Four years ago I wrote that few months could have left so much statistical debris in their wake than had April 2007. Well, April 2011 has matched it. In the Central England Temperature record, which stretches back to 1659, the warmest April before 2007 had occurred in 1865 with a monthly mean temperature of 10.6°C. In 2007 that was broken by the wide margin of 0.6°C, and now in 2011 that in turn has been broken by the even wider margin of 0.8°C.
The first week was dominated by a strong southwesterly airflow, and although it was warm and mostly dry in southern and eastern districts, heavy and prolonged rain affected the western highlands, the Lake District and Snowdonia. Thereafter all parts of the UK were dry. There were some cooler and cloudier days during the second week, but it was exceptionally warm and sunny between the 16th and 25th.
Mean maximum temperature for April ranged from 19.8°C at St James's Park (London) to 9.8°C at Fair Isle (between Orkney and Shetland), while mean minimum temperature varied between 9.6°C at Mumbles Coastguard station (Glamorgan) and 3.5°C at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire). Mean maximum temperature ranged from 2°C above the long-term average in northern and western Scotland to 5-6°C above in East Anglia and Southeast England. Mean minimum temperature was 3.0 to 4.5 °C above the long-term normal in all regions. The Central England Temperature (CET) of 12.0°C was 3.9 °C above the long-term mean, and the highest for April in the entire CET record.
The highest maximum at a standard site (i.e excluding rooftop and mountain sites) in the UK was 27.8°C at the rather sheltered site at Wisley (Surrey) on the 23rd, the highest April temperature anywhere in the UK since 1949, while the lowest minimum was minus 5.4°C at Tulloch Bridge (Lochaber) early on the 26th. The lowest daytime maximum was 6.5°C at Warcop (Cumbria) on the 13th, and the warmest night was that of the 22nd/23rd with a minimum of 14.8°C at Wych Cross (Sussex). An exceptional diurnal range of 23.4°C was recorded at Santon Downham (Norfolk) on the 21st.
Rainfall averaged over England and Wales during April was 13.3mm which is 21 per cent of the average for the standard reference period 1971-2000, the lowest in April since 2007; in the last 100 years only five Aprils were drier while 95 were wetter. The equivalent figures for Scotland were 43mm and 68 per cent of the normal amount, and for Northern Ireland 38mm and 66 per cent. Monthly totals at routinely-available sites ranged from 206mm at Tyndrum (Stirlingshire) to 0.2mm at St Helier (Jersey). The rainfall for March and April together over England and Wales was the lowest since 1938.
Sunshine averaged over England and Wales during April was 238.3 hours which is 153 per cent of the 1971-2000 mean, the highest since 2007; in the last 100 years only two Aprils were sunnier while 98 were duller. The equivalent figures for Scotland were 203.5 hours and 138 per cent, and for Northern Ireland 213.8 hours and 133 per cent. Largest total in the UK was 269 hours at Thorney Island (Hampshire) and the smallest was 140 hours at Stornoway (Isle of Lewis).
© Philip Eden
Source: http://feeds.weatheronline.co.uk/~r/weatheronline/~3/7Y6j1SW4YUw/reports
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