APRIL WARMER, SUNNIER, AND DRIER THAN AVERAGE
Armagh Observatory, 5th May 2026: Armagh Observatory reports that the first two to three weeks of April 2026 saw a seasonal mixture of sunshine and showers but the month as a whole was warmer, sunnier, and drier than average. This April was the eleventh warmest on record at Armagh, the sixteenth sunniest, and the driest for five years.
The mean temperature was approximately 9.8 C, nearly 1.9 C warmer than the 225-year long-term (1796-2020) April average at Armagh (7.9 C), and 1.0 C warmer than the most recent (1991-2020) 30-year average (8.8 C). Nine of the last ten Aprils at Armagh have now been warmer than average.
The warmest day was an unexceptional 21.2 C on the 25th, followed by 20.9 C on the 24th and 20.1 C on the 30th. The 25th was the warmest day of the year at Armagh up to the end of April and into early May.
The coolest day was 9.1 C on the 9th, followed by 9.3 C on the 10th and 9.8 C on the 5th. The third of these relatively cool days followed the passage of Storm Dave, which on the 4th supplied the month’s highest daily rainfall.
The warmest night was a mild 10.1 C on the 17th followed by 9.1 C on both the 1st and 8th. The coolest night was 0.4 C on the 2nd, followed by 0.6 C on the 25th and 0.7 C on the 20th. This April at Armagh was noteworthy for having no air frosts, frost-free Aprils occurring in the Armagh temperature record at an average interval between four and five years. This year, however, was the first such April for twelve years, that is, since April 2014, with earlier frost-free Aprils occurring at Armagh in 2011, 2009, and 2007.
Despite the lack of air frosts, there were several quite sharp ground frosts among the 14 nights with minimum grass temperatures less than or equal to zero Celsius. The coldest ground frosts were -6.1 C on the 25th, -5.8 C on the 2nd, and -4.6 C on the 24th.
There was one named storm this month, Storm Dave, which brought wet and windy weather to Armagh on the 4th with strong gusts for a while during early evening that day, but few other impacts. Hail was observed on the 9th and rainbows on the 15th and 17th, but the last week or so of the month was more settled, dominated by high pressure and dry, largely sunny, mild days. The first swallows were observed near the Observatory on the Mall on the 15th, followed by swifts on the 1st of May.
Total precipitation this April was 38.25 mm including one trace value, that is, 38.0 mm if trace values are ignored. This was a dry month, the driest April at Armagh for five years and the first drier-than-average month at Armagh this year. The wettest day was 7.4 mm on the 4th, associated with Storm Dave, followed by 6.3 mm on the 18th and 5.4 mm on the 14th.
There were 190.2 hours of strong sunshine this month. This is approximately 31% more than the 140-year (1881–2020) long-term April average at Armagh (145.54 hours) and 27% more than the most recent (1991–2020) 30-year average (149.87 hours). The sunniest day was the 23rd with 12.4 hours of strong sunshine, followed by the 30th with 12.2 hours and the 29th with 12.0 hours.
These data refer to observations at Armagh Observatory, which has been recording the weather at Armagh since 1795.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Mark E. Bailey
Emeritus Director of Armagh Observatory
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
College Hill
Armagh
BT61 9DG
Tel: 028-3752-2928
E-mail: mark.bailey@armagh.ac.uk
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