Cold and sunny or mild and wet (at this time of the year)

[Weather Enthusiast91]

At this time of the year would you rather have cold and sunny with daytime temps no higher than 10 Celsius (cold for April) along with frosty nights, or warmer than average but unsettled?

I would personally take the cold and sunny. Whilst the cool temps and frosty nights would be frustrating from a gardening perspective, at least it will still feel relatively pleasant during the day with the strengthening sun.

Edited April 3 by Weather Enthusiast91

[Derecho]

Cold and sunny without hesitation. In that kind of weather you often see good diurnal temperature ranges and slacker winds. So when the sun is shining it can feel deceptively warmer during the day then a mild, wet and windy pattern. Good weather for cycling, jogging etc too. 

[damianslaw]

Sunny and cold all the way, a wet dull windy day with a max of 14 degrees can in April feel every bit colder than a sunny dry day with little wind and a max of 9 degrees given how warm the sun strength is, by the end of the month it is as strong as in mid August.

The feel of the weather varies depending on cloud amount and wind as well as temp. 

The coming weekend is a case in point, oh I can't wait for heavy rain, gales and no sun and a max of possibly 15 degrees!  won't feel warm in the slightest. 

 

[Frigid]

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.

[SunSean]

Cold & sunny easily. For me, sun always trumps everything else so I'd even take 3c and sunny right now over mild & wet lol.

[Scorcher]

Cold and sunny at the moment. I would take a week of constant sunshine right now, regardless of the temperature.

With the ever strengthening sun at this time of year, even 10C can feel quite warm if you get out of any wind. April 2021 was an example of this.

I wouldn't be keen on it for the entire month though as nightly frosts would adversely affect plants.

Edited April 4 by Scorcher

[SollyOlly]

Interesting discussion topic! Sunny and cold for me (surprise surprise), both because that can be beautiful and 'good for the soul', but also because it is better for nature rather than constant, prolonged warmth/ mildness which so often comes with grey. As others have said, I also like the big diurnal range. There's plenty of time for warmth/ heat in our prolonged summers these days anyway! So bright, brisk temperatures and something seasonal all the way for me.

[Azazel]

cold and sunny.

Hate the wind and rain more than anything - though rain is kinda nice after a heatwave breakdown as long as it doesnt overstay its welcome!

Wind is just garbage in every way.

[B87]

I'd rather just have an average April. Highs around 15c, plenty of dry and partly cloudy or sunny days, with very few showers.

[In Absence of True Seasons]

Depends what the barometers for "cold" and "mild" are in this context. 

Are we talking about 2c and sunny vs 15c and wet? Or 12c and sunny vs 20c and wet? 

Generally speaking, sunny and *whatever temp* trumps dull, wet and mild every time for me. 

We're officially now in the longest, wettest period since records began so I could quite happily not see a single plop of precipitation for the next 18 months (to balance out the 18 months - and counting - of above average wetness). 

Edited April 4 by In Absence of True Seasons

[*Stormforce~beka*]

 B87 This is me ...

[Arctic Hare]

 Weather Enthusiast91 Cold and sunny, and it's not close. Admittedly I'm a bit biased after months of wet!

[matt111]

Cold and sunny. Much better than the constant gloom mild and wet usually serves up. 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

the switch should be starting soon, meaning on average sunny days are warmer than dull/wet ones apart from nights/early mornings

Nov to March without doubt warmer if wet, but feel from May to Oct cooler when wet over sunny

Edited April 4 by I remember Atlantic 252

[78/79]

Cold and sunny, without a doubt. 

[Summer8906]

Cold and sunny, definitely.

It's actually not un-spring-like. Remember spring isn't that warm a season so 10C as a max is more normal than high teens at this time of year.

10C and sunny out of the wind can even feel warm.

Mild, dull and wet on the other hand is typical weather for almost the exact opposite time of the year: mid-to-late autumn from mid-late Oct to end of Nov.

It's especially the case this year as we've just "enjoyed" 9 near-continuous months of mild, dull and wet, so to have yet more is thoroughly unwelcome.

 

I always think of the seasons as being:

 

Winter - cold and cloudy

Spring - cool and sunny

Summer - warm and sunny

Autumn - mild and cloudy

 

So one of the two options is clearly more spring-like than the other!

Edited April 4 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

54 minutes ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

The switch should be starting soon, meaning on average sunny days are warmer than dull/wet ones apart from nights/early mornings

That switch normally starts earlier, sometime in March. Above-average temps, dull and wet is a distinctly rare combination for April, rarer than any other combination of temp, cloud and rainfall.

 

[WYorksWeather]

 Summer8906 Only really happening this year because of the persistently warm SSTs to our south-west, really.

[LetItSnow!]

 Weather Enthusiast91 If you get an unstable northerly at this time of year you end up usually getting crystal clear sunshine but also convection + further north you can even get some decent snowfall out of it. Meanwhile, mild and wet south/south-westerlies at this time just feel wrong. The synoptics we have currently remind me more of early autumn rather than early spring. Everything about 2024 feels malevolently grey!

[Weather Enthusiast91]

On 04/04/2024 at 04:09, Frigid said:

Should put up a poll.

I wish I did now. Not sure why I didn't think to do so at the time.

Too late to edit now, but oh well.  

[Weather Enthusiast91]

23 hours ago, Azazel said:

though rain is kinda nice after a heatwave breakdown as long as it doesnt overstay its welcome!

I do love a good summer thunderstorm. They are very few and far between these days though, unfortunately.

On 04/04/2024 at 08:51, SollyOlly said:

Interesting discussion topic!

Thank you! 

Edited April 5 by Weather Enthusiast91

[B87]

 Summer8906 I definitely think 17c is more April-like than 10c here.

The average high breaks the 10c barrier in late February. The average high breaks the 17c barrier at the end of April/start of May.

[cheese]

Really depends on the definition of cold and mild, as mentioned above.

At this time of year, I'll take 11C and sunny over 16C and rainy. 11C feels pleasant in sunshine in early April.

I'll take 16C and rainy over say 1C and snowing though. 

Stockholm and Helsinki both recorded ice days this week with snow. I would absolutely hate that in April. 

Northern Scandi has been even choler with temperatures in Northern Sweden and Finland falling below -30C, I wouldn't want that however sunny it might be!

Edited April 5 by cheese

[LetItSnow!]

17 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

The synoptics we have currently remind me more of early autumn rather than early spring.

This is why even if this year had featured persistent north-easterlies instead and was *still* dull I would much prefer it because at least it would be seasonal for February and March + snow potential. I would much rather take dreary and cold in the winter and early spring than dreary and mild. It's why I don't think I would have been too annoyed by early 1986. I was young but I somehow remember spring 2013 being less drab than 2024 has!

[Weather Enthusiast91]

 cheese Yes, I don't want snow at this time of the year and am now looking forward to the 20+ Celsius days. It would be a waste of time anyway due to the warming of the ground and strengthening of the sun. I do love it during the winter though.

 

Edited April 5 by Weather Enthusiast91