‘April showers’ – a rainfall scientist explains what they are and why they are becoming more intense

By Rob Thompson, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Meteorology, University of Reading

“March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers”, goes the old British proverb. The term was even (almost) used in the Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the 1300s: “Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote”.

The idea of “April showers” is ingrained in the nation’s cultural consciousness as a symbol of spring and nature’s renewal. These phrases date back to times when knowing planting dates for crops was essential to most people, yet such weather lore was the only forecast available.

But what exactly is an “April shower”, and how are they affected by climate change?…

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