Spring 2021: Moans, Groans, Ramps and Banter.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, Lance M said:

What on earth has happened to the jet stream of late? Something seems off

Its pretty much collapsed, although with several sharp thermal gradients and severe weather outbreaks likely across the deep south of the US in the next few days and early next week I'd expect something to fire up a little. 

[mb018538]

45 minutes ago, Scorcher said:

I find this is a bit puzzling as I sat in the garden in a t-shirt yesterday afternoon.

Maybe we've been blessed here but it hasn't been cold by day for some time now- most days have been close to average and a few above in the last 10 days or so.

I don't think Joe Public will be thinking of this month as a cold month around these parts- it's been exceptionally sunny and with light winds mostly. The nights have been cold but a lot will overlook that because of the sunshine.

It's been ok when the winds have been light....but most of the time there has been a cold feel to the air due to the wind direction. Out of the sun it's definitely felt cold. Maybe I notice it more than the majority as I start work at 6am, so I've had to cycle through frost and minus temperatures at 5:30am nearly every morning this month! 

The abundant sunshine has definitely saved it from being a lot worse. If it had been cloudy and cool it would have been truly miserable.

[mb018538]

10 hours ago, 38.7°C said:

I'd like to know where this big warm up is coming from that is supposed to be occurring in May? 
I've read so many newspaper articles on it lately yet I can't see any hint of it within the models. Am i missing something? 

Nope, you definitely aren't missing anything!

I've seen a lot of it too. More than usual. Which is odd as there is clearly no evidence for a May heatwave this far out.

[Sleet30031972]

1 hour ago, mb018538 said:

Not even sure it really constitutes a proper warm up....just a return to normal from this ridiculous run of cold weather. No signs of anything properly warm in the outlook either.

People in beer gardens every day in T shirts round here. Been like this for weeks now. Wall to wall sunshine. If this is a "ridiculous run of cold weather", count me in for more

[Britneyfan]

I have no complaints about spring here in south Essex, recorded a temp of 23 degrees, april has had 0.0mm of rain here, currently on 142 hours of sunshine, and the April max mean temp is only 1 degrees below the average for April! And the sunshine has made up for that! So no complains been a beautiful useable spring so far 

[Britneyfan]

1 hour ago, Sleet30031972 said:

People in beer gardens every day in T shirts round here. Been like this for weeks now. Wall to wall sunshine. If this is a "ridiculous run of cold weather", count me in for more

Was going to say the same, it’s not cold lol

 

[stainesbloke]

A few nicely sunny days here in Prague but that freezing wind can really do one, it’s becoming very irritating. 

[mb018538]

2 hours ago, Britneyfan said:

Was going to say the same, it’s not cold lol

 

Ok - maybe people may think it’s not that cold. Statistically it is though. (image c/o James Peacock):

[weatherguru14]

The feel of things is what counts.. You can have 21c and a strong NW and it will feel like 12c . Right now the winds are fairly light. Makes all the difference. Its gonna change soon though. 

[B87]

It has been very cold apart from the last couple of days.

Heathrow is currently at 12.5c/2.6c (mean 7.6c) for the month so far, colder than an average March (8.0c) and almost 3c below average for April (10.5c).

[Scorcher]

7 hours ago, DR(S)NO said:

I wonder if it’s down to the source of the air? For me, although it’s been a lovely month, the air has been cold and therefore out the sun has been bloomin chilly! A nice, usable month though Scorcher.

The air has certainly been very dry and with low dew points it can feel cooler in the shade. On the flip side I always think the sun itself feels stronger when dew points are low.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

14 days so far this month in my neck of the woods where the lowest temp went down to 0 or below. Even some winters struggle to get below freezing as often as that; winter 2019/2020 for example.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Weather Enthusiast91

[Freeze]

6 hours ago, Sleet30031972 said:

People in beer gardens every day in T shirts round here. Been like this for weeks now. Wall to wall sunshine. If this is a "ridiculous run of cold weather", count me in for more

I think sometimes people get confused between the strength of the sun and air temperature, while the last few days have been warm in some places ( not so much here), it hasn't actually been that warm most of April. So in a sheltered beer garden in the sun I'm sure it was comfortable enough for a t shirt. 

