Very Mild and  Dry

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during April 2019 in Shoreham was 15.2 Celsius (59F), and that was around 3 degree Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 6.7 Celsius (44F), and that was  under  1  degree Celsius (1.5F) above the March normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 25.2 Celsius (77F) on the 20th, and that appears to be one of the warmest April days in Shoreham for more than 50 years. Remarkably, there were 5 other days when the temperature rose above 20 Celsius (68F), including  highs of 24.3 Celsius (76F) on both the 19th and 21st. All these 6 very warm days were clustered between the 18th and 23rd. On most other days during the second half of the month, maximum temperatures were close to 15 Celsius (59F), but the first half of April was generally much cooler. There were 12 days when the temperature failed to rise above 14 Celsius (57F), with all of these cooler days occurring before mid month. On 6 days, maxima were below 11 Celsius (52F), and this included 2 days, the 2nd and 3rd, with highs below 10 Celsius (50F). The coolest day was the 3rd with a top temperature of 9.2 Celsius (49F).

There were no particularly mild nights during April, but on 6 occasions, all between the 18th and 24th, the temperature remained above 10 Celsius (50F). The mildest night was the 23rd with a minimum of 11.0 Celsius (52F), but the 20th was not far behind with 10.9 Celsius (52F). The coolest nights were also in the first half of the month, and the 7 nights with minima below 5 Celsius (41F)  all occurred before the 16th. Only 3 nights had temperatures below 3 Celsius (36F). On the 11th a low of 0.8 Celsius (33F) was recorded. On the 3rd it dipped to 0.6 Celsius (33F), but the coldest night of the month was the 14th with 0.2 Celsius (32F). 

The sea temperature gradually rose from 10 Celsius (50F) at the beginning of April to 12 Celsius (54F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were no air frosts during  April but 7 grass frosts occurred.  Only 1 grass frost occurred after mid month, the 30th, when a grass temperature of minus 0.6 Celsius (31F) was recorded. Most grass frosts were slight, with only 2 nights recording grass minimum temperatures below minus 2 Celsius (28F). On the 14th, minus 2.2 Celsius (28F) was measured, and on the 3rd a grass low of minus 3.3 Celsius (26F) occurred.    

Rain

There were  16.6  millimetres (0.65 ins.) of rain during April and that was only around a third of the monthly average. There were 9 days  of measurable rain, and that was about 3 days below normal for April. After a dry, almost cloudless, day on the 1st, the weather turned cool and showery. On the 2nd 6 millimetres (0.24 ins.) of rain fell, with another 3.8 millimetres (0.15 ins.) on  the 3rd. Rain  and drizzle gave 3 millimetres (0.1 in.)  on the 9th, otherwise, between the 4th and 22nd only 0.4 millimetres (0.02 ins.) of rain fell. The end of the month became unsettled again, but of the 4 ‘rain days’ between the 23rd and 26th, the 24th was the wettest with just 1.8 millimetres (0.07 ins.) and no measurable rain fell after the 26th.

Hail

There was small hail observed late in  the afternoon on the 2nd, and larger soft hail occurred around lunchtime and in the evening on the 3rd.

Thunder

There was thunder mid afternoon on the 2nd.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during April.   

Wind

April was a ‘northeasterly’ month with winds from that direction outnumbering the usual southwesterlies by a ration of 3 to 1. The bulk of the northeasterlies occurred during the second and third weeks,  although there was no prolonged run of southwesterlies at any time during the month. Although the northeast breezes were quite brisk at times, overall it was a less windy April than usual. There was one particularly windy day, however, and that was the 27th when westerly winds were strong for most of the day. At Shoreham Airport,  southerly gusts reached 32 knots (37 mph) on the afternoon of the 4th, but the next period of breezy weather didn’t occur until late on the 26th. A gust of 34 knots (41 mph) from the southwest occurred late in evening, followed by 41 knots (47 mph) in the early hours of the 27th.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during April, 

Statistics for April 2019