The Weather Thread 2022

[squirrelarmy]

@Gnomicide does the thingy keep track of Glastonbury weather over the years?

[gooner1990]

40 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

97 was my first Glastonbury. I remember the journey up to the site on Thursday and thinking to myself ‘what the hell am I doing’. I can't remember it raining that much during the weekend but it seemed cold and just muddy everywhere.

 

Despite the awful weather I managed to convince my mate to come with me in 98. We went on Weds to get as much Glastonbury as possible and I remember putting tent up in the sun and the weather being really nice for the first day. That was until the heavens opened and just didn't stop, by Friday it seemed worse than it was in 97. We left on Saturday as our tents (and general outlook on life) were ruined.   

 

2011 and 2016 both seemed fine in comparison, but I was pretty young back in 97/98 and my memory is patchy. I came across some old photos of 97 that I found last year when moving house...

 

97 and 98 were the first years people around my age started going...and in 99 and 2000 it really ramped up with mates going,  but I just wanted to go to Reading back then. 🤦‍♂️

I recall in 1998 being in a pub aged 16 watching England v Colombia in the World Cup and in the back bar they had BBC on with Glastonbury on live which a few of us moved round to watching once the football was over, it looked horrific, I think they were showing James live and cutting to roving reporter Jamie Theakson around the site and it was just mud everywhere...immediately my thoughts went to my mates down there...no texting back then to see how they were.  

I only really heard the horror stories when I saw them in college the following week about the thick mud in some parts and mud soup in others!

Few of them got put off for a few years after that.

[steviewevie]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

97 and 98 were the first years people around my age started going...and in 99 and 2000 it really ramped up with mates going,  but I just wanted to go to Reading back then. 🤦‍♂️

I recall in 1998 being in a pub aged 16 watching England v Colombia in the World Cup and in the back bar they had BBC on with Glastonbury on live which a few of us moved round to watching once the football was over, it looked horrific, I think they were showing James live and cutting to roving reporter Jamie Theakson around the site and it was just mud everywhere...immediately my thoughts went to my mates down there...no texting back then to see how they were.  

I only really heard the horror stories when I saw them in college the following week about the thick mud in some parts and mud soup in others!

Few of them got put off for a few years after that.

yes, remember watching that England Colombia game...and actually that was one of the highlights...after 97 I was well prepared so was fully waterproofed, and my mate wasn't so that made it even better. We got out saturday mornings and spent rest of weekend in various pubs watching the football and it was great.

[steviewevie]

Dont' want a wash out...but don't want a heatwave either. Has to be 20C max during day, sun and cloud, gentle breeze, min 14C at night.

[gooner1990]

1 minute ago, steviewevie said:

Dont' want a wash out...but don't want a heatwave either. Has to be 20C max during day, sun and cloud, gentle breeze, min 14C at night.

overcast and dry the entire weekend is perfect for me.

[steviewevie]

3 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

overcast and dry the entire weekend is perfect for me.

yeah, dry is essential...but things look nicer when sunny. sun and clouds. little fluffy clouds.

[mickthevoice]

I remember they showed the England v Columbia game on the pyramid stage (it wasn't that much of a pyramid then). The Lightning Seeds played earlier in the day and did Three Lions. James played directly after the game finished. I recall at the time Tim Booth joked they had 2 x setlists planned, one full of B-sides if England lost and the other full of hits if we won. Sure they started with Sit Down. Funny how you remember things like that; I barely remember last week!

[steviewevie]

3 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

I remember they showed the England v Columbia game on the pyramid stage (it wasn't that much of a pyramid then). The Lightning Seeds played earlier in the day and did Three Lions. James played directly after the game finished. I recall at the time Tim Booth joked they had 2 x setlists planned, one full of B-sides if England lost and the other full of hits if we won. Sure they started with Sit Down. Funny how you remember things like that; I barely remember last week!

 

think I watched it in cinema field. It was absolutely pissing it down...but good fun.

[blutarsky]

6 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

overcast and dry the entire weekend is perfect for me.

Is anyone tempted to wish for a biblical wash out so tickets don’t sell out in 30 minutes in October? 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

3 minutes ago, blutarsky said:

Is anyone tempted to wish for a biblical wash out so tickets don’t sell out in 30 minutes in October? 

