This famous proverb teaches us that nothing is as sporadic as the weather. This applies doubly to the month of April, and you won’t really get what I mean unless you’ve lived here for some time. Even though nature is in spring mode and many houses start their spring cleaning around this time, it would be pretty dumb to completely forget about the cold weather that we think we’ve left behind. April doet wat hij wil. Remember the saying, and remember that it is also a warning.
Towards the beginning of April/end of March, you could experience a stretch of sunny, cloudless weather, with pink afternoon skies and a glorious dusk. Don’t be fooled – this is just April tricking you into thinking you’ve left the winter blues behind, lulling you into a false sense of security. Next thing you know, your entire week can be flipped upside the head, with endless rain that pours on and on and on, and makes you want to stay home and lock your bike forever.
It gets worse. By mid-April, you’ll think that you’ve gotten used to the weather and the irregular patterns. Never fear: one minute you could look out at the sky, see that it’s sunny, and go for a walk, and the next literal minute you could be running back to shelter because, oh no, why is it snowing? In the middle of April?
This volatility has much to do with the wind direction. In April (and also in March), the wind often comes from the north: think Scandinavia and beyond the North Sea. This northern wind carries cold air with it, and can sometimes be extremely strong, to the point where you have to get off your bike for a few minutes when you’re experiencing headwind. This cold can also be problematic for other reasons, such as for trees or plants that are blooming but are hindered by night frost.
April is especially frustrating because now you’re not sure what’s appropriate attire for biking anymore. You don’t really want to bring a full-on winter jacket, because the outside temperature is still between 10-20 degrees, but you also don’t want to risk the sudden spots of rain and/or snow. Wearing shorts and a summer t-shirt feels like a crime, because for the same reasons, wind and snow are legit concerns in this quasi-sunny weather. So, what should you wear?
In my professional opinion, wearing a light raincoat is a good solution. I recommend a coat that you can easily store in your bag or somewhere on your bike (in a basket or elsewhere), because it really does suck having to tote around a heavy coat in hot weather just for the – admittedly, rather large – chance of rain and cold.
April can also be a hard time for students, since it marks the end of the third quartile and brings – you guessed it – exams. For my study, Mechanical Engineering, the hardest courses are usually in the third quartile, which means several weeks of misery because you’re inside the library studying while your friends are outside enjoying the sun (or not, like we’ve discussed). It’s definitely my least favourite time of the year, mainly because of how tiring this particular exam season gets, but remember that with every rain, greener grass grows. Everything looks so much more beautiful after the rain – the greens are greener, the flowers look prettier, and everything smells so lovely. After April, May comes with rainless spring, and the sun stays out for a little longer each day.
April doet wat hij wil. Remember the saying, remember the warning – but also remember that it is a reminder that better times will come.
