Scorcher

Turned into a really lovely day- much better than I was expecting. The sun is feeling very strong as well today.

B87 Much better since 2016 as a whole than the run we had between 2006 and 2016 though. 2019 had that memorable heatwave late in the month. 2020 had plenty of hot days, especially further south. The Augusts between 2006 and 2016 were basically devoid of any high temps at all here. That has changed in recent years. The nature of the British climate means we aren't going to get consecutive great months very often.

B87 That statement would have made sense a decade ago. We have had a few good Augusts though since then. 2022 was one of the best of all time and ranked up there with 1995 and 1997. Also one of the warmest summer months on record.

Only 52.4 hours of sunshine locally up to yesterday- absolutely pitiful. It's going to be far the dullest April in the last decade. Some sunshine today but not wall to wall by any means. No April has recorded under 100 hours here in the last decade and probably a lot longer than that. Modern Aprils are usually pretty sunny so this is a bit of a shock- even after the last 6 months.

Sherry Not completely dry no- but next week is looking drier for this area at least- as this week that was supposed to be dry- has actually turned out rather wet.

Good to see the ensembles trending towards something warmer. There has been a gradual trend towards less cool air next week as well. Ultimately though we need a dry couple of weeks now- regardless of the temperatures.

LetItSnow! Exactly what isn't needed after the 6 month monsoon season we've just had and a stupidly high water table.

LetItSnow! It was the opposite in NW England. May 2018 had a higher average max temp and also recorded the highest temperature of the two months.

Yes the ECM is looking less cool now for next week but incredibly it looks likely low pressure will be influencing us yet again after midweek. The nightmare continues it seems.

I suspect this will vary depending on where you live. In NW England May 2018 was better and more memorable in my view. Sunshine was roughly the same but 2018 was warmer in these parts. May 2020 wasn't that great here until the last 10 days- in fact the middle of the month was decidedly cool. Those last 10 days of May 2020 were spectacular though with around 130 hours of sunshine in this area. May 2018 was more consistently warm through the month here and the sunshine was more evenly spread. I would absolutely snap your hand off for either month this year!

Daniel* You're the one always calling other people out and ridiculing them. Just because the coldies like all your posts doesn't mean there aren't a lot of others that are thinking exactly the same as me. You called one poster out for playing down the cold and stated that temps wouldn't reach double figures in Manchester. I feel in making your point you majorly exaggerate at times.

severe snowstorm Bizarre that Wilmslow seems to be getting so much more rain than other parts of Cheshire- it was dry and mostly sunny here until about 3pm and then we had some extremely heavy showers that are continuing now with some hail at times. We had a lot of rain yesterday afternoon as well. Areas to the west such as Northwich and areas to the east such as Macclesfield haven't had nearly as much it seems.

In Absence of True Seasons It's cooler here than London but not as much as many of you think. The difference between October/November and April is often minimal I find. More noticeable in the summer for sure. In spring it's not unusual for the odd day to be warmer here than the SE if the wind is easterly for example.

Alderc 2.0 All I will say is I think some might be surprised by next week. There will be more sunshine than many are expecting and it could be pleasant in the sun in sheltered spots in the afternoons.

B87 Yes as a monthly average. I thought you meant the odd day. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a dull, rainy day to max out at 12-14C in London in May.

Alderc 2.0 Looks bad but those charts always look worse than the reality. April 2021 looked terrible in terms of the 850 hPa temps but it was very sunny and much better than this month so far in that regard. The night time frosts are a problem (and annoying) but strong sunshine (if we get it) in the day now will raise temps higher than many are expecting. On the south coast you will do okay in a NE flow.

B87 Those sorts of temps are not 'exceptionally cold' in May, even in London. Cooler than average yes but it's not unheard of for temps to struggle to get out of double figures in May- even in the south. May 28th 2007- max of 7.4C at Heathrow. Now that is exceptional. Looking back over the last few Mays as well- Heathrow has had a fair few days at 14C or below.

LetItSnow! I'm not denying it's going to be chilly but one poster in particular is keen to emphasise how exceptionally bad this is going to be- so I stand by my hyperbole comment.

Daniel* Why do your posts always have to be so antagonistic? Not true at all that the temps won't get out of double figures in Manchester even in the setups shown this morning by the models. 850 hPa temps were much lower in April 2021 than what is being shown for next week in this area and we reached double figures in the afternoons for the most part. April 13th 2021- we reached 12.6C in this setup (after a frost I might add). GFS surface temp chart for next Wednesday: Admittedly this NE flow is not good for the east but it's not terrible for all of us by any means. Anywhere west of the Pennines may get close to average in this setup by day. A lot of hyperbole about this spell from certain posters. It's certainly going to be more notable in London relative to average than it is in Manchester.

One of the worst Met Office forecasts ever for this area today? They couldn't have been any more wrong.

Rush2019 It's been quite wet in Wilmslow- seems bizarre that some places not too far away are missing the rain.

Frigid Slightly below average at 850 hPa doesn't necessarily mean 'chilly' though. Just as high 850 hPa temps don't guarantee 'above average' temps at the surface. As always there will be local variation depending on wind direction and sunshine.

More rain- horrendous and much worse than forecast. Sunshine this morning but it was all too good to be true. It really is beyond a joke.

Throwing it down here now after some sunshine this morning- you really couldn't make it up. Not only is the rain always worse/heavier than forecast, but it always seems to rain at some point even on a 'dry' day. By far the worst period of weather I can remember in my lifetime. We really are getting nowhere in terms of the ground drying out. A few hours of sunshine and it starts to dry out, and then it throws it down again and we're back to where we started. If this isn't enough to make someone consider emigrating, I don't know what is.

Only 29.5 hours here so far- an absolute shocker of a month for sunshine. If it carried on this way it would undoubtedly be one of the dullest Aprils on record locally.