By Katy Marriot

After record levels of rain and then a sudden burst of sunshine, Katy Marriott takes a look back through the archives to find other bizarre years of weather in Brighton and Hove.

Blessed with a micro-climate, Brighton and Hove experiences more days of sunshine than most of its British mainland neighbours.

But this time last year we were caught in the worst springtime snowfall in 30 years, which was then followed by a long, warm, dry summer.

If we look back to the Argus reports in 1989 we see a remarkably similar story.

Brighton experienced the coldest April for three years with unrelenting snow showers and biting |frosts.

But then it was all turned on its head to reveal the hottest May since 1944 and the longest, hottest, driest summer for over a decade.

Temperatures rising And the peculiar weather seemed to be a precursor for even |more peculiar behaviour hitting |the headlines throughout the summer.

On August 28, 1989, The Argus reported: “Bakers had to speed up their productions lines because the heat was making the dough rise twice as fast as usual.”

In July 1989 experts had warned “unless Englishmen stay out of the midday sun, then tempers will flare, marriages will break up, and you could wind up behind bars or seeing the doctor”.

The Argus reported how relationship counsellors in 1989 received 33% more calls than average.

Marriage councillor Angela Martin told the newspaper: “Couples’ tolerance levels are greatly reduced in the heat.”

She added: “The heat will often lead to partners falling out.”

This was also the year that inmates at Lewes prison had staged a rooftop protest when their cells became unbearably hot.

“Fearless flashing” hit the headlines over the summer when the heat meant that “exhibitionists threw caution – and their clothes – to the wind.”

With summer temperatures soaring into the mid-forties, the British soft drinks association chief executive speculated it would be a year of record production.

But while the general public could cool off with an ice-cold soda the poor British postman was left sweltering.

The heat-wave of 1989 was the year that kick-started the postmen’s demand for shorts, as until then their uniform consisted of heavy trousers.

One Worthing postman told |the Argus in July 1989: “I would |love to wear shorts; these trousers make the sweat pour down my legs.”

With a butterfly breeding boom and a British rail ban on steam trains for fear of fire, the year was a memorable one in terms of weather-related weirdness.

While it may be difficult to predict our beloved British weather, one thing’s for sure: a Brighton summer never fails to produce a few spells of quirkiness.