April was dry and warm overall, although with rain in some western parts. It was the third warmest April for the UK in a series from 1884, with particularly high temperatures in England and Wales towards the end of the month (e.g. 26.9°C on the 30th recorded at Treknow, Cornwall). Rainfall was just over half of the April average for the UK, with some places receiving less than a fifth of average. Many rivers registered notably or exceptionally low monthly mean flows, several with minima for April. In most regions of the UK, soils at the end of April were drier than at the end of March, and many COSMOS-UK sites registered drier than normal to exceptionally dry soils. There were wildfires in south-west Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and increased concerns about the impacts on agriculture, with an early start to the irrigation season. Groundwater levels generally continued to decline, with most levels in the normal range to below normal. Reservoir stocks for England and Wales were below average at 85% of capacity. Away from Northern Ireland and south-west England, some impoundments were considerably below average at month-end (e.g. Northern Command Zone, Celyn & Brenig and Daer). Without appreciable late spring rainfall, summer will most likely commence with widely depressed river flows, with potential for environmental impacts and pressure on water resources (some water companies are already starting to ask customers to use water wisely). The start of May has been extremely dry across the UK, and the current Hydrological Outlook suggests that below normal or lower flows will persist into the summer in many areas.