The mild, dry theme through March has continued throughout much of April across most of Europe. While the pattern did turn more unsettled, especially in the run-up to Easter, rainfall has remained subpar while temperatures have remained average to above.
Unusually persistent blocking remains the primary culprit!
Below is the 500mb geopotential heights 1 March through 27 April.
No surprise the lack of rainfall March-April when your stuck beneath the most anomalous positive anywhere in the hemisphere…
This unusually persistent blocking is likely aided by an unusually early final stratospheric warming.
The drought watch area has expanded through March across both UK/Ireland as well as much of the central swathe of the continent from Russia to Denmark.
SUMMER-LIKE CLOSE TO APRIL
Dry ground, dry air coupled with an August strength sun results in a record or near record warm close to what will be one of the warmest, driest April’s for UK, Ireland and much of Europe.
While Scotland could push 24/25C on April’s final day, There’s a small chance May 1st could host the UK’s earliest 30C which would surpass the current record of 12th May 1945.
Heat peaks for Scotland and N Ireland Wednesday 30th.
Thursday 1st May for England.
MUCH COOLER AIR RETURNS…
Following a toasty end to April, the opening days of May heralds the return to much cooler air from the NNE as the high shifts west.
ALL see a drop back to normal or below with highs 10 to 15C rather than 22-30C and that drop extends into France!
Look Back At April 2025
MET OFFICE: Sunniest April on record for the UK
April closed in the way it began, with high pressure bringing sunny skies and well-above average temperatures across the UK.
It’s been the sunniest April for the UK since records began in 1910, with 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term meteorological average, according to provisional Met Office figures. It was also the sunniest April on record for England, and the second sunniest for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Temperatures have also been 1.7°C above average, meaning the UK has recorded its third warmest April for mean temperature since the series began in 1884.
Record-breaking sunshine in April
With an average of 228.9 hours of sunshine across the month, the UK has recorded its sunniest April since the series began in 1910. England too recorded its sunniest, with all other nations their second sunniest. This means that England recorded its sunniest March and April this year. The Midlands, East Anglia, North and West Scotland were all particularly sunny.
Above average temperatures this April
The mean temperature for April was 9.6°C, which is 1.7°C above average for the UK, meaning it was the third warmest April for mean temperature since the series began in 1884. The warmest was 10.7°C recorded in 2011. All four nations recorded a mean temperature of at least 1.6°C above their respective long-term meteorological averages, with all UK nations recording their third warmest April for mean temperature since 1884 too.
The high mean temperatures were chiefly influenced by higher-than-average daytime temperatures, though it was also warmer than average overnight.
Met Office Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “High pressure sat over the UK for the first two weeks of April as well as the last week, with low pressure bringing some unsettled weather in the middle. This has meant temperatures have been above average, and rainfall, for most, has been below.
“The last week of April has closed out with temperatures well above the seasonal average, with station records for temperatures and sunshine broken.
“The reason for the high temperatures over the last week has not been because we’ve been importing warm air from the south, but because cloud-free skies have brought strong solar insolation, warming the air up day-by-day. The sun is as strong at this time of year as it is in August. Under high pressure, the air tends to sink, get compressed, and warm up. So, it’s fair to say that this latest period of very warm weather has been ‘home-grown’ and not brought in from anywhere else.”
The highest temperature recorded this April was 26.7C on 30 April Wisley in Surrey. Wednesday 30 April was also the equal-warmest day for mean temperature in the UK with 19 April 2018, in a daily series from 1960.
Met Office Scientist Emily Carlisle said: “It is quite unusual for temperatures to hit 25°C fairly widely in April. The last time was in April 2018, and before that was April 2011.
Just over half the average rainfall for most
The UK saw just over half the rainfall it would usually expect in April, with 56% recorded. There was, however, much variation. Northern Ireland was the only nation to record above average rainfall (114%) due to heavy rain mid-month. Northern England was particularly dry, seeing 25% of its average rainfall compared to southern England, which saw 66%. Cornwall was the wettest county with 169% of its average, and Tyne and Wear was the driest with 7%, making it Tyne and Wear’s second driest April since the series began in 1836. Some stations in north-east England recorded less than 5mm of rain across the whole month.
Below Graphics From Reading University
April 2025 Monthly Weather Report
Highest Maximum 26.9°C on 30th at Treknow (Cornwall, 100mAMSL)
Lowest Maximum 6.3°C on 16th at Lake Vyrnwy No 2 (Powys (north), 360mAMSL)
Highest Minimum 14.1°C on 30th at Aberdaron (Gwynedd, 86mAMSL)
Lowest Minimum -5.8°C on 4th at Braemar No 2 (Aberdeenshire, 327mAMSL)
Lowest Grass
Minimum -11.2°C on 7th at Copley (Durham, 253mAMSL)
Most Rainfall 83.2mm on 15th at Otterham Station (Cornwall, 235mAMSL)
Most Sunshine 14.0hr on 30th at Hurn (Dorset, 10mAMSL)
Highest Gust 70Kt 81mph on 16th at Wight: Needles Old Battery (Isle Of Wight, 80mAMSL)
Highest Gust
(mountain*) 68Kt 78mph on 27th at Aonach Mor (Inverness-shire, 1130mAMSL)
Greatest Snow
Depth at 0900
UTC
No non-zero values.
My April 2025 Stats
Highlights…
Another VERY mild, dry, sunny high pressure dominated month.
Fewest days in a month without measurable rain.
By far warmest April day in my short POR.
Record low humidity (28%)
UK, Ireland, Europe & Global Highlights
MORE HIGH & DRY FOR MAY?
The big question as we head into spring’s final month is will the high continue or will is slip west, east or south? Could we complete the season with 3 straight warm, dry months or is change coming?
April ends with a positive AO/NAO which usually results in negative upper heights over the Atlantic, Greenland or Iceland while positive heights dominate Europe, that’s very much the case now.
The week-by-week breakdown becomes harder to pinpoint as one goes further out in time, however there’s a growing trend for the high which initially delivers a brief hot spell to slip west away from UK week 1 of May then returns back east near or over the UK/Ireland week 2. This supports the continuation of a largely dry setup for MOST of UK/Ireland but a swing from warm back nearer average if not a little below. Back and forth is likely as the high wobbles and I do expect something more unsettled at times but perhaps, like April, a lean to drier and milder. With dry ground, there’s opportunity with another quite significant warm spell mid to late month.
CFSv2 weeklies show the continuation of HP dominance with cooler, more unsettled underneath.
When considering the upcoming month as a whole, there’s reasonable agreement on a continuation of the high over low scenario. Warm & dry over cooler and wetter.
ECMWF weeklies, GFS ensemble and CFSv2 all support a similar high covering much of Europe with trough trapped underneath over Iberia through the next 30 days.
ECM weeklies
Warmer, drier than normal month is the result for W Europe, cooler & wetter east, south.
GFS ensemble
CFSv2
My Verdict…
Another DRIER, potentially WARMER than average month for MOST of UK & Ireland but possibly slightly wetter in southern UK extending into France and Iberia, N Africa & Canaries where low pressure may be unusually persistent.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Ruth Wadey
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