APRIL was pleasant and outstandingly dry. It was widely the third most arid April in three decades. At Carlton, near Stokesley, it was also the sixth driest month of any in 26 years.

Top of that list of records here are two Februarys, 1985 and 1998, both with only 5mm (0.2ins). Next are two Aprils, 2003 and 2007, which accumulated just under 10mm (0.4ins). Then there is a cluster of months with totals ranging from 10mm to 13mm (0.4-0.5ins). Typically for the region in the three weeks from the 7th, I measured a mere 0.7mm (0.03ins). As a result, fields which started April in a very soggy state ended with the earth parched and cracked.

The month was also fairly warm, particularly by day, though 1C (2F) cooler than April 2009 and 2C (3.5F) colder than the exceptional one in 2007, mentioned earlier. April has shown a marked trend towards being milder recently.

Average daytime temperatures were last below the norm back in 2001. The month began with changeable south-westerlies, but, after a few days, the weather gradually settled down as high pressure built over Europe.

The wind dropped and it became dry, sunny and warm, with the mercury peaking about 18C (64F) on Saturday the 10th. Nevertheless, there were still ground frosts at night. An easterly breeze then picked up as the high transferred to Scandinavia.

This dragged in chillier conditions from the North Sea. After a day or two, another anti-cyclone developed between Scotland and Greenland and this dominated during the following fortnight.

It stayed cool, but mainly dry and bright, as winds backed north to north-west. This meant that the clouds of ash, thrown into the upper atmosphere from the volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, which had already been erupting for a couple of months, were funnelled our way. This caused the infamous disruption to air travel between the 15th and 20th. The dust was brought down to the ground in places during the odd spell of slight rain which fell subsequently.

It could be detected on surfaces when they had dried out, but was more noticeable if you had washed your car just before it rained.

Some was a pale yellowishbuff in colour, while at other times it was a light greenishyellow, almost fluorescent.

Also, towards the end of April, it was probably mixed with fine sand from the Sahara, which we tend to import perhaps once a year. This was conveyed to us by a south to south-westerly flow, introduced prior to the final weekend as the high over the north Atlantic drifted away and was replaced by a low.

What a difference wind direction makes. Temperatures climbed almost daily and reached 21C (70F) in parts on Wednesday the 28th. The next day was generally the wettest of the month, but amounts were still small.

Weather facts – April

At Carlton in Cleveland. – Mean maximum: 13.3C, 56F (+1.3C, 2.3F); mean minimum: 4.2C, 39.5F (+0.2C, 0.3F); highest maximum: 20.6C, 69F, 28th; lowest minimum: 0.6C, 31F, 22nd; total rainfall: 11mm, 0.45ins (47mm, 1.85ins); wettest day: 3mm, 0.12ins, 29th; number of rain days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more: 8 (7). Figures in brackets show the difference from the 26-year mean, 1984-2009.