APRIL was a truly outstanding month - exceptionally mild, particularly by day, extremely dry and very sunny. Over Britain as a whole, it was the warmest April since at least 1659 - that is as far back as temperatures can confidently be estimated.

Here at Carlton, near Stokesley, typical of the North-East, it was by a long way the hottest April in my data that started in July 1983. Mean maxima were a huge 1.3C (2.5F) in excess even of those in April 2003, the previous holder of this record, and above what we can expect in May. Even the odd June has been cooler by day, as in 1987 and 1991.

Again, it was the sustained warmth rather than any extremes that made its mark, though the maximum of about 24C (75F) on the 15th was very respectable. This has only been beaten in recent years in April in some places on the 16th in 2003.

On the other hand, the clear skies on many nights, coupled with the dryness of the soil, often allowed temperatures to tumble sharply at night. There were the usual number of ground frosts, around ten, but all were very slight and there were no air frosts except in a few locations prone to them.

The region was very dry with less than a quarter of the month's ration of rain. It was widely the most arid April for over 25 years and at Whitby, where a meagre 2mm (under 0.1ins) drizzled down, it was the driest in their records going back more than 100 years. At Carlton, it was my fourth driest of any month after the Februarys of 1985 and 1998, both with 5mm (0.2ins), and April 1997, 9mm (0.35ins).

Between the 3rd and the 18th not a spot of rain fell over most of our area. This spell qualifies as an official drought having lasted longer than a fortnight. However, since it occurred in the spring and after a year or so of at least normal rainfall, it is of no concern.

Not surprisingly, areas of high pressure dominated the month. Just once did the pressure fall below the average for April, 1015mb (30.0ins), for about 48 hours between the 23rd and 25th. So, the mean was the highest for many years, providing yet another feat in this remarkable month.

For the first three days, the last five and for a couple of brief spells mid-month, high pressure areas were situated over or to the north of Scotland bringing us north-easterly winds with variable amounts of cloud. This was persistent at times, with some mist also, especially near to the East Coast. Here, there were a few totally grey days and in the absence of the sun, it was distinctly chilly - typical summer weather, in fact!

At Carlton, the maximum on Tuesday the 3rd was a wretched 7C (44F). This was very much an odd day out as it was the only one this month that failed to reach 10C (50F). Even this was quite mild for the coldest day in April when compared to the pitiful 3C (38F) on the 7th in 1986.

The mercury rapidly recovered as the high drifted south. By the Thursday, 20C (68F) was exceeded, the earliest in the year that I've known this landmark to be reached.

At other times during April, the anticyclones sat to the south or south-west of the British Isles, with winds blowing from a south-westerly quarter. This produced the general warmth and lack of showers that would be anticipated in the lee of the Pennines.

Occasionally, weak cold fronts swung round these highs and south-east across the country but largely generated little or no rain. They caused a veer in the breeze to more of a westerly, resulting in a drop in temperature but only to levels nearer normal.

The front that came south on Thursday the 19th was a more marked affair. Its passage during the afternoon was really striking as a black, arched "curtain" cloud swept rapidly south. This was accompanied by a swirling gust of wind and a sudden plunge in temperature. At Carlton, it plummeted from 15 to 7C (near 60F to 45F) within half-an-hour. Some drizzle later in the day ended the drought in most places.

April Temperatures and Rainfall at Carlton in Cleveland:

Mean Maximum: 15.5C, 60F (+3.8C, +7F);

Mean Minimum: 5.8C, 42.5F (+1.8C, +3F);

Highest Maximum: 23.7C, 74.5F, 15th;

Lowest Minimum: 1.2C, 34F, 4th;

Total Rainfall: 10mm, 0.4ins (-51mm, -2.0ins);

Wettest Day: 4mm, 0.15ins, 24th;

No of Rain Days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more: 4 (-11).

(Figures in brackets show difference from 23-year mean, 1984-2006)