May Day gets a frosty reception
THE Bank Holiday weekend got off to a chilly start as May began where the coldest April in more than 30 years left off. Despite hopes that things would warm up as lockdown eased, ITV weather host LUCY VERASAMY says don’t bank on it just yet...
APRIL has always kept us on our toes. It can be a fickle, unpredictable month.
The weather can easily flip from year to year or in a blink of an eye.
In 2018 April started with snow, dubbed the mini-beast from the East, but mid-month temperatures bounced way above average, leaving us with our hottest April day for 70 years.
In the past decade we’ve seen the warmest (2011), wettest (2012) and this year the sunniest April. However, last month was also the coldest for some areas since 1986.
More snow fell than the whole of last winter. April also had 13 days of air frost – the highest since records began in 1960.This has led to a nationwide delay in nature.to put it mildly, spring still hasn’t quite sprung.
This time last year we were greeted by chilly mornings with endless blue skies and, as the spring sunshine got to work, consecutive warm days with above-average temperatures.
A quick glance of 2020 photos on my phone show trees in vivid green leaf and wisteria in full bloom.this year is seriously more spindly and slow off the mark. Some counties have seen little, if any, rain and the prolonged cold, dry spell has had a notable impact on farming and crops.
The silver lining has been the bright skies. Cold, crisp and stunningly clear – an Alpine April you might say.
After weeks of a northerly airstream encouraging polar cold air and high pressure to keep it exceptionally dry and bright, it’s been changeable in the last few days, the first signs of things to come. It’s been a soggy start to May with spring sunshine interrupted by showers and longer downpours.
And given the poor PR of previous bank holidays, it’ll be no surprise the lively conditions are set to continue, if not go up.
By tomorrow, expect winds to whip up, along with substantial rain from West to East in the afternoon and evening. It’ll stay windy into Tuesday with showers and rain more than welcome for farmers and gardeners.
For the rest of us dusting off our brollies, it’ll remain much cooler and chillier than expected for the time of year. But with the sunshine having more oomph into late spring, it will make all the difference.
May is the month we max out our daylight hours on the run-up to the summer solstice.
There’s always plenty of time for the weather to improve before the end of the day – I like to look on the bright side.