Frigid

Can't recall seeing graphs like this in April since 2021. Both chilly and dry. Down south are seeing quite the period of below average temperatures.

What a brilliant month this was. The first two weeks were exceptionally cold for the time of year. Temperatures well below freezing and struggling to top 10C, not to mention the record breaking amount of sunshine. The sunniest April on record, you wouldn't expect it to be so cold given past sunny April's have all been mild to warm (2007,11,20). I can recall snow falling on the 10th, temperatures that day didn't exceed 5C. The second half was exceptionally sunny, virtually every day had clear skies. April 2021 saw the lowest min CET on record at 1.2C, in context January 2013 was also 1.2C. For here, the month saw a min average of 0.5C.. that's colder than Jan 2021. Feb 2018 was just 0.1C colder. Dec 2022 was 0.2C colder. It had a record amount of frosts beating most winter months. This all happened after the very warm end to March, temperatures didn't recover until the end of May. Most people I talk to think of April 2021 fondly, yes it was exceptionally cold but the sunshine made up for it. Personally, it's one of my favourite spring months given the freakish nature to it all and exceptional cold.. something we hardly see these days.

Scorcher Yes, the morning was really bad. But thankfully it cleared up with some clear skies, originally thought it'd be raining non stop today.

You could say today had everything. Hail, heavy rain, sunshine and even some localised thunder. Quite a cold day, but feeling pleasant in the sun. I do think it's time for more lengthy spells of dry weather, can't recall the last time we had a full week of sun.

Metwatch The 2020/2021 pair is such an interesting quirk with one being very mild and one very cold. Both being the sunniest April's on record with 2021 just beating it.

SunSean The sunny April's of 2018-22 seem so distant away. We got around 240hrs in 2021 yet 10 days into this month it's only at 15... This month is basically the same as last year but a lot milder.

Could all go the other way but it looks like after months of above average temperatures, maybe a change is upon us. GEFS go for a pretty protracted spell of cooler weather, possible frosts where skies are clear. And with that, also quite dry conditions. Not uncommon to be seen in April. 12Z going for a huge Greenland block, now if only that happened a few weeks prior..

The cooler weather is quickly gaining momentum, something that hasn't been seen since mid January. Let's hope with it comes days of sunshine and minimal rainfall.

I don't think we'll be anywhere near 11C if the GEFS 6z is anything to go by. Could be a cool, anticyclonic second half.

Quite a chilly outlook going by the 0z ens. April could be a strange first half mild, second half cool..

GFS 12Z says no to a record breaking warm April. Obviously an outlier but it's been quite a consistent theme in the runs recently for a cool down mid month.

Something I've noticed is how warm Aprils were back in the 1940s, something we're yet to see in a warming climate. Back to back warm Aprils in 1943,44,45,46 and 49. All had a CET of 10C+, except 46 with 9.9C. Keep in mind from 1893 to 1943, there was not one 10C April so it's kind of strange how out of nowhere we saw four in the 40s (five if you round 9.9C).

These mild minima aren't that unusual, it happens almost every winter. Can recall the end of March 2017 having very mild mins, in which it set a record.

baddie And that Dec 2010 was the complete inverse of 2015. Mild snap mid December 2010, cold snap mid December 2015. Exceptionally cold first 10 days, exceptionally mild first 10 days . Exceptionally cold Christmas, exceptionally mild Christmas. Also that happened in the space of 5 years, same w July 2015/20. It is quite fascinating when looking at the stats. Sorry just realised this is the summer thread..

Should put up a poll. For me it's sunny and cold, by far the best weather combination this country can get. Good examples in April are 2016, 2019, and of course 2021. Cool to mild days around 10-14C with temps rapidly dropping to near freezing is what I look forward to in spring, it also vastly improves soil quality. Mild and wet is the worst, the upcoming spell just reeks of pure filth and it can't just be me that thinks that. It's a perpetual string of mild days that gets to me, especially when we could be enjoying much better weather.. Hopefully late April into May can bring some pleasant days, high teens and low single digit minima go great imo.

That's better

The NW ain't looking too good. More like a continuation of the weather we've seen in the last 6 months.

It's mild, but at what cost... whatever happened to that SSW response, please let it show something pleasant.

baddie Now imagine if June 2023 happened a year prior, that would be the warmest summer on record.

I enjoyed this month, but I know the vast majority didn't. Felt a bit strange with single digit maxima and the sun up at 9pm, the first half wouldn't be out of place in the middle of winter. After coming from a cold April it was definitely strange to see two cold months back to back, the likes we hadn't seen since 2013. It was so close to being a sub 10C May, but of course the warmth at the end pushed it just above. I recall the CET mid month being in the low 7s, which is mad considering that this February was a lot milder up to that point. Here's a look at the temperatures for Manchester, very chilly in the first half.

cheese Yes, a strange pattern with Spain one of the coldest countries atm. Eastern Europe is exceptionally warm; 25C in Warsaw, 24C in Kyiv, 30C in Belgrade.

A good example of a properly cool July wasn't too long ago, back in 2020. A CET of 15.8C, it was stuck around the high 14s low 15s for most of the month until the one day heat spike at the end. I suspect July 2023 would've been similar had the SSTs been around average. Goes to show we can still get pretty cool July's despite the exceptional warmth plaguing our weather.

Part of me thinks this month will break the long stretch of exceptionally mild months, but the current model output says otherwise. Just to be safe, I'll go slightly above average. 9.4C and 110mm. Thanks

raz.org.rain Cool summers will become rarer as time goes on, but we can still get pretty cool periods in summer. Months like June 2019, July 2020, August 2021 weren't long ago. Perhaps a 2007/12 style summer will be hard to come by but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another cool summer like 2011 or 2015.

B87 July 2023 didn't hit 30C? Damn what an anomaly, when was the last time that happened b4 2023?