Well that was one nice spell of weather while it lasted, and several date and location records were broken. For 8 straight days in a row the temperature exceeded 20c (68f ) somewhere in the UK between March 22nd - 30th.

Although we did well here in much of London and the South East, the highest temperatures throughout that time were recorded in Scotland and Wales. with the exception of March 23rd where Charlwood in Surrey recorded the UK maximum that day. (21.3c ). Its definately all over now, for the time being at least

The cold front threatening to head south early next week looks a bit troublesome. Although Im VERY doubtful that sleet and/or snow will get this far south, we could well see a further drop in temperatures Tuesday or more likely Wednesday in our region. I would not rule out the possibility of daytime maximums on Wednesday struggling to reach 5-7c ( 41-45f ).

Given the recent good weather, and the fact next weekend is Easter, I suspect a lot of keen gardeners are tempted to rush out and buy up stocks of tender summer flowering plants in the coming days. My advice is DON'T, unless you can store them somewhere protected from frost for the next 2-3 weeks. Next week is likely to see some sharp frosts across much of the country. Even down here in the South East we could see colder nightime temperatures than we have had for the last 2-3 months, especially in rural areas. I wouldn't rule out -5c or lower anywhere but Central London and coastal fringes between now and Easter.

And on that rather depressing note, I will say once again thank you all for reading and posting.

Moley

South Coast here. No heavy rain or sustained rain to speak of, more of a fine drizzle, the clouds blow away then its a reasonable day again. Only 1 light frost didnt bother the plants so baskets are going out again. keep forcast coming.
Bucks

Just a very quick update from me, and its to warn of possible severe weather (today) Tuesday and Wednesday in London and the South East.

There is a medium to high risk of thunderstorms breaking out in our region on both days, from mid-morning onwards. Where these storms do occur they could well produce torrential rain. hail, strong gusty winds, and the occasional funnel cloud cannot be ruled out. It could be a good day for sky watching.

Moley

Edited: The above should of course say today ( Wednesday ) and Thursday. My head is not in a good place at the moment

Ta for the heads up

Currently bright sunshine out here in Surrey.

We did have a hailstorm yesterday evening that was a tad noisy.

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Lets be careful out there !

I got caught out in the hail storm at 1pm yesterday

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I do not suffer fools !!!!!

Stayed sunny out here in leafy Surrey. Roads north of the M4 were a bit damp when I got home though.

Looks like the same today, bright sun out here.

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Lets be careful out there !

Hmm; Sister is visiting from Canada and brought evil weather with her last time too !
Over here we had good weather last time so hopefully we are OK till May and the UK may suffer. I can see UK immigration banning Margaret if this continues.

Seriously; we are a few degrees below averages for the season with bright sunshine. Seems cooler though after our mild spring.

**UPDATED FRIDAY APRIL 13TH 2012**

First of all a big thank you to Bucks, Kremm, Jane and GMR for the recent posts and reports, and to everyone else who reads this topic. Health issues have prevented me from contributing much just lately, but hopefully that will change for the better.

The past week has certainly delivered some interesting weather across large swathes of the country, with widespread thunderstorms and the predicted hail/torrential rain affecting many regions, including London and the South East. In our region the most noteable events seem to have been centred around the Bournemouth/Southampton/Portsmouth/IOW area to the west, and Kent to the east.

Several locations have reported a 'train ' of quite severe thunderstorms rumbling through between Tuesday and Thursday, delivering some much needed rain, along with some impressive amounts of hail and frequent lightning displays. The areas most affected had as many as 4 or 5 prolonged storms a day during that time. For a storm lover/chaser like me it was purgatory to be housebound with all that weather happening so close by. Here in Northwood all I have seen is a couple of very brief rain showers

As the weekend approaches I expect the weather to take a more settled outlook with much less in the way of storms and rain, but we will see a noticeable drop in temperatures. By Sunday we could struggle to reach double figures....perhaps 9-11c ( 48-52f), with an overnight frost on Saturday for rural areas.

Next week is currently looking like being a case of rinse and repeat, and a return to the conditions we have seen this week. Low pressure looks like taking hold again, bringing more unsettled weather to our region. Midweek could well see another outbreak of heavy thundery showers moving into our region. All in all its a pretty typical 'April Showers' regime in place for the forseeable future.

Thanks as always for reading and posting. Have a good weekend whatever the weather.

Moley

Some impressive thunderstorms have again erupted over the favoured areas of London and the South East this afternoon ( Friday ) it would seem from reports I am currently reading.

Can anyone local confirm that, because Northwood seems to be stuck under a 'storm shield'

Moley

Nothing in Hayes Moley ....

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I do not suffer fools !!!!!