He followed the river upstream through the flooded bowl of the foothills, swollen with April rain, sleeping in empty riverboats while the sun, pale in the blue mist of the river, grew dimmer.

NEWYORKER: The Tiger��s Wife

Double the normal average amount of rain for June fell last month, and April was the wettest since records began more than a century ago.

BBC: Hosepipe bans: Final four companies lift restrictions

It is not unusually cold for the last day of April in Massachusetts, but the wind is strong and there has been no rain for weeks.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Woodsburner'

April rain led to Jersey Water calling off the threat of water restrictions and drought.

BBC: Jersey water boss wants water behaviour change

Rainfall amounts for March and April were below average, but May is already wetter than average, with the average area receiving 86mm of rain up to the 28th day of the month - 70mm is the average.

BBC: Spring will be coldest in 50 years, Met Office says