APRIL was a bad month for gardeners in Weymouth as it saw high temperatures and minimal rainfall.

Temperatures were the highest at sea since the 1950s, said weatherman Bob Poots.

The rainfall for April has only been lower than 2011 on just 3 occasions, the lowest being 0.6 of a millimetre in 1954.

April 2011 was the third sunniest on Weymouth’s records failing by just 13 hours to beat the record breaking 2010. The hottest day was Easter Sunday with highs of 22.4 degrees.

The sun shone on every day of the month except April 5 and 13. The 30-year average amount of sunshine for April is 196 hours and 18 minutes. April 2011 produced 257 hour and 12 minutes – 131 % of the 30-year average. To date 2011 is 88 hours and 36 minutes above the annual average sunshine levels.

All in all the weather was very pleasant and there were no reports of frosts or thunderstorms.

Winds during April were very light with few gusts. The windiest day was Monday, April 4 when winds reached 26MPH.

All temperatures were well above the monthly averages. (Period of averages 1981 – 2010). The average maximum temperature was 4.0 degrees above average at 16.5 degrees.

The average minimum temperature was 3.0 degrees above normal 8.7 degrees. The average mean temperature was 3.5 degrees above normal at 12.6 degrees. The average sea temperature was 1.7 degrees above average at 11.3 degrees.