It has been warm in almost the entire country in May. According to SMHI, the month looks set to break records in several parts of the country.
Sure, the heat might give a hint about climate change and that we can count on more extreme weather in the future, but after all, most Swedes want sun and warmth on holiday.
But many still remember last year’s summer, with heat in May and June and then colder than normal and rainy during the holiday months of July and August. Is that what we have to look forward to this year as well?
Not according to figures from SMHI. A sunny May is not a harbinger of a rainy and cold summer.
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Several examples
2006, for example, was a year with a slightly warmer May, but a significantly warmer summer than the average temperature for the period.
Also in 2011, it was warmer than normal in May, a warmth that then persisted through the summer.
Two years later, it was again time for a warmer than normal month of May, but the summer fell within the normal category in terms of temperatures.
In 2016, May was again warmer than normal, but the summer was largely normal.
2018 was a very hot summer, with warmer average temperatures both in May, June, July and August – record hot in many places.
Pålsundet, Stockholm. Photo. Fredrik Sandberg/TTFMultiple records
However, that heat may be beaten, according to SMHI. Among others, Ljungby in Småland, Vinga in Västergötland and Östersund-Frösön in Jämtland may all set new records in terms of May heat. In such cases, all of them would beat the record summer of 2018 in terms of heat.
Worth noting is that in 2021 SMHI changed the so-called normal period from previously comparing with 1961–1990 to 1991–2020. This basically makes comparisons between the periods impossible.
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