In message , Col
writes
On 01/04/2017 15:45, Norman Lynagh wrote:
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.

Yes, April is certainly the time when 'heat' showers first develop.
However to the public a shower is just a shower and they wouldn't know
if it was generated over the land or sea. So why not March, June or
November showers? What I was getting at was is showery activity in
April commoner than in other months?


Away from the coast, I think showers tend to be relatively rare in the
winter months, and first become noticeable around April. Also the
contribution of frontal rain tends to become less as we move into
spring. Arguably the "March winds" part of the rhyme is less reliable.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)