April Weather Was Quite Good – But Have We Peaked Too Soon?

April on the Isle of Man was basically one big ‘not too shabby’ according to forecasters at the Ronaldsway Met Office – with sunshine galore, barely any rain, and temperatures that had us all thinking about dusting off the BBQ.

Rainfall was 30% down on average for the month.

Despite the odd grumble about ‘needing it for the garden’, the heavens mostly kept themselves to themselves.

We only had 40.8mm all month, and the wettest it got was on April 14 when a measly 8mm fell. Hardly a washout.

Meanwhile, temperatures were doing their best Mediterranean impression.

The mean of the daily highs came in at a toasty 13.3°C – nearly 2°C above the long-term average and the third warmest April on record. Not bad at all.

The 4th was a scorcher (well, by our standards), reaching 17.6°C – the earliest it’s ever been that warm in the year.

Then, just to finish the month on a high, April 30 hit 18.6°C at Ronaldsway. Inland, where you’re not being constantly harassed by a sea breeze, it climbed into the low 20s. Yes, really.

Sunshine also got its act together.

We racked up a whopping 230 hours of it – over 50 hours more than the 30-year average.

It was the fourth sunniest April on Manx records, even if the UK Met Office reckoned it was their sunniest ever. Bragging rights all round.

Wind? Barely a puff.

Average speed was 11 knots – a touch below normal – and only one day managed to kick up strong winds (over 22 knots).

The breeze mostly came from the east, dragging in warm continental air and good moods.

Forecaster Gary Salisbury said: ‘It’s certainly been a very good spring so far, with rainfall 50% down over the last three months. Let’s hope we haven’t peaked too soon!’