WEATHERWATCH - ON THIS DAY NEW FEATURE: Friday 26 April across the years
The Tudor House, Camberley on 26 April 1950
If you thought it had turned a bit chillier today after temperatures reached the 20s in the south east of England yesterday . . .
A snowstorm hit an area south of the Thames on the night of 25th/26th April 1950 bringing travel chaos and communication disruptions especially with regards to telegraph wires, where the wet snow clung to the wires with the weight causing them to snap. The weight of the snow also broke many tree branches.
Over 6" of snow fell across the south-east, causing telephone lines to come down - on one stretch of road near Basingstoke, every single telegraph pole was snapped for two miles.
An inch of snow covered the Hampshire County Cricket ground at Southampton causing a match against Sussex to be abandoned.
By contrast, the temperature reached 25.8C at Inverurie in 1984 - the hottest 26th April on record.