How far away is summer? Around 350 miles away to be precise.

We’ve just had the wettest April on record and May has most definitely picked up where April left off, with further spells of wind and rain as low pressure piles in off the Atlantic.

As what are supposed to be the summer months approach, I’ve started to have the seasonal flurry of personal forecast requests as minds turn to weddings, holidays and outdoor parties.

Whilst I’m just the messenger for what the weather decides to throw as us, I can’t help but feel the sense of disappointment when the skies are not as bright and the temperature not as high as people might like it to be.

There is no doubt given that most of England is currently in drought that we need the rainfall we are getting. It has already started to have a positive affect on the water resources at the surface and to a small extent below.

However, it seems that most of you have had enough of the gloomy weather and long for some warmth and sunshine to arrive on our shores.

This is where the next element of disappointment kicks in. Looking at the latest trend for the rest of May, there is no sign of anything notably warm. At best temperatures look set to reach average and even then only temporarily.

On the rain front, the next few weeks don’t look as wet as April, but I stress that in a relative sense, as there’ll still be spells of wind and rain at times.

So where is summer?

Well to put it simply, it has been and is currently around 350 miles away to be precise.

From central France southwards and from western Germany eastwards, there has been some remarkable warmth during the past week. Temperatures have widely been in the high 20s celsius with lots of sunshine.

So why isn’t the warmth coming in our direction?

It’s all down to the position of the jet stream – the fast moving ribbon of air high up in the atmosphere that determines where rain-bearing weather systems go, as well as the distribution of warm and cold air.

When the jet stream dips southwards it takes cold air with it from the poles and when it heads northwards it takes warm air with it from the equator.

At the moment the dipping of the jet stream is occurring just south of the UK which means colder air lies across us as well as unsettled weather.

However, on the near continent, it is heading northwards, pulling warm air from Africa, bathing southern and eastern Europe in warmth and sunshine.

So it’s a case of so near, yet so far. Don’t forget, you can stay up to date with the latest weather on the move on your smart phone and tablet by visiting the Channel 4 Weather website. You can also chat to me at any time on Twitter – @liamdutton