Arctic Hare

The usual pattern here. Chilly but sunny morning, okay early afternoon with patchy cloud, now 80-90% cloud cover and feeling distinctly chilly again. Not especially pleasant to be out now, and even though the wind's light it still carries a distinct nip. I also see the MetO text forecast for Saturday afternoon IMBY has become significantly cloudier than the one issued for the same period 24 hours ago. Probably fair to say that the special circumstances that apply right now have a bearing. In a normal April when you're out in town and it gets too cold to sit in a beer garden you can retreat inside the pub, right now that's not an option (at least in England). So because we have to stay outdoors so much, we're feeling the chill we'd normally be able to avoid more easily. Also we're inevitably going to think back and mentally compare with last April, which was exceptional.

I think quite a few of us would take another 1989 - I would! Plus we could then all dream of 2022 being a repeat of 1990, a year which really did have something for almost everyone!

Ah yes, that'll be it. Just checked Trevor Harley's site and apparently the official max for April 2012 was 19.7 °C at Kew - and even that wasn't until the 30th. Edit: Though I do not hope for a repeat of 2012!

I'm just wondering when the last time was that 20 °C was recorded widely in March but not in April. Must be a possibility this year.

I felt quite cheerful when I went into town for a wander and a coffee this afternoon. The sun was out and it felt okay out of the wind. But then I realised... we're halfway through April, it's 12 °C and I'm happy about that? With possibly only a brief respite next week before yet more pointless cold at the end of the month? I'm not into pattern matching, but I really hope we go the 1989 route now and get a great May and a fine summer!

Third successive day here in Bewdley with wintry showers; a fairly heavy flurry around dawn, though it didn't settle. Not sure when that last happened in these parts as late in the spring as this. Winter is hanging on here, and to be frank I'd rather it didn't, it's had its time. The week ahead looks dry and fairly useable, I suppose, but I'm expecting a run of frustrating days: nice bright starts, then grey, chilly-feeling afternoons. 15 °C and sunshine really shouldn't be too much to ask for by the second half of April, which we enter on Friday. Grumble.

Well, I half agree with you. My own preference is for warmth without the humidity, and generally May-June is the best time for that. August tends to have sticky heat that I find much less comfortable. If I were a bigger thunderstorm fan I'd take the trade-off, but as I'm not I'd prefer some nice sunny quiet weather. Some may find that boring, but I'd be delighted!

A few light flurries here in N Worcs today, one around breakfast time and a couple more in early afternoon. Nothing particularly impressive and didn't come close to settling, but I think the afternoon ones still caught out a few people who'd come down to the river for a walk and a coffee!

The sunshine does seem to have been very patchy. I would guess that the overall Met Office stat for England (very close to average) conceals an awful lot of regional variation. A decent morning here today, with quite a bit of mostly hazy sunshine. Definitely felt warmer than yesterday. Deteriorated into yet more grey gunk after lunch, though, a weather type which I would gladly do totally without for a long time now! Looks like yet more cold over the weekend here, but then a sloooooow warm up. Heaven knows when we might see 20 °C again, though. At this rate it might not be until May!

Someone posted a stat the other day showing the last six months all well below average sunshine in their neck of the woods. It wasn't just 98% or something either, but well below (eg 50-70%) for most/all months. It's been very very poor in some areas at least for sun lovers.

It's been up and down here in N Worcs. Easter Monday for example was chilly and the wind had a bite to it, but the afternoon was fairly sunny and if you could get somewhere sheltered it was quite pleasant. Today was just grey and unpleasant all round: a max of 6.8 °C and overcast until nearly sunset. Looks like creeping into double figures tomorrow, which will at least be an improvement if any showers keep away. Might even see a glimmer of brightness. I suppose I'm probably partly mentally comparing this April with the same time last year, which is unfair as last April was exceptional. But a few sunny days in the low-mid teens really would be nice, even if the price is some sharp April showers in between the sunny spells. Unfortunately it looks like being a while yet before we get that kind of thing.

Sure, it's not rare to get a cold snap/spell in April. I just particularly didn't want one this April! A repeat of 2020 was always going to be too much to ask, but mid-teens and quiet would have done fine. Even Atlantic sunshine and beefy showers would be preferable (for me) to days on end of cold when IMBY at least it's never going to be more than rather pointless transient snow at best. (Well, not unless there's a repeat of the incredible late April 1981 snowstorm, but even the current charts don't suggest that!)

Finding myself distinctly cheesed off with the forecast from Monday onwards. I quite like April snow on occasion, but not when it's a week or more of chill. Been enjoying being outdoors more for the last week or two, looking forward to the 12th... and now it feels like an endurance test before we get back to something warm enough to sit out in without a winter coat. I've had enough endurance tests over the last year, thank you!

