Philip Eden wrote:
"Edmund Lewis" wrote in message
ups.com...
Quite unusually, we're into the second half of May and have had
nothing
higher than 18C this year in mid-Shropshire. I seem to remember
places
in Wales reaching 21 in late March, the usual southeastern suspects
(London, Gravesend etc) the weekend 30th April/1st May, and
somewhere
in Scotland this week. Yet here we're still waiting, despite
several
fine sunny days. Who else has/hasn't reached the big 21 yet?

The warm spell at the turn of this month saw 21+ within a line
roughly from Lincoln to Wolverhampton to Hereford to Salisbury to
Winchester, but excluding all the south coast and parts of the east
coast.
As you say, isolated spots outside this area reached 21+ in mid-March
(Trawscoed, Saunton Sands) and last week (Perth/Strathallan). But
that's about it.

Much of Britain failed to pass 21 until early-July in 1972.

Philip Eden

Thanks for that info.

I'm only just outside that area you gave; often I've noticed in
spring/summer that Hereford, Worcester through about Wolverhampton to
Lincoln seems to be the boundary of the warmest area, while
temperatures here are far more like those in the northwest eg
Lancashire. I'm puzzled as to why this area never seems to benefit from
any kind of downslope warming in a SW'ly especially, when the
topography seems just right. We certainly get the rainshadow effect.

In 1996 the first 21 here didn't arrive till early June.

Edmund