Tough Choices
April weather has a certain reputation. It is often non-predictable. The German term “Aprilwetter” means usually a rapid change between sunshine and rain. It means a day with a lot of showers and sunshine. But April weather is also about extremes: It happens a lot that winter returns with snow and frost as last year. In some years there is also a first heat wave.
So what makes April weather special? Does she just use her versatile weather wand to divulge her bipolar meteorological attributes? There are a couple of factors involved: In April it slowly gets warmer, but there is a difference between the landmass and the sea. The sea is still very cold. Furthermore, the Northern regions are still very cold. At the same time, it is already very warm in the South (Southern Europe, North-Africa). Typical “April weather” happens when cold air from the Northern Atlantic and the Northern Sea reaches middle Europe and has become more and more humid. Now – over land – the air is getting warm and rises. The condensed water vaporizes and is turned into clouds. The whole mass of air is not stable. Since it is still very cold in the upper levels of the atmosphere there can be hail, snow, and rain. But it can also be sunny with blue skies!
The good news is April’s cold, wet weather won’t last long. That’s in keeping with its role as a transition month from winter’s dormant dullness to spring’s brimming vibrancy. So your only problem is: what to wear?
