If you’re planning a Mothering Sunday walk, my advice is: best take a brolly. You shouldn’t have to wrap up much, though, as this isn’t one of those years that could be described as a “blackthorn winter”. In ancient folklore the blossom of blackthorn, or sloe, bushes appears during mild weather, only to be killed off by a cold spell at the end of March.
Atlantic fronts have brought a change as the month has come to a close. Rain on Wednesday and Thursday was probably welcomed by many gardeners; certainly the flowers in my garden looked much refreshed.
March was an unusually dry month. The average rainfall over England and Wales is about 73mm (2.9in), but this March only 25mm was recorded. That makes it the driest March across England and Wales since 1990, and probably the seventh driest March in the past 100 years. Northern Ireland was rather dry as well, with 40mm. Scotland was nearer normal because of heavy snow.
An interesting snippet is that the Cambridge area had no measurable rain for the 31 days to March 29. Fronts did boost the rain figures slightly in the final couple of days, but large parts of the east Midlands, East Anglia, Lincolnshire and southeast Yorkshire had less than 10mm.
March has been sunny in recent years, particularly in 2009, and this has been a sunny one too. This sunshine felt all the more deserved across the London area after a particularly gloomy winter — the gloomiest since 1972.
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This week may be unsettled at first as fronts spread rain eastwards but should turn warmer and brighter as high pressure develops midweek, especially across southern and central parts. Birch pollen sufferers will be aware that the season is under way and levels are likely to increase to moderate or high.
Isobel Lang is a Sky News forecaster