The problem is the BBC have a way of making it look like it’s not raining, they sort of drown the rain out with the lighting from the stages. 

[David_303]

15 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

overcast and dry the entire weekend is perfect for me.

And me!

[steviewevie]

2 hours ago, mickthevoice said:

97 was my first Glastonbury. I remember the journey up to the site on Thursday and thinking to myself ‘what the hell am I doing’. I can't remember it raining that much during the weekend but it seemed cold and just muddy everywhere.

 

Despite the awful weather I managed to convince my mate to come with me in 98. We went on Weds to get as much Glastonbury as possible and I remember putting tent up in the sun and the weather being really nice for the first day. That was until the heavens opened and just didn't stop, by Friday it seemed worse than it was in 97. We left on Saturday as our tents (and general outlook on life) were ruined.   

 

2011 and 2016 both seemed fine in comparison, but I was pretty young back in 97/98 and my memory is patchy. I came across some old photos of 97 that I found last year when moving house...

 

back to this 97 thing as keep remembering how horrific it was...I didn't have waterproof trousers or wellies or boots...so just had my feet inside plastic bags inside my shoes and just kept them on all weekend...slept with them sticking out of the tent. Was such hard work. The mud was almost knee deep in some places. And I think that was the year they used the big  sucking shit machine they use in the loos to suck up the mud in the dance tent and they pressed blow instead of suck and there was mud and shit everywhere.

[mickthevoice]

2 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

back to this 97 thing as keep remembering how horrific it was...I didn't have waterproof trousers or wellies or boots...so just had my feet inside plastic bags inside my shoes and just kept them on all weekend...slept with them sticking out of the tent. Was such hard work. The mud was almost knee deep in some places. And I think that was the year they used the big  sucking shit machine they use in the loos to suck up the mud in the dance tent and they pressed blow instead of suck and there was mud and shit everywhere.

Yes, same here. I remember watching the coverage of 95 back when it was on Channel 4. I was a bit too young to go then but went with my bother in 97. Wasn't prepared for the weather at all. Expected the wall to wall sunshine they got in 95. Instead there was nowhere to sit and it took ages to get anywhere.

I remember the dance tent incident but have never been sure if it actually happened or it was an urban myth. Anyway, it was all fine for Daft Punk on Sunday night! It was hard work but have nothing but fond memories of it. Remember when the other stage sunk on Friday and they couldn't let any bands on it until the evening?

[steviewevie]

8 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

Yes, same here. I remember watching the coverage of 95 back when it was on Channel 4. I was a bit too young to go then but went with my bother in 97. Wasn't prepared for the weather at all. Expected the wall to wall sunshine they got in 95. Instead there was nowhere to sit and it took ages to get anywhere.

I remember the dance tent incident but have never been sure if it actually happened or it was an urban myth. Anyway, it was all fine for Daft Punk on Sunday night! It was hard work but have nothing but fond memories of it. Remember when the other stage sunk on Friday and they couldn't let any bands on it until the evening?

yeah, I went in 95 too...and it was indeed lovely. Infact that is possibly one of my best Glastonburys, and 97 probably my worst. So there. The weather really does make a difference.

[fred quimby]

48 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

I remember they showed the England v Columbia game on the pyramid stage (it wasn't that much of a pyramid then). The Lightning Seeds played earlier in the day and did Three Lions. James played directly after the game finished. I recall at the time Tim Booth joked they had 2 x setlists planned, one full of B-sides if England lost and the other full of hits if we won. Sure they started with Sit Down. Funny how you remember things like that; I barely remember last week!

 

I left the football as it was so grim. Sure I listened to the foo fighters as I could not watch them as the rain was battering my face

[Punksnotdead]

2 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

 

I recall in 1998 being in a pub aged 16 watching England v Colombia in the World Cup and in the back bar they had BBC on with Glastonbury on live which a few of us moved round to watching once the football was over, it looked horrific, I think they were showing James live and cutting to roving reporter Jamie Theakson around the site and it was just mud everywhere...immediately my thoughts went to my mates down there...no texting back then to see how they were.  

I only really heard the horror stories when I saw them in college the following week about the thick mud in some parts and mud soup in others!

Few of them got put off for a few years after that.

I was there in 98 and can confirm it was horrific. One of the bars in the market area did hardly any business all weekend cos you had to wade through waist deep muddy water to get to the bar!