Looks like the max here today (and the 2021 max so far) is going to be 21.9 °C. That really is very respectable indeed for the end of March! Not quite as much sun as yesterday, but still a decent amount, enough for a sneaky ice cream in town. Going to be a shock to the system when the cold hits...

So near and yet so far: max of 19.8 °C here in Bewdley today. In terms of feel, though, it was by a mile the warmest day of 2021 so far. Light winds, lots of sun (until about 5pm, then cloudy) and warm air after early mist lifted. Felt more like a nice day in May than late March really. One more shot at 20 °C tomorrow if we get enough sun, but if not then it looks like it's going to be a long wait for the landmark!

Also breezy here, but otherwise easily the best day of the spring so far. A new 2021 high for me of 16.9 °C, and lots of sunshine from breakfast time onwards. Really felt warm out of the wind in a way beyond anything since last autumn. Tomorrow looks like a potential 20 °C, with maybe another chance at that mark on Weds if there's enough sun. Not looking that bad even as far as Saturday now.

A bit of a disappointing way to start BST here in N Worcs. I expected the dampness early on, but once that was out of the way I was hoping for some sunshine. There were a few glimmers in the early afternoon, but since about 4pm it's been overcast and gloomy. I had to put the lights on just as early as I did yesterday, despite the clocks changing! A poster on the Spring Moans thread has mentioned having had a run of six successive dull months, and while I don't have figures for my neck of the woods it does seem like it's been cloudy a lot recently. I don't think that's just me comparing it (unfairly) with last spring's exceptional sunniness. One point of note, though: a max of 15.9 °C today, which is a new 2021 high for here. Should beat that very comfortably in the next few days, though.

Not much to say about the weather locally recently. Yesterday was a real disappointment: the MetO forecast the night before suggested plenty of sunshine and we got almost none, making it very chilly. A bit better today with a little brightness, and reasonable walking weather, but still nothing to write home about. A far cry from last spring, though at least it's not terrible. Would be nice to get a taste of actual spring warmth before the middle of April, though!

A warmer day on the thermometer today (max 15.4 °C) and with a fair amount of hazy sunshine. However, that nagging NW wind has returned and that really does take the edge off things if you're exposed to it. Very good walking weather, but not such good relaxing-on-a-bench weather! I must admit I've had my fill of windy days for a while now. A couple of weeks of quieter conditions, even if temps aren't above average, would do me just fine. We need the dry weather above all, though, as the Severn in Bewdley is still pretty high.

The first really decent day in ages here, mostly because the wind finally dropped appreciably. A bit more sun than I'd been expecting, and at this time of year even 12.5 °C feels very pleasant in the sun and out of the wind. Plus you can sit out in the sun for a while with no risk of burning just yet! I'd be more than happy with a week or so of this, though in reality it's likely to be a bit chillier and cloudier after about Wednesday. C'est la vie.

In terms of disruption 2007 was the worst by some distance here in Worcestershire with its horrendous flooding. But in terms of grindingly terrible weather for months on end, 2012 was the worst. Both horrible in their different ways.

I must admit I hadn't remembered summer 2011 was poor. I suspect the reason is pretty simple: the absolutely horrific "summer" of 2012 blew it out of the water.

Not keen at all on the nearish-term outlook. I'm just not interested in a possible cold easterly in the second half of March, which isn't going to produce anything around here but nasty chilly conditions and grey skies. A few days ago we had a couple of afternoons here which may not have been all that warm (say 10 °C) but had light winds and sunshine. I'd be okay with that. But it's been windy and chilly for days now, and I've had my fill of it. Roll on days in the mid-teens with a genuinely warm feel, even if the price is the usual April showers I'll take it.

Not as good as yesterday, but another okay day today. Temps topping out at 10 °C, at least a few glimmers of sunshine and light winds. I felt fine sitting in the park with a coffee (as today's the day when "outdoor recreation" is officially allowed) and although not a very interesting day it has been, as the saying goes, a useable one. Unfortunately by the end of the weeks all the back footpaths that have dried out recently will be mudbaths again...

A very decent day today. Not warm (max 6.7 °C after last night's chilly min of -3.7 °C) but lots of sunshine, and indeed the skies are still largely blue now. Superb walking weather, so I greatly enjoyed my hour's walk today. A shame we can't keep this kind of weather going a bit longer, rather than it giving way to strong winds and rain as will be happening in a few days. Oh well, that's March for you I suppose.