Well it's farewell to this lovely spell of weather and hello to a period of tedious cold crap to endure. If it's mostly dry and skies are clear, similar to last April, I would be somewhat okay with it. I just hope there's no April 2012 2.0 brewing...

Today was first time to see very blue skies when clouds cleared off early afternoon since last week Saturday which by Sun to yesterday was polluted skies dominating.

It's an absolute joke to get snow in November, then a whole winter of no snow, then snow at the end of March again!

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It's an absolute joke to get snow in November, then a whole winter of no snow, then snow at the end of March again!

That another reason why I stop doing the weather recording we don't get correct weather set-up to follow what the seasons say so.  All other places have no problem with seasonal weather but here getting too much out of season weather pattern for years now.  Got stupid crap fogs lasting several hours in the last 2 mornings that normally does in late Autumn months but having it now in Spring is very weird.  

Absolutely terrible spring so far in Central France. We are in the Massif Central and closer to the Med coast than the English channel, however apart from a week of sunshine it has been cool to downright freezing.

Last few days we have had around 8 inches of snow and freezing night time lows of -7. It's bloody April. Our spring garden and fruit trees are decimated. It's not even fecking funny anymore. Just feck the actual feck off and give Europe the warmth and sun it deserves.

Can anybody explain why we are seeing such awful. awful springs? Last year was dire, (as was summer) here and the few before were mixed but nothing special. This far south springs should be sunny, warm (20 degrees) and pleasant.

 

What an absolute joke our climate is becoming!!! 

 

Absolutely terrible spring so far in Central France. We are in the Massif Central and closer to the Med coast than the English channel, however apart from a week of sunshine it has been cool to downright freezing.

Last few days we have had around 8 inches of snow and freezing night time lows of -7. It's bloody April. Our spring garden and fruit trees are decimated. It's not even fecking funny anymore. Just feck the actual feck off and give Europe the warmth and sun it deserves.

Can anybody explain why we are seeing such awful. awful springs? Last year was dire, (as was summer) here and the few before were mixed but nothing special. This far south springs should be sunny, warm (20 degrees) and pleasant.

 

What an absolute joke our climate is becoming!!! 

 

This is what Aberdeen Richard would sound like if he moved to central France.

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Absolutely terrible spring so far in Central France. We are in the Massif Central and closer to the Med coast than the English channel, however apart from a week of sunshine it has been cool to downright freezing.

Last few days we have had around 8 inches of snow and freezing night time lows of -7. It's bloody April. Our spring garden and fruit trees are decimated. It's not even fecking funny anymore. Just feck the actual feck off and give Europe the warmth and sun it deserves.

Can anybody explain why we are seeing such awful. awful springs? Last year was dire, (as was summer) here and the few before were mixed but nothing special. This far south springs should be sunny, warm (20 degrees) and pleasant.

 

What an absolute joke our climate is becoming!!! 

 

More worried about this coming summer ending up again very cold and wet which seem to happening more often.   You can see the temperatures here in April are same as we get in winter so it becoming more temperate now from old 80's average of 6C in London to 22C in summer to 9C to 19C than 25C as they thought we will get, it did went up to 23-24C average during the 90's and predicted to be 25C by 00's onward but had drop a lot to 19C and might end up 17-18C within few years while winter no change.  20C or over in summer becoming very premium now as now most stay 15-19C all the time and just briefly go to 20C ir above before hitting 30C then drop back to below 20C immediately instead of weeks of low 20's with settled or unsettled weather days.

 

More worried about this coming summer ending up again very cold and wet which seem to happening more often.   You can see the temperatures here in April are same as we get in winter so it becoming more temperate now from old 80's average of 6C in London to 22C in summer to 9C to 19C than 25C as they thought we will get, it did went up to 23-24C average during the 90's and predicted to be 25C by 00's onward but had drop a lot to 19C and might end up 17-18C within few years while winter no change.  20C or over in summer becoming very premium now as now most stay 15-19C all the time and just briefly go to 20C ir above before hitting 30C then drop back to below 20C immediately instead of weeks of low 20's with settled or unsettled weather days.

You seem to have forgotten how the UK - and even Ireland - have broken heat records on a number of occasions in just the past 10 years alone. Granted they were in the form of short but "intense" heatwaves rather than long lived warm spells.

April is generally a transitional month where cold wet spells are still generally the norm, I'd be more concerned if we keep having warmer and drier than average conditions at this time of the year, but I am gutted for Snowjoke at his French location, though. That is - as you often like to say - "unacceptable". 

