70s isn't ideal, not the harshest conditions I can imagine (people lay out and sunbathe in those conditions). The only reason I can think of why it seems worse to you is you don't get hotter usually so it feels harsh.
My experience from inland places in NZ and regions like California and Australia, is that they don't have skies as clear as coastal areas after a front. They often have a haze, which lessens the impact of the heat. Perhaps your higher humidity means that you don't get the clearer atmosphere.

The hottest feeling sun, comes just after a cold front, so temperatures are typically only average, not higher. Don't see people sunbathing, when days have that feel to them.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
7,668 posts, read 5,249,718 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno what to put here View Post
^^ 55N isn't either. It's mid-latitude.
I'm a darnsite lot further north than him anyway.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Central New Jersey & British Columbia
855 posts, read 768,271 times
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England's climate is fine, it's just a matter of preference. It has that nice, gentle aspect that rarely makes you feel excessively uncomfortable. Not hot muggy summer days (by US standards), no freezing winter storms usually. It's just pleasant.

The lack of sunshine isn't a big deal, because it rarely gets socked in totally for days and days. There are usually gaps of sunshine sprinkled through the day. Altogether it's a pretty pleasant climate, not very interesting or dramatic, but pleasant.
 
Old 10-13-2015, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Leeds, UK
22,118 posts, read 29,520,360 times
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Yes, you certainly are.
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