There’s a very old English proverb “Ne’er cast a clout ’til May be out! The proverb can be traced as far back as 1732. Clout is an old English word for clothing and I’ve always understood the saying to mean never cast aside any items of winter clothing until the May blossom is out.
Well, the May blossom or hawthorn blossom is certainly out but you certainly don’t want to be casting any clouts. Now the thing is there’s always been some doubt about whether the proverb refers to May blossom or the month of May. Perhaps this year has proved the point that the proverb really does refer to the month and not May blossom as this year with the blossom in full flower you certainly needed all your winter clouts.
Through Sunday the temperature gradually fell from around 14°C at midnight on Saturday to 3°C by midnight on Sunday. There was a cool north easterly wind blowing too. The lowest temperature in the early hours of Monday morning was 1.6°C and on Tuesday morning was 1.3°C. These are the lowest temperatures for so late into May in the last 10 years.
The forecast is for the temperatures to recover slowly as the week progresses although there are some forecasts for the temperature to fall below 0°C (32°F) on Thursday morning.