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Absolutely terrible spring so far in Central France. We are in the Massif Central and closer to the Med coast than the English channel, however apart from a week of sunshine it has been cool to downright freezing.

Last few days we have had around 8 inches of snow and freezing night time lows of -7. It's bloody April. Our spring garden and fruit trees are decimated. It's not even fecking funny anymore. Just feck the actual feck off and give Europe the warmth and sun it deserves.

Can anybody explain why we are seeing such awful. awful springs? Last year was dire, (as was summer) here and the few before were mixed but nothing special. This far south springs should be sunny, warm (20 degrees) and pleasant.

 

What an absolute joke our climate is becoming!!! 

 

 

 

Far too early to be sure, but climate experts have predicted shifting weather patterns. Heard from a number of people who've been to Spain so far this year and talked of wet and cool weather there. 

How's this harsh early-season weather likely to impact wine in the region?

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You seem to have forgotten how the UK - and even Ireland - have broken heat records on a number of occasions in just the past 10 years alone. Granted they were in the form of short but "intense" heatwaves rather than long lived warm spells.

April is generally a transitional month where cold wet spells are still generally the norm, I'd be more concerned if we keep having warmer and drier than average conditions at this time of the year, but I am gutted for Snowjoke at his French location, though. That is - as you often like to say - "unacceptable". 

Yes not worried about this month but about in summer time rather than 15-18C then 33C or over for a day before dropping back to below 20C. I rather prefer low 20's during settled to short lived unsettled spells and slowly warming up to low 30's before a thunderstorm and bring back to low 20's, then rinse and repeat.  

More worried about this coming summer ending up again very cold and wet ....

I am concerned about the coming summer as well. We had quite a good summer here last year, but it's very rare that we actually get two decent summers in a row. Normally at this time of the year, Gavin P. would be doing his summer update videos and the various analogues would usually play quite a big part of that. Sadly, his enforced absence from the scene due to his hospital treatment means that this isn't the case this year.

If he was doing these videos just now though, he would no doubt be pointing towards the very warm and sunny weather which we had during March and even without any actual analogues to confirm that, I seem to recall that after such a spell of weather during March, the following summers have tended to be rather wet and miserable as was the case in 2012.

In addition to that, the various models appear to be pointing towards there being a lot of northern blocking building up as a result of the recent stratospheric warming event over the North Pole. My fear as that there could still be some of that around during the summer with low pressure sitting underneath it and right over the UK, which then delivers a lot of rain to these parts as a result.

Finally, the last six months or so have been very dry here with the exception of just a couple of months which have been much wetter. That dry trend can't continue forever with at the very least, the threat of water shortages and/or hosepipe bans and because of that, I fear that we might end up paying for that during the summer.

 

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It's looking pretty uninspiring here for the next week or so. Spells of Atlantic-dominated weather and a few northerly incursions to boot. Not the kind of weather I'd like to see in April, but I suppose it's better now than in July.

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A good snowfall 10 years ago to the day

CFSR_1_2012040406_1.png (850×657) (wetterzentrale.de)

 

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I don't know why the weather forecasters on the BBC and BBC Look North keep saying it's 'mild' at the moment when it has been 10c all day here and windy. I don't consider that to be mild for April, in fact it's probably a little below average. Maybe they are still thinking we are in Winter in which case you would probably say 10c is slightly on the mild side.

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Current temp:

Lower than anything I recording throughout the entirety of last winter and so far, I have recorded more frosts this April than during the entirety of last winter. 

A damning testament of the entirety of last winter. 

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Had it not been for the memorable snowfall April 2012 would easily have been the worst April ever recorded here. So far this suicide inducing April is exactly like 2012 minus the memorable snowfall 

Ridiculously awful crap day in day out. Not a single remotely decent day. Two days of mild crud and the rest cold crud. Utterly revolting and it keeps getting worse and worse.

At least last weekend, while cold, the winds were light and mornings sunny so I could get out. Full blown horror now with that hideous wind and stupefying amounts of rain. Already had close to the full monthly average and what I woke up to on Thursday was unbelievable. 2C, pouring rain and windy. Just horrific.

Today is yet another day I won't be able to get on the bike. 3C and windy. Can hardly bear walking in this rubbish never mind cycling. Every single month since July, except January, I've cycled fewer miles than the equivalent month one year earlier. The fact that most of those months in 2020/21 were rubbish bears testimony as to how putrid conditions have been over the past 9 months. Ludicrously uninuteresting and unpleasant.

