Another sunny day on Thursday – but then the rain returns.

Thursday gave us a splendid day with 9.7 hours of strong sunshine although the string westerly winds, gusting to 25 mph, pegged back the temperature to a maximum of 14.2C, average for late April and up 0.5C on Thursday.

Overnight the next weather front, very wide this time, approached with thickening cloud such that the minimum of 6.0C, being 2C above the average, occurred at 01.25.

The first rain began to fall just before 5.00am this morning and measured 4.0mm by 08.00 that brought the total for April to 57.3mm, which is 1mm short of the 34-year average.

Friday has dawned with thick cloud and continuous light rain with the slow moving rain bands likely to affect us for most of the day.

There has been a significant change in wind direction over the last twelve hours as the wind slowly backed from the west into the southeast, starting justify after 7pm on Thursday.

N.B. On this day last year my rhododendrons were in full bloom before a -3C air frost wrecked them.

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