Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Dry and sunny April despite cold snap
APRIL was sunnier, warmer and drier than usual, according to forecasters — despite an unseasonal cold snap which struck Dundee last week.
A north-west airflow coming from the Poles meant Dundonians were reaching for their woolly hats and gloves after snow covered the ground as near to the coast as Broughty Ferry.
But now the wind direction has changed and a south-west airflow is already well-developed for the first week of May, bringing warmer temperatures with it.
The mercury is expected to be in the mid-teens this week but Met Office experts reckon unsettled weather is set to hit Tayside next Monday.
Forecaster Nicola Maxey said it would be best to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.
She explained: “For the first week of May there will be high pressure coming in to the country.
“It’s looking more settled but as we get i nto the second week of May there is a chance things will be a bit more mixed as the high pressure moves away.
“Temperatures will rise into the mid-teens during the first week of May.
“You will notice the temperature will really rise when there are long spells of sunshine.”
While there was a cold spell for Dundee at the end of April, the Met Office said it was actually a sunnier, drier and warmer month than usual.
Ms Maxey added: “We actually had snow in April 2016 as well, so while it is quite unusual for snow in April, it does happen.
“There is always a chance of snow in April but it was quite unusual for it to arrive so late in the month — it’s normally earlier.
“For your local region up to April 26, the daytime temperature was a degree-and-a-half above average.
“At night-time, it was about 0.4 of a degree above the normal.
“Therefore the mean was 1.1 degree higher than usual.
“So overall, April was warmer than usual.
“In terms of the rainfall, there was just 24.6mm which is actually a 37% drop on what you would expect for April.
“We aren’t so specific for sunshine but the east of Scotland as a whole had 6% above average sunshine.
“So despite the snow and wintry showers that arrived i n the north of England and Scotland towards the end of April, it was actually a sunnier, warmer and drier month than usual.”