 

It's absolutely sickening. Tedious and predictable in the extreme. Year in year out we get a hopeless snowless frostless winter only to be greeted with this repulsive vomit in April. Early April now the most reliable time of the year for horrible cold rubbish.

The weather is so awful with the relentless wind, cloud and rain that, unlike last year, there has just been one pitiful frost of -0.5C. So far the highest April minimum since 2014. Highest temperature a dreadful 11.9C, accompanied by a strong wind to make it feel even cooler. No sign of even modest warmth. Could be the first time in almost 100 years that successive Aprils both fail to reach 15C 

Outside it looks as dead and bleak as mid-winter. At least in late February and early March the crocuses added a splash of colour. Unlike last year many of the daffodils are yet to bloom and combined with the completely bare trees it's just horrifically depressing. Apart from the brief warm spell in late March, which saw 14-16C for a week, it's been exactly the same 5-10C rubbish for the best part of 5 months 

The preposterous levels of sunshine during the first three months, which was completely wasted due to the cold, wind and dark evenings had me really concerned about a repeat of 2012 and these worries have accelerated over the past week. All of January, February, March had sunshine above the 90th percentile. I wonder which three months will come in below the 10th percentile to cancel that out 

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Day after day after day of repulsive soul destroying grot befitting only of a land in which the sole inhabitants come coated in a thick layer of blubber 

The first 10 days of the month were appallingly cold and wet for April but were like paradise compared to the revolting and disgusting crap we've endured since Monday. 2.2hours of sun since in 5 days and it keeps on getting worse. 

Once again there is no rational explanation for the horrors we are being subjected to. Nowhere else on the East Coast is suffering this unmitigated filth day in day out. Today it's sunny in Caithness, Fife and East Lothian. Yet again it is only here that is pinpointed to suffer the most wrist-slittingly awful crap anywhere on Earth 

It's even worse then the repugnant garbage we suffered in December which saw one of the grimmest winter spells in years. Even then there was some respite in the form of the odd mild sunny day but this month is just unrelentingly vile.

Over the horrible Festive period we saw two days of sunshine and 13C but April is so unspeakably bad that it can't even reach 12C 

 

First half of April:

Mean Max: 8.5C (-1.8C)

Days over 10C: 3

Rainfall: 66.0mm (239%)

Sunshine: 50.5hrs (69%)

 

Compared to the second half of January:

Mean Max: 8.4C (+2.4C)

Days over 10C: 5

Rainfall: 4.0mm (13%)

Sunshine: 71.4hrs (188%)

 

It's just a sick joke this era of dire seasonless dross like nothing on earth ever seen throughout recorded history. What benefits did all that dry weather and sunshine bring in January? Pretty much none at all due to the dark evenings whereas this stinking April sure is hugely detrimental to health and wellbeing 

Once again I feel sorry for school children who are not only having to endure rotten summer holidays but diabolical Easter Holidays too. It's like three doses of the October Holiday weather. 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2022. When I was at school only 1989, 1993 and 1998 produced Easter Holiday weather as poor as the rubbish listed above. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic in children 

How many of these incredulous scenarios will turn in to reality?

1. First April since 1932 not to reach 12C.


2. First time since 1922/23 that successive Aprils fail to reach 15C


3. Dullest April since records began in 1880


4. First time since records began in 1880 that April is the dullest month in the first third of the year

Potentially all of them I would say. The outlook is beyond hopeless and depressing. Every time you think there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, with a brief improvement, it just gets even worse. Since July we have been locked into an unremitting hell that is truly unbearable, offering nothing positive whatsoever. Just month after month of the worst possible rubbish 

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This habit of pollution skies has been a feature most of this Spring season and some folks in NW forum hate that and last time we had 1 true blue skies was on Saturday March day before the nasty pollution struck on Sunday onward.   Still Jan beat it by having very clear skies for 4 days straight which you normally get more in Spring and Summer months.  hope this coming easterly winds from Benelux and Germany bring clear skies again. 

Well it's been a pretty decent Easter holiday weekend here in South Gloucestershire.

Not fantastically warm but mostly sunny, decent enough for outdoor activities and crucially no wind and rain.

I'm not sure if that counts as moaning or gloating. I leave the reader to judge.

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What a fantastic long Easter weekend, the weather was perfect for walking, cycling and bbqs and we had some great outdoor meals too.

Christ has risen 

 

Winter not quite done with a good swath of the northern US States yet. Some scenes from Detroit: Looks miserable to be honest.

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