As the first week of April 2013 draws to a close, there are promising signs of a long overdue warming of the weather. Double figure temperatures made a valiant, but unsuccessful attempt to clear the last few isolated pockets of snow left in sheltered places at Bracken House,.
The temperature reached 10.3°C at 14:41 today, making it the warmest day since 10.4°C was recorded on the 19th February, some 47 days ago. The run of frosty nights continues though, with the temperature dropping to -0.7°C at 06:01. This was a record 18 consecutive nights when the temperature has dipped below zero.
Bracken Growing Through (Photo credit: David Reece)
The average temperature so far this month has been a paltry 2.8°C, compared to the April mean of 8.6°C. This will rise throughout the month, especially now that night frosts are no longer figuring in the forecasts.
Another record to fall recently was the lowest April temperature when -1.9°C was recorded on the 2nd. This beat the previous lowest of -1.0°C set at 03:16 on April 16th 2012. As the previous record shows, frosts late into April are not uncommon.
No measurable rain has fallen in April, and today (7th April) was the 12th consecutive dry day. The average April rainfall is 60.4 millimetres, and even at this early stage of the month, that minimum looks under threat.
Related articles
- Weather review – March 2013 (alanrowley.info)
- Weather: End Of Freezing Spell Finally In Sight (news.sky.com)
- Spring temperatures expected by the weekend (guardian.co.uk)
