April 2021 - Very Cold but Very Sunny

[Summer18]

Did anybody else really enjoy April 2021. It was very cold (CET 6.5) with many air frosts but also very sunny.

My overriding memory of this month is being able to socialise outdoors in gardens and beer gardens again after Lockdown, which was fine in the sunny daytime but felt absolutely freezing sat outside at night! We had snow showers in the second weekend too.

A much more enjoyable month than the mild wet dross we’re currently experiencing. 

[daveinSB]

I very much remember it, as my wife and I were both out of work at the time thanks to Covid, and we have a south-facing balcony - so April 2021 in the daytime was fantastic, with the sun low enough in the sky to fully illuminate the covered balcony.

However, we made the mistake of heading for our first post-lockdown pint one afternoon, and sat outside a hastily rearranged BrewDog, basking in the sun in t-shirts and jeans. 

But the second the sun even went behind a building at ~6pm we had to run back home, so sudden was the temperature drop.

I also remember snow/graupel showers in London

[cheese]

April 2021 would have made a good March.

[Scorcher]

Far too cold. It was better than this April sunshine-wise of course. But April should have only occasional frosts- not virtually every night.

[reef]

Absolutely loved that month. Here it was the sunniest on record with 248 hours. Only 12 individual months all year round have been sunnier.

It was the frostiest by far aswell, with 14 air frosts, which is more than any January, February or March since 1996. The mean minimum temperature was just 0.5C - 4.0C below the 1991-2020 average. Six days also saw snow falling, another record.

It was our second driest April with 2.4mm of rain, just slightly more than 2007 (1.5mm), with just 5 days seeing it fall.

For us, it was actually colder than 1986 with a mean temp of 5.7C (-3.0C), so the coldest on record and colder than 6 of the last 8 Februaries.

[Derecho]

I remember the very first night in Buckinghamshire when the pubs opened. We went out to my local and even with a jacket on it was far too cold. We endured it for the sweet taste of a post lockdown pint however.

We also got two falls of snow that led to accumulations. The first half of the month in particular, was really cold.

[B87]

April 2021 would have been good for March as mentioned above, but it didn't feel like April.

At Heathrow it was the 7th coldest, 7th driest and 7th sunniest April on record.

[Frigid]

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. 

[Metwatch]

Whether it's a month you liked or hated, either way it was quite an abnormal one, cold but dry and sunny.

A month I certainly would welcome now following so much rain and cloud, but if I had to choose between 2020 or 2021, April 2020 would by far be my pick.

Still saw some convective skies in such a dry month, as northerlies will often spawn showers given the very strong sunshine to be had by April. Most notably had them on the 6th and 11th, with a brief dusting of hail on grass on the 11th. A snow shower on the afternoon of the 6th too.

Edited April 16 by Metwatch
Added photos

[reef]

 Metwatch that chart shows it to be the polar opposite of this month so far. 2024 is mild, dull and wet to 2021's cold, sunny and dry.

Both highly unusual but I know which I prefer!

[Don]

April 2021 was great, albeit could have been more snowy.  However, the sunny and dry weather was brilliant and on some days pleasant enough not to require a jacket!

[Sun Chaser]

A month that will stick in my memory forever just because of how crazy it was! Actually the sunniest April on record here I think! It was the first month where people were going outside again after lockdown and being 16 at the time I was making the most of it no matter how cold it was.

April 1st here was a continuation of the March heatwave but soon led into a cool but sunny easter. Suddenly a northerly blast on the 5th had us struggling for double figures. Memories in the first half of the easter holidays being freezing cold when outside with friends although not particularly sunny. My birthday, April 11th, saw a rare example of April snow and a heavy hail shower too. I remember going outdoor swimming in 7 degree weather that day which was definitely something.

Sometime around mid month, the high pressure influencing our weather moved slightly closer to the UK, giving basically crystal clear skies for the next 12 days. The northerly winds became less strong and far fetched and this gave us some really pleasant days in the mid teens with blue skies start to finish - the 20th, 21st and 27th all topped 18c here. I remember in this period hanging out in the park with my friends for hours when I was meant to be walking back home after school, it felt more summery than a few summer months we've had since!

