This month really is messing with the competition; anyone predicting a CET in the 8's did a good job as far as the first three weeks or so of the month are concerned - it takes something extraordinary to send the CET down instead of up during the final week.
I'll be honest and admit that I expected a bit more of a warm-up prior to a colder finish (the 'cold return' potential being well indicated by long range models and past climatology, but with a rather mixed overall signal as of late March) - but even with that in mind, the magnitude of the cold has surprised me. 4 to almost 6*C below the LTA on 7 of the 8 last days of the month... a one in 50 chance perhaps?
Trying to predict a whole month in advance does appear to be an impossible task using freely available tools alone. It will be interesting to see if any improvements can be made using more advanced methods some day in the future - I am keen to see if science can one day triumph over 'gut instinct' and the like.
Until then, I recommend enjoying good fortune as and when it comes
Originally Posted by: Stormchaser