Hottest April day in parts of Yorkshire
Hottest April day recorded as heatwave hits Yorkshire
WEATHER: Soaring temperatures yesterday made it the warmest April day on record in parts of Yorkshire as they saw sunshine more associated with the heights of British summer – with highs in York topping 25C.
While it’s not quite double the average temperature, it’s close. Nicola Maxey, Met Office.
SOARING TEMPERATURES yesterday made it the warmest April day on record in parts of Yorkshire.
While the South-East enjoyed the best of the weather, parts of Yorkshire saw sunshine more associated with the heights of British summer – with highs in York topping 25C.
And a rare phenomenon could soon be reported in the region’s gardens as the seasons collide.
Spring flowers, held back a few weeks by the recent cold snap, are set to burst into bloom at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate, while this week’s sudden sunshine is to bring a flurry of sudden summer blossoms.
The result, experts at the gardens have said, is set to see an intense burst of traditional spring and summer colours combined in coming days. The first of 60 varieties of rhododendrons are opening in its woodlands, gardeners have said, alongside the first of the tulips, late daffodils and vibrant pink forced rhubarb.
Curator Paul Cook said: “Recent weather and weeks of cooler conditions mean that plants have remained in bud longer and will burst into flower as soon as the temperatures rise, so we can expect an explosion of spring flowers which will quickly combine with early summer blooms.”
“Usually spring begins in March and lasts until mid-May, so this condensed spring will create magnificent displays in our gardens, public spaces and roadsides across the UK as everything flowers at once.”
Across the country, temperatures yesterday reached 29.1C in central London, just shy of the hottest April day ever in the UK, when 29.4C was recorded in Camden, London, in 1949.
“It’s been exceptionally warm for this time of year,” said Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey.
“We are seeing exceptionally high temperatures across the whole of the country, with warm air coming in from the south which is picking the temperatures up – quite a contrast from the weather we saw in March.
“For Yorkshire as a whole, we would normally expect around 12C in April, so while it’s not quite double the average, it is close.”
The summery spell comes as a result of warm air from the Azores, off the coast of Portugal, being dragged up towards the UK by the combined efforts of an area of low pressure over the Atlantic and high pressure over western Europe. And yet as the unseasonably warmer weather is set to stretch into the weekend, forecasters have warned that the heatwave will be short-lived.
In coming days the skies will slowly become more clouded with more traditional April temperatures of 12C to 13C expected by early next week.
Mrs Maxey said temperatures peaked across Yorkshire yesterday, with highs in Linton on Ouse near York reaching 25.4C at 4pm and at 22.4 in Leeds and Bradford. The previous record was set at 23.9C for April in 1949 for York, while Leeds and Bradford hit that temperature in 1908.
“We expect for it to get a little cooler towards the weekend,” she said, with today set to be 18C to 19C, dropping to 16C on Sunday.
“By next week we will be looking at more average temperatures for this time of year, around 12 or 13C.”