Is the heatwave hotter than the summer of 1976?

Other hot summers were 1959, 1969, and 1975.

In 1976 it was so hot in Cornwall that our lawn was brown and crispy. When it did eventually rain I was then living in Devon and people came out and danced in the streets!

The main difference - so far - is that we had a drought in 1976. We may not have had much rain yet - at least not in Cheshire - but there is every chance that it will change soon. My sons were 5 and 3 that summer and both got mumps, but not severely and they didn't pass it on to me. DS1 got a bee sting in his foot, and his little brother came to me and said," I won't get mumps, Mummy, cos I didn't get stung by a bee."
I noticed, to my chagrin, that a house along the road had a new swimming pool and that it was being filled by hose from the domestic water supply. I wrote to the water company but was told that there was nothing they could do about it. On a weekend away in Shropshire, my (now ex) husband and I were aghast at the extent of fire damage to farm lands and the omni-presence of fire tenders wherever we went.

Not sure if it was hotter, I was young and could cope far better in the heat, however it went on for so long. I did my finals in 1976, so hot, after that it was down the beach for the rest of the summer. All the grass on the nearby links turned brown and all all the grass verges

I definitely remember it as worse and much much longer. I was cooking in a very hot and badly ventilated kitchen for a restaurant in a Carnaby Street pub. I lived there too; I think it had about 7 floors altogether, with the upper floors being home to several barmen as well as me. Fortunately they weren't bothered enough about personal hygiene to mind that I kept the only bathroom occupied with a bath of cold water that I ran upstairs to dip into hourly. I think most nights we all knocked ourselves unconscious with alcohol, so I don't remember being unable to sleep!

I did my A level at the top of à four storey building in 100°F. It was unbearable and no account was taken of it when they awarded the grades. No norm referencing in those days.... We were on standpipes in Essex and it didn't rain for at least two months. But I al finding it harder to bear at 63 than I did at 18. Even after only week. I got good enough grades (just) to study languages at university and later taught them. I did such a good job on my own daughter that she married a Frenchman and now lives in France. She recently produced my first grandchild, who, I hope, will grow up bilingual. He already gurgles in both languages!

A levels!

I think the one in76 was a lot hotter and went on for longer. I had one child in the first year at primary school and a toddler. I remember offering to run a stall at the school fair and spent hours in the playground in full sun. And we had spent the morning setting up the stall in the heat. Im older now,kids have left home, so I can sit and put my feet up with a nice cooling fan.

Definitely 1976 was hotter, it started in May and went through to September, with a drought.

I got married to my late husband 5th June 1976 and it was 40 degrees centigrade on that day, I melted in my heavy crepe wedding dress ?

I had just returned from a year in Australia and I was teaching in Surrey. During the long holiday I was on the beach in Brighton regularly but the rain broke the heatwave the day I moved into my brand new house! Mud everywhere.
This is a shorter period of heat !

It was just as hot but I didn’t notice it so much as I was a lot younger !,

1976 summer heat just went on and on. There was hosepipe bans, reservoirs extremely low and I can remember water bowsers being deployed in certain areas. I haven’t found the heat during the day bad if staying in my shady garden but it isn’t pleasant trying to sleep.

I remember the heatwave of 1976 very well. I think this one’s hotter and brighter, but I seem to remember that the 1976 one lasted for several weeks without a break.

I can remember that when it did finally rain my friends and I went outside and danced in it. Happy days! I don't remember it being hotter than this heatwave though.

A red sky tonight but a thunderstorm is forecast.

Calendargirl

DS born in August 1976. No, it was hotter and as others have said, started late May I think.

Govt advised sharing baths to save water. I remember watering the garden with washing up water daily, we were told the soapy water would kill the weeds.

Yes it started late May. We went on holiday for the half term, the weekend and bank holiday Monday were cold and wet. As most people packed up to go home on the Tuesday the sun came out and I think it was 3 months before I saw rain.

1976 was a traumatic year for me as my husband had a brain haemorrhage in March on my first mothers’ day. For some reason we decided to holiday in Menorca with our son. It was actually cooler there thanks to the constant breeze.

Missiseff

Grannyboots - why on earth would you wear tights in Summer????

I don’t know about grannyboots but women in my office were expected to be ‘dressed’ even though they didn’t meet the public, men wore long sleeved shirts. People didn’t slop about in leisure wear.
In fact, it has been rather warm in the last week but now I have to wear strong elastic medical tights (don’t like hold ups) uncomfortable they are but if I don’t I would have a lot of problems.

Looking out of my window it appears our mini heatwave is over here in the south east.

In Derby England I remember stand pipes for people to fetch water there was a drought I was 15

I do remember 1976, but does anyone else remember the summer of 2003? I was working in a front line role in a prefab type building with no insulation and it was absolutely stinking hot for weeks on end - and no rain.

I started taking a spray bottle of water to work - we would spray each other to try to keep cool.
The only way to get any air through was to keep the door and opposite windows open, but because of something her father had said ages ago, our manager refused to have any windows open, even though the sun wasn’t on them. (There were no blinds or curtains.)

In the end I said that if she wouldn’t have the windows open, so that at least there was a current of air, I was going home. And I meant it. She gave in.
I still remember the bliss of the late afternoon when - finally - there was a thunderstorm - lovely big splatty drops of cooling rain.

I remember it seemed to go on for ages in '76 or at least it seemed that way , didn't we have a good summer in 75 as well seem to remember going to the beach after work both years.

Maybe because the 1976 Summer lasted longer, we became acclimatised to it, so could tolerate it better. We didn’t have any fans at home if I remember correctly. I do remember the roads melting, and one of the main concerns was whether the pubs ran out of draught beer. My ex husband was dismayed that he woul have to drink “that bottled muck”
It does make me smile though every time I hear the term heatwave as if it’s happened in a freak month. I always think of Peter Kay, “yes it’s called Summer.......”

I do remember it starting at the end of May right through to 29 August with cracking thunderstorms and flash flooding. There was a fifteen day span of consistent 32 degrees because I was a student nurse and we made big jugs of lime and saline, handing them out to porters, cleaners, visitors.
And the famous Knebworth fair was very warm and sultry well into the night.

Now that I am older I do not cope with hot weather very well. When I was younger I could lie in the sun for hours but I always look for a shady spot when I'm out in the sun now. The heatwave of 1976 lasted for many weeks and was very hot, we have only had a few hot days so far this year.