Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

A dry month with plenty of sunshine. Cold initially, but temperatures then rising steadily towards mid-month, before turning more erratic.

The cold easterly flow so prominent in late-March continued during the first eleven days of April over the greater part of the UK. Snow flurries occurred in eastern Scotland and northeast England during the first three days, and there was some light snow across the county on the 4th. There were some good spells of sunshine by day, but clear skies overnight resulted in a fairly widespread air frosts throughout the first week. The easterly relaxed for one day - the 7th - under the influence of a ridge of high pressure. The second week of April was slightly less cold, though it was cloudier with outbreaks of rain. The 11th was especially wet in Northampton with 14.0mm of rain recorded over 8.3hrs. Further scattered showers on the 12th delivered another 5.8mm.

A disturbed south to southwesterly airstream prevailed between the 13th and 17th bringing much higher temperatures. Amounts of rain across the county were very slight, registering on most days as ‘trace’, although it was quite windy. Maximum gusts reach 46mph at Pitsford on the 17th, and reached or exceeded 33mph everyday from 13th until the 18th. On the 14th the temperature reached 17.1C at Pitsford and ranged from 15.5C on the 15th to 16.8C on the 17th. It became briefly colder on the 19th with some sharp showers mid afternoon, but the 20th was a sunny day after chilly frost with 11.3C hours of bright sunshine recorded at Pitsford. The next two days were rather changeable, but across the county it remained dry.

Warm weather resumed across the county between the 23rd and 25th with highs exceeding locally reaching 20.3C on the 25th. The wind swung into the northwest on the 26th, and the remainder of the month was rather cold, quite windy on the 28th and 29thi, and there were sharp showers of rain, including some small hail on the 27th.. The lowest maximum during this period was 11.5C on the 26th and although much of the county escaped air frosts, ground frosts were common. The last two days of the month were dry and sunny, but with temperatures still in the low teens.

Overall, although April saw below average temperatures it was not as cold as April 2012. However, unlike April 2012 which was the second wettest April on record in Northampton with 128.00mm, this April was dry by comparison with 63.1% of the expected rainfall.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 20.3 C on 25th
The Lowest Maximum: 4.6 C on 1st
The Highest Minimum: 10.1 C on 25th
The Lowest Minimum: -2.2 C on 2nd
The Mean Maximum: 12.4 C  
The Mean Minimum: 3.5 C  
The Overall Mean: 8.0 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -1.4 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 614.0 W/m^2 on 29th
Mean (at 0900): 273.9 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0 % on 12th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 58.0 % on 18th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 75.8 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 11.2 C on 25th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -2.5 C on 1st
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 3.4 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 34.6 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 63.1 %  
Duration: 31.9 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 14.0 mm on 11th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 8   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 6   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 137.6 hrs  
Sunniest day: 11.3 hrs on 20th
No. of days without sunshine: 5   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 90.9 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 6.0 oktas 75 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1035.3 mb on 20th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 993.7 mb on 12th
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1015.9 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 152.6 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 8.3 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 4578.6 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 46 mph on 17th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 20.8 mph on 14th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 11.5 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 3 NE 3 E 7 SE 0 S 8 SW 5 W 2 NW 2 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -3.1 C on 2nd
Mean Concrete Minimum: 2.8 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 94.3 ml  
    
Days with:    
Thunder: 0   
Hail <5mm: 1   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 1   
Snow lying: 0   
Fog: 0   
Air Frost: 7   
Duration of Air Frost: 30hrs
Gales: 0     

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

The weather station publishes a full Monthly Weather Report (ISSN 1741-4733) which is distributed to libraries across Northamptonshire. This report comprises a full UK weather diary, reports of extreme weather events across the county, statistics from Pitsford Hall's affiliated stations across the county as well as news from the weather station itself. Individuals may download this report for £2 or take out an annual subscription for the paper-based report for £25. Click here for further details.