The month of May welcomed in summery weather earlier than expected, the latest round-up suggests.
Data from Rothamsted Research for St Albans district shows last month was unusually warm and sunny, with notably high temperatures and no air frosts.
There were 267 hours of sunshine, 72 more hours than usual, and only one day without any rays. May 19 saw the most sun, with 14 hours of sunshine.
On average it was 18.7C, more than 2.5C higher than average, making last month the fourth hottest since 1891.
The highest temperature recorded was on May 7 at a scorching 25.6C.
However, pleasant weather gave way to some thunderstorms - notably on May 26 which continued into the early hours of May 27.
Rainfall was also 7.24mm above the mean. There were 13 days of more than 0.2mm and five days of more than 5mm.
May 29 saw the biggest downpour, with 24mm of water falling.
There were also eight ground frosts.
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