April weather

The weather during the first part of April was rather unsettled, especially during the 3rd to 6th. In addition, the first 10 days were also rather cold, although it became warmer than average through the middle part of the month. Towards mid-month it became more settled generally, with high pressure in charge for much of the rest of April, although much of the final week was cooler. Clear skies ensured that sunshine totals were above average for many areas, but there were more air frosts than average. The provisional UK mean temperature was 8.1°C, which is 0.2°C above the 1991 to 2020 long-term average. Maximum temperature anomalies were around +1°C in parts of England, Wales and western Scotland, while minimum temperatures were slightly below average for some areas. Most areas had less rainfall than average, the exceptions being much of northern Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, and there was less than half the average rainfall for much of England, indeed less than a quarter of average in some eastern areas. Overall, the UK had 68% of average rainfall. With regard to sunshine, this was above average in many areas, most especially parts of eastern England, with an overall figure of 107% of average. The UK monthly extremes were as follows: a maximum temperature of 23.4°C was recorded at St James’s Park, London, on the 15th; a minimum temperature of -8.0°C was recorded at Tulloch Bridge, Inverness-shire, on the 1st; in the 24 hours ending at 9 am on the 4th, 62.4 mm of rain fell at Achfary, Sutherland; a wind gust of 65 knots (75 mph) was recorded at Needles, Isle of Wight, on the 7th; and a snow-depth of 10 cm was measured at Redesdale Camp, Northumberland, on the 1st.