Summer 2018 Cool And Wet

February may seem a strange time to start posting about Summer but i may be deprived of my annual 'I HATE SUMMER' posts this year because as the year ends in an '8', it's going to be a stinker.
Using historical weather data from the past 150 years courtesy of the MET Office, Summers that occur in years ending in the number '8' have not been the ones to draw the headlines, 2008 was unsettled with below average temperatures.
Summer 1998, 1988 and 1978 were all very poor with cold and wet conditions more or less from start to finish while July and August 1968 had an unusual amount of Thunderstorms.
The Summer of 1958 was another exceptionally poor one as was Summer 1948 with both years being very cool, dull and wet.
Bucking the trend slightly was the very warm Summer of 1938 but 1928 and 1918 were very cool.
The second half of Summer 1908 was unsettled as were the summers of 1898, 1888 and 1878.
We had to dig back to the summer of Summer 1868, 150 years ago, to find a hot Summer with temperatures reaching 36C in middle England.
While it doesn't mean that Summer 2018 will not be a barbecue summer, the likelihood is that it will be a cool and wet Summer and the guys responsible for the long term weather forecast at MetCheck.com seem to think so also with their forecast for June, July and August across Southern England showing temperatures not topping the low 20s for June, July or August.
For those who like there summers hot 2018 may not be one that lives in the memory but for people like me who sunburn easily and is a target for every passing stingy thing, this Summer is sounding a good one.