Be wary of warm and sunny Aprils
The glorious weather that has been with us for much of April is about to end this weekend.
Even though next week will be cooler and more unsettled, April is bound to turn out a warm, dry and sunny month when the monthly statistics are released by the Met Office, with the mean CET (Central England Temperature) currently running 2 degrees Celsius above normal for the month so far.
The fine weather comes at a time when tabloid headline writers have been having a field day, with predictions that the fine weather is the start of a spring and summer heatwave.
It reminded me of the link between the weather in April – and in particular rainfall – and likely summer weather conditions.
It’s one of the few links that we have here in the UK, such is the changeable nature of our weather, although it cannot be entirely relied on.
But there have been many warm and sunny Aprils – such as 1997 and 2007 – which have been followed by wet summers.
The late Bill Foggitt, Yorkshire’s most famous amateur weatherman, who kept generations of weather readings for over a century at his home in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, once told me to be very wary of fine and settled Aprils.
On this occasion it may be wise to heed Bill’s warning.