第2221期:Britain’s April showers

"Take your brolly, it's chucking it down!" The UK is famous for its rainy weather, and Brits LOVE to complain about it – particularly when the arrival of spring teases us with warmth and light, but with them come the 'April showers', lovingly shared by Britain, Ireland and some of coastal northern Europe. What exactly are they, and why do they insist on coming every year?

“拿起你的雨伞，它正在把它扔下来！” 英国以多雨的天气而闻名，英国人喜欢抱怨它——尤其是当春天的到来给我们带来温暖和光明的时候，但随之而来的是“四月阵雨”，英国、爱尔兰和一些沿海国家都喜欢分享这种天气。 北欧。 他们到底是什么人，为什么每年都坚持要来？

Meteorologists differentiate between rain and showers. The UK's national weather service, the Met Office, says that rain is precipitation brought by a weather front, is usually long-lasting, and stretches over large areas, whereas showers fall from individual clouds and are characterised by intermittent patterns. So, it can be sunny one minute, and the next you're getting caught in a large downpour, but then ten minutes later, you can put away your waterproof jacket and get your sunnies out!

气象学家区分雨和阵雨。 英国国家气象局英国气象局表示，降雨是锋面带来的降水，通常持续时间较长，覆盖大片区域，而阵雨则是从个别云层中落下，具有间歇性模式。 所以，可能前一分钟还是阳光明媚，下一分钟就下起了倾盆大雨，但十分钟后，你就可以收起你的防水外套，拿出你的太阳镜了！

So, what's responsible? Rob Thompson, meteorologist at the University of Reading, says that as the hot air rises, it forms the cumulus clouds that produce showers. These are then driven by the jet stream – strong winds that move northwards during spring – creating rather unsettled and unpredictable weather. Besides the drizzle, we're just as likely to experience snow as we are to feel sun as strong as that in late August!

那么，责任是什么？ 雷丁大学气象学家罗布·汤普森表示，随着热空气上升，它会形成积云，从而产生阵雨。 然后，它们受到急流（春季期间向北移动的强风）的驱动，造成相当不稳定和不可预测的天气。 除了毛毛雨之外，我们也可能会遇到雪，就像八月底那样强烈的阳光一样！

With all this in mind, would it surprise you to hear that April is actually one of the driest months of the whole year? In 2021, data company Statista recorded 137.6mm of rainfall in January, compared to just 20.1mm in April, with similar results for the last four years. That's because while there are lots of rainy days in April, the showers are scattered, and there aren't as many of the long downpours we see in the winter months. But, this is likely to change as the world warms up. Weather that causes flash floods is predicted to be four times as frequent in Britain by the 2070s, according to a study by Elizabeth Kendon and colleagues, published in Nature Communications.

考虑到这一切，当您听到四月实际上是全年最干燥的月份之一时，您会感到惊讶吗？ 2021 年，数据公司 Statista 记录的 1 月份降雨量为 137.6 毫米，而 4 月份仅为 20.1 毫米，过去四年的结果相似。 这是因为虽然四月有很多雨天，但阵雨分散，而且没有冬季那样多的长时间倾盆大雨。 但是，随着世界变暖，这种情况可能会发生变化。 根据伊丽莎白·肯登 (Elizabeth Kendon) 及其同事在《自然通讯》(Nature Communications) 上发表的一项研究，预计到 2070 年代，英国引发山洪的天气频率将增加四倍。

There is a British proverb that goes "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers". It is a reminder that, despite our complaints, April showers can be a symbol for renewal and new beginnings. So Brits, instead of complaining about the drizzly days, why not romanticise that pitter-patter sound that brings us the colourful spring bloom?

英国有句谚语：“三月风，四月雨，生五月花”。 这提醒我们，尽管我们有抱怨，四月的阵雨仍然可以成为更新和新开始的象征。 那么英国人，与其抱怨毛毛细雨，不如将那为我们带来色彩缤纷的春天花朵的淅淅沥沥的声音浪漫化呢？

词汇表

brolly 雨伞
chuck it down 下瓢泼大雨
shower 阵雨
meteorologist 气象学家
precipitation 降水
weather front 气象 “锋”
intermittent 断断续续的
downpour 暴雨，骤雨
waterproof 防水的
sunnies 太阳镜，墨镜
cumulus 积云
jet stream 急流，喷射气流
unsettled 变幻莫测的
drizzle 毛毛雨
rainfall 降雨（量）
scattered 分散的，疏疏落落的
flash flood 突发性洪水
drizzly 下毛毛雨的
pitter-patter （下雨的）啪嗒啪嗒声