During the England-Columbia game I was hiding in my tent listening on the radio & hanging on to my tent poles for dear life - it wasn't just pissing down, there was a howling gale as well!

[Simsy]

45 minutes ago, blutarsky said:

Is anyone tempted to wish for a biblical wash out so tickets don’t sell out in 30 minutes in October? 

As 2017 is the only year I've failed to get tickets (since I started going in 2004), no I don't want 2016 style mud!

[Punksnotdead]

14 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

 

I remember the dance tent incident but have never been sure if it actually happened or it was an urban myth. Anyway, it was all fine for Daft Punk on Sunday night! It was hard work but have nothing but fond memories of it. Remember when the other stage sunk on Friday and they couldn't let any bands on it until the evening?

It definitely happened - I was in there at the time. Fatboy Slim IIRC? Pretty sure that was 98 though I might be wrong.

[steviewevie]

found this site with some pics of various years from 95 onwards...

https://glastopasts.com/gallery

[mickthevoice]

17 minutes ago, Punksnotdead said:

I was there in 98 and can confirm it was horrific. One of the bars in the market area did hardly any business all weekend cos you had to wade through waist deep muddy water to get to the bar!

During the England-Columbia game I was hiding in my tent listening on the radio & hanging on to my tent poles for dear life - it wasn't just pissing down, there was a howling gale as well!

Out tents were totally ruined, they didn't make them as good as they do now! We lasted to Saturday afternoon and really didn't want to leave but had no choice. It was total carnage. Remember the wind too. 

16 minutes ago, Punksnotdead said:

It definitely happened - I was in there at the time. Fatboy Slim IIRC? Pretty sure that was 98 though I might be wrong.

No way, it just seems too ridiculous to be true. Guessing the place was shut down more or less straight away?

16 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

found this site with some pics of various years from 95 onwards...

https://glastopasts.com/gallery

Excellent thanks for sharing! I'll look at these later. Am jealous you went in 95! That was my first experience, glued to the TV watching it. Have been obsessed with the place ever since.

[gooner1990]

17 hours ago, Punksnotdead said:

I was there in 98 and can confirm it was horrific. One of the bars in the market area did hardly any business all weekend cos you had to wade through waist deep muddy water to get to the bar!

During the England-Columbia game I was hiding in my tent listening on the radio & hanging on to my tent poles for dear life - it wasn't just pissing down, there was a howling gale as well!

The BBC footage of them showing the World Cup game from a reporter who was stood with everyone looks pretty minging!

[squirrelarmy]

43 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

The BBC footage of them showing the World Cup game from a reporter who was stood with everyone looks pretty minging!

Not at football fans are unattractive 

[jimmillen]

We always obsess over the state of the ground & rain in the run-up to the festival. So I thought I’d try & work out how much difference this really makes. 🤓

Here’s some data from Yeovilton weather station - obviously not the festival microclimate, but monthly rainfall should be pretty close. 

First, wet years:

Now dry(ish):

And finally the average of muddy v dry:

So basically, it’s all about what happens in June.

Muddy years have tended to have more rainfall in the preceding months, but it’s the weather around the immediate time of the festival that counts. 

State of the ground may be less significant than we thought! 😂

Sadly though it means we also shouldn’t be too excited that Jan & Feb rainfall so far is well below average…

ETA: If I can be bothered I might have a look at day-by-day data for June, if I can find it. By the looks of it when it rains in June is critical - 2019 for example had an above average rainfall for the month as a whole, but I think it must have been early in the month?

Edited April 1, 2022 by jimmillen

[Punksnotdead]

I've just had another flashback from 98: 

Just off the pathway as you walked into the Other stage from the Pyramid, there was a big hole in the ground that just looked like another puddle. There was always a group of lads standing near it. Every few minutes someone would inadvertently step into it & disappear up to their waist (like that famous scene from vicar of dibley). The group of lads would then wildly cheer - the bastards! 😄

[DirtyLurker]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:35 AM, gigpusher said:

Don't worry everyone who has lived in the UK for any length of time should have been aware that last week was fool's Spring. It's all entirely normal and has no bearing on the weather at the end of June so our forgiveness is not required 😄

<phew> so pleased it's not all my fault 😉 but also feel a fool thinking spring was here 😅