APRIL WARMER, SUNNIER, AND DRIER THAN AVERAGE
Armagh Observatory, fifth Might 2026: Armagh Observatory experiences that the primary two to a few weeks of April 2026 noticed a seasonal combination of sunshine and showers however the month as a complete was hotter, sunnier, and drier than common. This April was the eleventh warmest on file at Armagh, the sixteenth sunniest, and the driest for 5 years.
The imply temperature was roughly 9.8 C, almost 1.9 C hotter than the 225-year long-term (1796-2020) April common at Armagh (7.9 C), and 1.0 C hotter than the newest (1991-2020) 30-year common (8.8 C). 9 of the final ten Aprils at Armagh have now been hotter than common.
The warmest day was an unexceptional 21.2 C on the twenty fifth, adopted by 20.9 C on the twenty fourth and 20.1 C on the thirtieth. The twenty fifth was the warmest day of the yr at Armagh as much as the top of April and into early Might.
The good day was 9.1 C on the ninth, adopted by 9.3 C on the tenth and 9.8 C on the fifth. The third of those comparatively cool days adopted the passage of Storm Dave, which on the 4th provided the month’s highest each day rainfall.
The warmest night time was a light 10.1 C on the seventeenth adopted by 9.1 C on each the first and eighth. The good night time was 0.4 C on the 2nd, adopted by 0.6 C on the twenty fifth and 0.7 C on the twentieth. This April at Armagh was noteworthy for having no air frosts, frost-free Aprils occurring within the Armagh temperature file at a median interval between 4 and 5 years. This yr, nevertheless, was the primary such April for twelve years, that’s, since April 2014, with earlier frost-free Aprils occurring at Armagh in 2011, 2009, and 2007.
Regardless of the dearth of air frosts, there have been a number of fairly sharp floor frosts among the many 14 nights with minimal grass temperatures lower than or equal to zero Celsius. The coldest floor frosts have been -6.1 C on the twenty fifth, -5.8 C on the 2nd, and -4.6 C on the twenty fourth.
There was one named storm this month, Storm Dave, which introduced moist and windy climate to Armagh on the 4th with sturdy gusts for some time throughout early night that day, however few different impacts. Hail was noticed on the ninth and rainbows on the fifteenth and seventeenth, however the final week or so of the month was extra settled, dominated by excessive stress and dry, largely sunny, delicate days. The primary swallows have been noticed close to the Observatory on the Mall on the fifteenth, adopted by swifts on the first of Might.
Whole precipitation this April was 38.25 mm together with one hint worth, that’s, 38.0 mm if hint values are ignored. This was a dry month, the driest April at Armagh for 5 years and the primary drier-than-average month at Armagh this yr. The wettest day was 7.4 mm on the 4th, related to Storm Dave, adopted by 6.3 mm on the 18th and 5.4 mm on the 14th.
There have been 190.2 hours of sturdy sunshine this month. That is roughly 31% greater than the 140-year (1881–2020) long-term April common at Armagh (145.54 hours) and 27% greater than the newest (1991–2020) 30-year common (149.87 hours). The sunniest day was the twenty third with 12.4 hours of sturdy sunshine, adopted by the thirtieth with 12.2 hours and the twenty ninth with 12.0 hours.
These information confer with observations at Armagh Observatory, which has been recording the climate at Armagh since 1795.
For additional info, please contact:
Professor Mark E. Bailey
Emeritus Director of Armagh Observatory
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
School Hill
Armagh
BT61 9DG
Tel: 028-3752-2928
E-mail: mark.bailey@armagh.ac.uk
