Less than 22mm or rain fell in the area during the entire month, about 40% of what we would expect. The mean temperature was 11 degrees C, more than 3 degrees above average and the mean soil temperature was 13.3 degrees C, 4 degrees above normal. The total amount of solar radiation for the month (intensity of energy from the sun including overcast days) was at least 20% higher than normal (47390 Joules/sqcm) which is almost as much sun as we would expect in June!
These conditions were great for the mood of gardeners, but not great for the allotment plots as we didn't have enough rain and we have yet to get any access to water! As a result, the germination and growth of many seedlings was slow or non-existent. The soil became exceptionally dry throughout the month, which is very unusual for this time of the year.
The weather was generally warm but we did have frost conditions at several times throughout the month. Although frost tender potatoes had been planted in the last week of March, they had not sprouted enough to show any damage early in the month and the frost conditions on the 26th did not seem to affect the allotments. The cool conditions probably delayed some of the growth and germination early in the month, adding to the slow growth due to the lack of water.
These two graphs show the exceptionally dry and sunny conditions throughout most of April. We did not receive any rain at all until the 22nd and the 24th was the first time in more that a month that we got more than a drizzle!
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