WITH just one day of the month to go, April 2026 looks set to be one of the driest on record, Jersey Met has stated.
By 10am yesterday, just 4.5 millimetres of rain had been recorded at the Maison St Louis Observatory in St Helier so far this month, with the last measurable rainfall being recorded on 4 April.
The subsequent dry spell has placed the Island officially in meteorological drought, defined as a period of at least 15 consecutive days without measurable rainfall.
Head of meteorology Paul Aked said that rainfall totals had also been low at the other official recording sites, Howard Davis Farm and Jersey Airport), although both sites had registered small amounts of rain within the past 15 days.
“If we don’t record anything before the end of the month, this would make it provisionally fourth-driest April since records began in 1894,” he said. “The driest year was April 2011, when just 0.2mm of rainfall was recorded.”
Official figures for the entire month will be released in early May and are expected to show one of the mildest Aprils on record.
Guernsey is not in official drought, with 1.6mm of rain having been recorded on 15 April.
Some change in the weather is forecast for the coming long weekend. Senior forecaster John Searson said yesterday that by Saturday the wind experienced in recent days was likely to have eased.
“Saturday morning will be dry, and although there may be some showers during the afternoon, it should be quite pleasant otherwise, with a maximum temperature of 18°C, which is a bit warmer than average for the time of hear,” he said.
Although there may be an increased risk of showers on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, Islanders have been advised to monitor the latest forecast via the gov.je site.