Sadly low pressure barged its way in late on the 27th and the last few days of the month were damp and cloudy. Frustratingly our only rainfall of the month fell on the evening of the 30th - a whole 11mm as well - making this month not seem as spectacularly dry as it really was. This was a fitting way to lead into one of the most disgusting spring months of my lifetime, May 2021!

I can't complain about the timing though. We had all the good weather in our last weeks of freedom, all the dross during exams then when we were let out for the summer on May 27th, the weather took a sharp upturn and led into what was a pretty decent summer here! Although it was never again quite as exceptionally sunny and dry as April was.

 

[Squally77]

I personally loved it in spite of it feeling really cold in the shade sat outside a pub. It had an almost identical mean sea level pressure anomaly as September 1986, and very similar weather. Albeit being colder.

[damianslaw]

An odd month, akin to the extreme opposites 2011 and 2012, 2011 very warm and dry and sunny, 2012 very wet dull and cold. Instead of the very wet and dull it was unusually cold and dry, whereas 2020 was sunny dry and very mild. 

Interesting to note how we sometimes have back to back opposite months in a calandar year. May 20 and 21 same. March 12 and 13 another contrast. July 22 and 23.. Feb 18 and 19 in terms of extreme cold and heat.

[Don]

 Squally77 When I sat out in the pub garden in the sun, it was actually very pleasant and didn't need a coat.  However, I had one with me as it soon got cold once the sun went down! 

[iand61]

 My main memories are a sunny and decently warm Easter followed by waking up to this on the following Saturday.

the heaviest fall of snow here in a winter that started at Christmas and had already given plenty.

 

[Don]

 iand61 Looks awesome.  Rounded off a decent winter for you then!

[iand61]

 Don aye it’ wasn’t a bad one really.

a few snowfalls but the main thing that set it apart from most winters was the gin coloured skies that came with it, maybe the lack of aircraft as the skies were similar to those during the spring of 2020.

some of the best walking conditions I’ve seen though and with the winter lockdown meaning that there wasn’t a lot else to you, we made the most of it.

the third picture is my local and what it didn’t show was a decent sized gazebo put up on the car park ready for the pubs opening that weekend.

it completely collapsed under the weight of the snow as did a few others around these parts

[Don]

 iand61 I would bite ones arm off for a winter 2020/21 repeat!  I remember the morning the day the pub's reopened outside, there was a little snow where I was at the time, but most of all was sitting outside that evening at the pub, which was a challenge to say the least!  The patio heaters were not up to the job! 

[Sunshineandshowers84]

The pubs in Scotland reopened later than down south and it was outside only and I’m sure this was in May after a nice enough sunny April. When pubs opened May had turned into what we should get in April. It was colder and the April shower theme happened in May with very few bothering about the pubs due to it being too cold outside. Took until end of May until temps recovered and finally got a heatwave for most of June and by that time we could drink indoors but with the social distance with 2 at a table etc and many tables separated beyond 2 metres. 

[Harry233]

 Sunshineandshowers84 I remember the pubs reopening in Scotland. Saturday the 1st May is when I first went out and I remember sitting outside in torrential rain and howling wind with about two jumpers and a big winter coat and still being freezing. Best thing was the pub we went to was at capacity would never happen under normal circumstances. Think it was only about 5 or 6.C that evening I went out, would’ve been like sitting outside in January, but things you do for a good pint. 

[Harry233]

 Don I loved winter 2020/21 it was brilliant. Best winter since 2009/10. Very heavy snow in mid January and very low temperatures then over a foot of snow in the second week of February and temperatures got to as low as -18.C for me. Then the final week of February turned spring like with sunshine and temperatures in the low teens. It was almost a perfect winter for me.

[Don]

 Harry233 Yes, winter 2020/21 was great for northern UK and reasonable for southern UK.