April 2016 was a cold month – only April of 2012 being colder. Winds and rainfall were slightly below average and the only snow that fell was towards the end of the month when cold Arctic air brought snow and hail showers, which were quick to disappear.
The average temperature in the month was 6.7°C, 0.2°C higher than in 2012 and 1.7°C below the mean. The maximum temperature was 15.3°C at 15:36 on the 13th. This was the lowest maximum in April, the previous low being 16.3°C in 2012. The minimum temperature was -1.7°C at 05:45 on the 28th. This was the latest date in the year that an air frost has been recorded here. The average daily high temperature was 11.0°C (1.9°C below the mean) with the average daily low temperature being 2.8°C (1.7°C below the mean).
The high wind chill temperature was 15.3°C at 16:36 on the 13th, with the low being -2.8°C at 05:56 on the 29th. The average wind chill for the month was 5.7°C. The maximum dew point was 9.3°C at 15:39 on the 12th, an April low. The minimum dew point was -2.7°C at 02:44 on the 26th and the average dew point for the month was 3.5°C. Sunshine hours in the month totalled 182.8 hours and there were four frost days.
On the 30th at 11:56, the solar high was 1113 w/m², the highest since 1169 w/m² was recorded on August 16th 2015. On the 22nd at 13:17, the U.V. index reached 4.2, the highest since 4.3 was recorded on August 29th 2015.
Rainfall was slightly below average with 39.2 millimetres being recorded (0.2 millimetres below average). The wettest day was the 28th when 6.0 millimetres fell, and there were 20 rain days. So far in 2016, there has been 178.6 millimetres of rainfall.
Winds were average for the month with the highest gust being 32 mph at 17:12 on the 6th. The highest average wind speed was 19 mph at 17:17, also on the 6th. The average wind speed in the month was 4 mph and the average gust speed was 6 mph. The total wind run was 2814.1 miles and the predominant wind direction was 190°.
The highest barometric pressure in April was 1031.8 millibars at 11:11 on the 20th. The lowest barometric pressure was 998.1 millibars at 20:44 on the 15th. The monthly average pressure was 1011.2 millibars. The average humidity for the month was 81%, slightly below the mean, and the lowest humidity was 37%.
