By Mike Trigger

April recorded well below average rainfall but slightly above average temperatures and sunshine. The month started with cold northerly winds between high pressure centred just to the west of Ireland and low pressure to the east of the UK. From the 4th, winds from the west brought slightly milder temperatures but also some rain. This was caused by a number of weak weather fronts crossing the area associated with low pressure across northern Scotland. On the 8th a low pressure centre moved over northern France and was close enough to bring rain across the district. This produced what turned out to be the wettest day of the month, though with only 5 or 6mm of rain. A weak ridge formed on the 9th before a series of slow moving Atlantic low pressure systems approached from the west. The lows made little progress as high pressure held firm over Denmark but there was a little rain from weak Atlantic fronts between the 12th and 19th. Between the 20th and 25th milder air brought higher daytime temperatures but easterly winds were often quite strong making it feel colder. High pressure then developed across England bringing dry weather through to the end of the month. In terms of statistics (30 year averages 1981 to 2010): Rainfall totals across the district were between 13 and 20mm which is less than a third of typical April rainfall. The wettest day for most was on the 8th with only 5 or 6 mm and there were around 19 dry days. There were 4 days when at least 1 mm of rain fell which is less than half the average number of days. The temperature for the month averaged around ten Celsius which was about half a degree above the 30 year average. The warmest day was the 24th when temperatures reached between 17 Celsius at the coast and 19 or 20 Celsius inland. The coldest temperature for most of the district was on the morning of the 3rd when inland areas had a widespread frost and coastal areas only just avoided an air frost. Inland ground frost was probably a little more frequent that normal. Netherton recorded 6 nights with an air frost with the coldest value minus 3.6 Celsius although Exeter airport almost reached minus 5 Celsius. Windy spells occurred between the 4th and 7th when winds were from the west or northwest and on the 10th and 22nd when winds were from the east. The sea temperature at the Dawlish wave buoy started the month at 10 Celsius, rose to 12 Celsius by the end of the month. Sunshine, estimated at around 200 hours, was a little above average. In summary, compared to the 1981 to 2010 average, April 2022 was much drier, slightly milder and a little sunnier.