Top that May! April hottest for more than 350 years - 1st May 2011

This April was the warmest in central England since records began more than 350 years ago.

The scorching month was the fourth sunniest in the UK in the past 100 years and the sixth driest.

The hottest spot was Wisley in Surrey on St George’s Day, when the mercury reached 82F (27.8C) – the highest April temperature since 1949.

After heavy and prolonged rain in the Western Highlands, the Lake District and Snowdonia during the first week of April, all parts of the UK were unusually dry for the rest of the month.

‘There were some cooler and cloudier days during the second week, but it
was exceptionally warm and sunny between the 16th and 25th,’ said a spokesman for MeteoGroup, which released the figures.

Mean maximum temperatures for April ranged from 68F (19.8C) at London’s St James’s Park to 50F (9.8C) at Fair Isle in Scotland, and the mean minimum temperature was at least 6.7F (3.5C) above the long-term average in all regions.

The average temperature recorded in central England – 53F (11.9C) – was 6.6F (3.9C) above the long-term average and was the highest for April since records began 353 years ago.

The lowest temperature was 22F (-5.4C) at Lochaber in Scotland on April 26. Source