Weather review – April 2013

April 2013 was a very cold and windy month, although generally not as cold as 2012. The cold winds persisted for most of the month, usually from an easterly direction, bringing a record seven frost days in the month.

The highest temperature in the month was a disappointing 17.3°C on the 14th at 12:06, the highest since September 16th 2012. The minimum temperature was an April record of -1.9°C on the 2nd at 02:58. April 7th was the 18th consecutive frost day, beating the record set on January 26th this year. The average temperature for the month was 7.0°C, 1.5°C lower than the mean, but 0.5°C warmer than 2012. The average daily maximum temperature was 11.2°C, and the average minimum daily temperature was 3.2°C. There were 100.6 sunshine hours in the month, the highest since May 2012. Every month so far this year has recorded below average temperatures.

After 16 dry days, rainfall was recorded in the early hours of April 12th. In the entire month, there was a mere 11.6 millimetres of precipitation, the lowest monthly rainfall since April 2011. The 12th was also the wettest day in the month with 3.8 millimetres of rain. A light dusting of snow was recorded on the 2nd of the month, but this soon melted.

The wind was the most significant feature of the month. On the 14th, a gust speed of 36.8 mph from 248° (WSW) at 12:22 was the highest gust speed recorded in April, beating the previous best of 34.5 mph (NE) at 09:53 on April 29th 2012. The maximum wind speed was 25.3 mph from 270° (W) on the 17th at 22:44, also a record for the month. The average wind speed for the month was 6.0 mph, and the average gust speed was 9.3 mph.

The average barometric pressure for the month was 1013.9 millibars, with the highest being 1033.7 millibars on the 20th at 08:12, and the lowest 992.7 millibars on the 12th at 05:57.