Snow falls on Dartmoor and in Gloucestershire - but what's the reason behind April's unusual weather?

Snow Dartmoor weather april 2021
Lying snow on Dartmoor Credit: Mark Shackleton

Parts of the South West have seen a sprinkling of snow this morning - just a few weeks after the region saw temperatures reach as high as the mid-20s.

The weather has been all over the place during the past few weeks.

We've gone from hail and freezing weather, to summer temperatures and back to snow again.

This morning (Monday 12 April) there was a covering of snow across the moors, but also low levels over Gloucestershire.

Here ITV West Country's weather presenter and meteorologist Charlie Powell explains the science behind the changeable weather April 2021 has brought to the South West...

Radar showing rain (blue/green) and snow (white) from early Monday 12 April 2021

Spring is the perfect time of year for big swings in weather - we have had the heat from southwest winds, and freezing blasts of Arctic air.

The sun is also gaining strength as it rises higher in the sky and this pumps more heat into the atmosphere, helping create larger and more energetic shower clouds.

April showers really are a big part of springtime weather for this reason, and if they bump into cold air they can give hail, sleet and snow well into the year.

  • Snowy scenes in the West Country

Snow taken on Dartmoor on the morning of Monday 12 April. Credit: Mark Shackleton/BPM Media
Cleeve Hill on Cleeve Common, pictured in the snow, would be one of the locations for the plaques Credit: BPM Media
Cleeve Common, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on Monday 12 April 2021. Credit: BPM Media/Gloucestershire Live
A sunny but snowy morning on Dartmoor created this beautiful scene on April 12. Credit: Mark Shackleton/BPM Media
A dusting of snow over Exmoor Credit: Debbie Tucker
Snow on a golf course in Tewkesbury Credit: Mike Evans

From a distance these wintry showers look very dramatic as precipitation falls from the base of the cloud, especially when the footage is sped up.

  • Wintry showers in the South West