Brrrr, I’ve been out for a paddle this morning and I have to say that whilst the stream is looking stunning with the daffodils in full flower and the sun shining, I was not expecting snow yesterday nor the temperature to have plummeted so much!

But you are not to worry about me, I luckily have not put away my winter wardrobe yet and I was able to fluff up my feathers and get in the water for a final last push to get my time up to the P/B I am aiming for on race day.

On that note, have you bought your ducks yet?? Far be it for me to tell anyone what to do, but buying your ducks ahead of the day means you can enjoy all the “fun of the fair” without needing to queue to place your bets.

Keep an eye out for our helpers rattling tins and waving clip-boards, you will spot them in the village and they would love to see you.

But before I go, I have been onto the Met Office as the snow yesterday worried me.

It is hard to believe that last week saw the warmest day of the year so far when Porthmadog in Wales reached 20.3 celsius but by the end of the week we had snow showers across the north of the UK and sleet and hail showers elsewhere!
As for the snow in Storrington, apparently it is more likely to snow in spring than at Christmas so we shouldn’t have been so surprised.

Statistically, it has snowed on average for more days in March than it has in December, according to the Met Office.

Snow or sleet falls on average for 3.9 days in December, compared to 4.2 days in March.

And while April is a bit of a different story, with only 2.3 days of snowfall on average, it’s not entirely unheard of.
Have you ever heard the old saying: ‘Ne’er cast a clout, until May is out’?

It basically means, don’t throw away your winter clothes until June, because May has always been a bit of a weather free-for-all.

So don’t worry – only two more months and then all this confusion will be over.

As for Sunday, I would keep your options open as the BBC long term weather forecast leading up to Sunday says:

There is a change afoot?
The pressure pattern looks set to change and this will lead to a subtle shift in wind direction. Weather systems will have more of an Atlantic influence, rather than a straight northerly influence, and this will mean that by day temperatures will slowly become less cold and eastern areas will at times see temperatures creep above normal. However, on balance the UK average temperature is likely to fall below average for this time of year. We are expecting to see weather systems to affect the whole of the UK with everyone at some point seeing outbreaks of rain pushing through with the continued risk of Scotland seeing some snow over the mountains so I pity anyone North of the Border.

Sam the Duck