[Northwest NI]

In summary, a beautiful month so far but it could be a bit warmer.

[Weather-history]

According to the Met Office this is the frostiest April, UK wise, that there is a map available and that was in 2013

The April 2021 frost charts by the Met Office  are going to be interesting when they come out. 

UK wise, the frostiest April was in 1970 but their series only goes back to 1960, so it must be good chance that April 2021 beats the 1970 record.

 

[Frigid]

I've had 17 air frosts so far this April which is astonishing given the amount of warm April's we've had recently. There's a good chance over here that 66% of this month could have frosty days which you rarely even see in a winter month, never mind April. 

[NEVES SCREAMER]

Beautiful day here and it got to 18c. BUT a bit of a gusty breeze and sun goes behind thin high cloud and it doesn't feel that warm. My definition of warmth is about 26c so some way to go for me yet!

[Arctic Hare]

2 hours ago, Freeze said:

I think sometimes people get confused between the strength of the sun and air temperature, while the last few days have been warm in some places ( not so much here), it hasn't actually been that warm most of April. So in a sheltered beer garden in the sun I'm sure it was comfortable enough for a t shirt. 

That's well put. Yesterday it didn't even get to 15 °C here, yet because of the sun it was completely comfortable sitting outside in shirtsleeves. The problem comes when the sun disappears and the wind gets up. Then you really notice how chilly it is. Early next week I suspect will bring that feeling back. By Wednesday it's forecast to be 11 °C and overcast with a noticeable NNE'ly. That will not feel comfortable sitting outside in shirtsleeves!

[markyo]

2 hours ago, Northwest NI said:

In summary, a beautiful month so far but it could be a bit warmer.

I agree, April has been a fantastic month weather wise, lovely cool nights and mornings, plenty of sunshine and a bit of warmth for those who like it. Really really struggling to see how anybody could complain....its April.

[Portsmouth Sun]

1 minute ago, markyo said:

I agree, April has been a fantastic month weather wise, lovely cool nights and mornings, plenty of sunshine and a bit of warmth for those who like it. Really really struggling to see how anybody could complain....its April.

I'm very happy to complain, cold frosty nights, chill winds and below average temperatures.  It might be warm in a sheltered position due to the strengthening sun, but in reality temperatures are poor and below average. 

[Guest]

The astonishing low RH's today (was down to just 14-15% here earlier) has given the air an almost desert like feel to them...

Anyway back to moaning, 12z's are garbage with any hope of a warm rapidly disappearing. GFS ensembles now solidly below average for 8-10days and its looking more unsettled. Max temps might struggle to get out of single figures north of the M4 at times, could be pretty unpleasant times with wind and spells of rain.  

[Weather Enthusiast91]

57 minutes ago, markyo said:

I agree, April has been a fantastic month weather wise, lovely cool nights and mornings, plenty of sunshine and a bit of warmth for those who like it. Really really struggling to see how anybody could complain....its April.

Whilst I am indeed finding this current setup a tad tedious and would like to see just one or two April showers before the month ends, temperature wise it has been pleasant most of the time, particularly with the strengthening of the sun and it reached 18 Celsius today imby. I hope that is the end of the frosts now though.

[Bradowl]

2 hours ago, markyo said:

I agree, April has been a fantastic month weather wise, lovely cool nights and mornings, plenty of sunshine and a bit of warmth for those who like it. Really really struggling to see how anybody could complain....its April.

Just like last year its a fantastic Spring, bit cooler than last year but can't complain, especially when sat in garden with a cold beer like today. 

[nobble]

Surely this April is close to the record for number of frosts ? 
Surely the most of the last 6 months also 

[Scorcher]

Bizarrely cloudy here this morning despite one of the best setups for sunshine of the whole month so far.

It's been a very sunny month here with generally far inferior setups for sunshine at first glance.

Yesterday afternoon was also marred by high cloud and aircraft contrails.

The major forecasters have predicted virtually unbroken sunshine today as well- anyone know what is going on?