County bathes in sunniest spring for almost a century

Kent has basked in its sunniest spring since records began.

With blue skies and temperatures in the low to mid-20s, this season’s weather has been the brightest since 1929.

According to the Met Office, we have enjoyed more than 784 hours of sunshine in the past three months.

It also beats the record set in 1990, when the county bathed in 691.1 hours of sunshine, and 2011, when 637.9 hours was recorded.

May alone saw 335.4 hours, beating the 1989 record of 311.2.

Forecasters says it is all down to high pressure, which has dominated for much of the spring period, leading to long spells of dry and settled conditions for most of the country.

While the dry and bright weather would probably have been welcomed by parents with children off school during lockdown, it might not have been such good news for gardeners looking to maintain their spring blooms, with rainfall levels significantly down on what is normally expected for this time of year.

Since the start of March, Kent has only had 60% of the average rainfall we would normally get during the season, with a mere 87.5mm.

But that is nowhere near as dry as it has been in the past - the driest spring was in 2011 when only 30mm of rain fell in the county.

Head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, Dr Mark McCarthy, says the spring sunshine figures are “truly exceptional”, adding: “The most remarkable aspect is just how much some of the May and Spring records for these climate statistics have been exceeded.”

The bright spell is due to come to an end this week, with cloudy conditions and highs of 15c forecast for Kent this weekend.

Sun-seekers enjoy the weather on the beach in Folkestone