Col wrote:

There were some around earlier but i seem to have missed most of showery
activity that was around in NW England earlier this morning.

But why do we have the term 'April showers' anyway? Convective shower
activity is surely prevalent in all months of the year, is there any evidence
that in April it makes up a larger proportion of total rainfall, compared to
frontal rain?

It's the month when the first of the 'home-grown' heavy showers and
thunderstorms start to develop over the land as a result of solar heating of
the land. Earlier in the year, much of the shower activity develops over the
relatively warm sea. In other words, April is the month when the summer regime
first presents itself.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
http://peakdistrictweather.org
Twitter: @TideswellWeathr