Bottesford

A lovely day (well from what I saw stuck in an office in central London!) with plenty of warm sunshine. 13.8c max here but still 12.1c so a muggy, summer feeling night. Lovely to walk around in- still, tender air with some lovely smells in the air. I do love nights like this!

We all have our opinions (or 'bias' if you must) and we're all free to express them. But lets not start arguing about who is right or wrong since everyone and no one is correct- it's opinion! And lets stick on topic discussing the models - there's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion or even wants/want nots in this thread so long as there's some analysis of the model output as well. For me, a northerly sounds good - it means abundant sunshine and big night to day temperature gradients. No I don't want it all spring but I wouldn't have an April without one!

First pint in outside in the sunshine this year! Felt just lovely it did - like coming home after being stuck in a car/train for hours on a long journey... so refreshing! 14.2c the max now dropping away, now 11.7c.

Did sommeone mention northerly? I do love a good northerly in April. Wonderfully sunny skies punctuated only with heavy wintry showers when the wind veers NWly. If I can't have proper warmth then throw a good northerly in! (but just keep them away late May to September otherwise bring 'em on!).

Stunning stunning day! Ice cream man just came round for first time this year, the office is lovely and toasty and we have the windows open again - ahh the good half of the year is here at last! Now 12c but feeling much warmer in the sun.

Stunner of a day! Clear blue skies and warm sunshine - perfect April weather! Now 9.9c after a low of 7.3c overnight. So could be warmer to make it spot on...

I'm with most of you, easterlies are generally not welcomed by me - at any time of year. Yes I like the excitement of cold/snow in winter but so often they are dull & raw. The exception was the first week of Jan where it was sparkling sunshine and very very low temperatures. Easterlies like that in winter I'll take! In spring/early summer they sometimes do provide clear, blue skies with a breeze (a breeze that varies from pleasantly cooling through to annoying chilly depending on temperature and time of day) but so so so soooo often they are cloud laden and frequently ruin otherwise stunning weather. Often this is how it goes... you'll get a good 5 day forecast from the Beeb - five suns in a row with light winds. Day 1 - stunning day with lovely sunshine and feeling gorgeous out. OK lets plan something outdoors for this week... Day 2 - low cloud has invaded by morning but burnt off by lunchtime - supressed maxes but still - phew! Day 3 - low cloud again but surely it'll burn off... watches satellite pics... noon: it's burnt off in Birmingham it can't be long... 3pm: nope that's it for today. 7pm: oh look its cleared at last, in time for sunset and now too damn chilly to go out! Day 4 - low cloud again and no sign of burning off as breeze too strong. Day 5 - ahh at last, a southerly element to the wind direction and it all clears away from the south east. Now wasn't it a shame those two cloudy days were the weekend!!

I find they can make summer days uncomfortable rather than comfortable - i.e. not warm enough to sit outside as they provide a nagging chill and block out the sun. Heading down to a cave would achieve the same thing! The other downside to easterlies is air quality - as they are often sourced from the industrial heartland of Europe. I remember several 'smelly easterlies' in recent years. At least with SWlies the air is clean and fresh. But yes, in high summer when temps are into the mid 20s and the sun is out, easterlies can give a nice pleasing breeze to take the heat off. Unfortunately this breeze tends not to die down in the evening making things too chilly. Also, every morning you play the low cloud lottery - will it be cloudy at all... will it burn off in time to allow the afternoon to be warm up enough... will it just stay cloudy all day... You can never tell and its very hard to forecast too.

Fairly cloudy with some sunny spells. Temp 7.9c so very similar day to yesterday so far.

ugh yuk North Sea low cloud looks to be on offer for the week ahead. Definitely my least favourite kind of weather as it's both immensely boring and unpleasant to boot. If the flow slackens a bit you might be lucky enough to get some burn back of the cloud - then some pleasant sunshine will be on offer (but always coupled with a nagging chilly wind). But don't expect much sunshine (or in fact any 'weather') the midlands eastwards under these synoptics.

