After a cloudier spell, April looks set to finish warm and sunny for many, potentially ranking highly like recent years. Here's an update on sunshine, temperatures, and a look ahead.
Following an unusually sunny March across many parts of the UK, especially England and Wales, April 2025 began with abundant sunshine in most regions. This included areas of Scotland that had largely missed the sunny conditions in March. By the middle of April 2025, some locations had already recorded the typical sunshine amount expected for the entire month.
Since mid-month, conditions have become cloudier at times across much of the country, with many areas experiencing near or below-average sunshine over the last 10 days. Despite this, due to the remarkable sunshine figures in the first half, April 2025 is still expected to deliver above-average sunshine for a vast majority of the UK. However, the overall sunshine totals are now looking less exceptional than initially anticipated. With five days remaining, there's a possibility for sunshine hours to increase again, particularly in the south and east of England. The month could still rank among the top five sunniest Aprils on record, although matching the totals of 2020 and 2021 remains a significant challenge.
High pressure is forecast to build from the south through Sunday and Monday, bringing unseasonably warm weather and plentiful sunshine for many. However, a west to south-westerly flow on the northern edge of the high will mean more cloud for western Scotland and Northern Ireland, with some rain expected in north-west Scotland on Sunday and Monday.
Temperatures are predicted to widely exceed 20C during the day starting Monday. By Wednesday, 30 April, temperatures might climb into the mid-20s Celsius across a considerable portion of the country.
The upcoming warm spell will also solidify April as another notably warm month. It is currently tracking between 1 and 2C above the 1991-2020 average, which itself is about 1C warmer than the 1961-1990 averages commonly referenced around the turn of the century. While it won't surpass the current record holder, April 2011, it could contend for a place among the top five warmest Aprils recorded in many regions, potentially challenging the second warmest, April 2007. The warmth has primarily stemmed from a lack of significantly below-average temperatures. Although widespread frosts occurred early in the month, the cold nights were offset by warm days, resulting mainly from clear skies and light winds. The more unsettled weather recently has generally brought milder nights.
For the UK overall, the first half of April 2025 was also exceptionally dry. Many areas, particularly in eastern Britain, have remained predominantly dry since mid-month and are set for an unusually dry April, especially as no rain is forecast for the remainder of the month. However, localised wet weather shortly after mid-month in some western areas will push rainfall totals closer to or above average. Consequently, for the UK as a whole, this April probably won't rank among the driest on record.
Looking further ahead, high pressure seems likely to dominate into early May, bringing extensive dry and sunny weather for most. However, during the first week of May, the high pressure is expected to shift westwards into the North Atlantic. This shift will increasingly allow cooler, more unsettled conditions to take hold, with north-westerly winds and low-pressure systems beginning to move in. Next weekend will likely retain the generally dry, sunny weather, but the fine conditions may break down afterwards.
The two sunniest Aprils on record for the UK occurred consecutively in 2020 and 2021. April 2020 was part of the well-known "lockdown spring," which became the sunniest spring recorded in the UK by a significant margin. It was generally warm and dry alongside the sunshine, although it became wetter towards the end of the month. Feelings about that sunny lockdown spring were mixed: while it made the initial lockdown more bearable for many, there was a widespread sense of not being able to enjoy the sunshine as freely as desired.
April 2021 presented a very different character: it was very cold, particularly by recent standards, yet also very dry and sunny – a combination historically unusual for April. The first half featured two northerly outbreaks bringing widespread snow showers, notably around the 6th and 11th. Otherwise, it was mostly dry. The second half saw high pressure frequently centred over or to the west and north-west of Britain. This pattern resulted in frequent cold, frosty nights and sunny days, with daytime temperatures mostly near or slightly above normal, but insufficient to counteract the cold nights.
Most regions also experienced above-average sunshine during the Aprils of 2019 and 2022, although for much of the country, the sunshine amounts were not as remarkable as in 2020 and 2021. In April 2019, temperatures and weather patterns varied, but the warmest and sunniest conditions coincided with the Easter period, which fell late that year on 21 April.
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