'In like a lamb - out like a lion'.

It seems the old adage held true for last month's weather, according to the Met Office at Isle of Man Airport.

The first half was dry and sunny, with light winds and frosty nights.

However, from then on things went downhill, as it became dull, wet and windy and the month ended with disruption to traffic caused by snow.

The mean temperature for March was 6.4 Celsius, making it the fourth consecutive month with below average temperatures, albeit by only 0.1 Celsius.

Sunshine was in good measure, with 21 per cent more than usual, and more than ten hours were recorded on both the 7th and 8th.

Even though the first 17 days of March were almost completely dry, rainfall for the month totalled 96 millimetres, nearly 50 per cent up on the long term average of 66.2 millimetres.

The last three days produced more than half the total for the entire month, and on the 31st much of the rain turned to snow, down to quite low lying areas, causing considerable disruption for motorists, particularly on the east coast of the Island.

However, as March turned into April it seemed temperatures had risen enough to ensure any dreams of a white Easter were unlikely to come true!