A chilly day with a biting wind. Max of 7.1c. House feels cold again when getting home from working in London (where it was also chilly, windy and damp). Typical early spring stuff!

Perhaps for some, but still it was still busy here when it was 5c with grey skies back in Feb which seemed much less fun to both discuss and experience! Each to their own I guess...

All I remember of July 2009 was non stop rain and chilly winds. Went to Cornwall for the week - total washout and one of the worst times weatherwise I've ever had down there. One day it poured non stop dawn till dusk. If we can loose the Atlantic from May to August then I'm happy. Up to then, like today, it can keep coming so long as it goes away for summer proper. For me, I want a consistent hot & dry summer - like June & July 2006 were. I could reliably plan things for a week later and for the most part the weather was on side. Rare on our windswept island of course so will probably make do with hot, sunny weather when stuck at work and pouring rain come pub/weekend time!

Ahh BST (and the light season in general) is here at last. Sunset is back where I like it - post 7pm!

I don't think temperature decides on sunshine vs cloud/wet ratio. I use wind direction to decide. Northerly = very dry & sunny. Cold Southerly = generally dry, humid, sunny. Warm/very warm. Westerly = wet and cloudy but some sunny periods. Mild but not warm. Easterly = mostly dry/light drizzle and almost always cloudy with little sun. Cool to cold. Mixing northerly+westerly gets some rain, cool to cold, some sun; mixing southerly and westerly gets rain, mild and some sun etc etc.. Overall southerly or northerly are best (for me in spring) with easterly being the worst of all worlds.

I guess the same enjoyment many would get in recording -25c. Both are fairly 'hard going' temperatures but interesting none the less. I'd like to experience both!

Mild and damp with 10.9c the low now 12.5c. For the moment I'm enjoying the rain - we've not had any mild rain in such a long time now so it's currently a novelty. In the same way when you get that first cold night in autumn - an enjoyable change but get sick of it after a while. Gimme a few weeks of on-off mild rain then plenty of sunshine and warmth then watch it all grow!

A much better day - clear blue skies and mild. 8.4c min now 9.6c. Good stuff for a Friday!

Mild and cloudy with a min of 8.1c now 9.9c. Despite the cloud I do really like the milder weather after such a long time without it. You can smell things outside again, I can cycle with only a light jacket on, I can throttle the heating right back and even sometimes open windows to get some fresh air in at last! Long live the milder weather!

A sunny and warm feeling morning - for first time in months neither gloves nor hat nor inner jacket needed for the ride to work! Clouded up this afternoon and now there is a chilly north westerly wind blowing so back on the gloves for the ride home. 11.4c max now 9c. A very typical early spring day - some warm sun and a cold wind.

Warmest day of the year so far at 13.1c with a good deal of sunshine. Even walked around without a coat on earlier too - very liberating! Still a chilly breeze on though.

Yes it can be a bit silly but then I think many people are so desperate for warmth & sun now they take any small hint of it as something to relish before it (perhaps) turns cack again. There's something psychologically good about needing less layers, being able to open windows and not needing the fire on after a very long and cold winter. Spring is like coming up for air after being drowned in gloom & miserable weather for over four months!

Yes today was lovely - warm sun and no longer the need for the big coat. I even saw people sat in beer gardens - great stuff! A chilly wind but if you could keep out of it then very nice indeed.

I had a friend who stayed in the far north of Japan for a while and observed first hand the absurd sunrise/sunset times in summer. Blazing bright at 4am but dark at 7pm - total waste of light! OK if you work 5am-1pm but that doesn't happen! She said they were on about changing it in near future - wonder if they have...

I just get sick of low cloud that plagues us during early spring. Any time there's an easterly flow it is more often than not cloudy - with maybe a bit of drizzle in there. Some warmth and sun would indeed be nice about now. That or a bright & fresh northerly perhaps veering NWly to bring in wintry showers (although I usually prefer that after the first taste of warmth in April).