Month: October 2024

Saturday gave us the last, for the moment, of the warm, sunny and dry days that saw the thermometer rise to a maximum of 16.4C at 14.35 before the cloud built up. This peak was 1.5C above my 40-year average and the warmest day forever a week. It was also a dry day with Moderate UV level at its peak. The past night was very mild that saw the thermometer not drop below 11.2C at 07.37 on Sunday mooning. being 3.8C above average.

Sunday revealed the significant change in our weather as the deep depression just to the west of Ireland throws cloud across the country so no sunshine to greet the new day as recently.

There are three weather fronts about to cross the UK today so little chance of sunshine, just total cloud cover for most of the day. The barometric pressure has dropped significantly, now down to 1001.2mb at 08.00, a drop of 21mb sine the 2nd, as the depression approaches the UK.

It now looks as if the track of ex-hurricane Kirk will take it further south than previously estimated, thus impacting France more then the UK. Later in the week this is likely to bring more disturbed weather.

The maximum of 15.9C on Friday was exactly the same as on Thursday being 1.0C above my 40-year average. The fog took quite a while to disperse during the early morningand it was not until round 10.30 that the sun began to shine strongly. One again variable cloud limited the sunshine, especially in the afternoon but when it did shine it was still quite strong with the UV level just reaching the Moderate level. Saturday arrived bright but the cloud on the eastern horizon limited sunshine until after 08.10.

The recent high pressure has been easing eastwards, the barometric pressure has dropped 4mb since yesterday. However, it will still influence our weather forming a blocking high that will keep weather fronts at bay to the west of the UK before they arrive during Sunday. The wind at first will be light but strengthen midday and back into the southeast.

Thursday was the first above average maximum in two weeks. The thermometer rose to a maximum of 15.9C at 14.39 being 1.1C above my 40-year average. The peak occurred early afternoon, this was due to variable cloud drifting across on the easterly breeze after midday and just before 15.00 much larger clouds obscured the sun for much longer periods. Once again the clouds dispersed over night so no duvet to minimise the loss of warmth into the atmosphere that resulted in the thermometer dropping away to 2.3C at 05.24.

The recent rainfall and low minimum temperature caused radiation fog to form that limited visibility to 200mm at its worst but by 07.45 there were early signs that it was beginning to thin as the sun rose above the horizon and began to brighten. The humidity at 08.00 read 99% that meant little rise in the temperature since the minimum with a reading of 3.7C at 08.00.

The anticyclone is still centred in the NorthSea but there is a slight change in its coverage, which is producing the airstream to change from east on Thursday to south for much of today. The barometric pressure has been constant since yesterday with a reading at 08.00 of 1021.9mb.

The thermometer on Wednesday almost reached the average for October with a maximum of 14.5C at 14.14 being just 0.4C below. The lack of sunshine and very brisk wind, gusting to 20mph from the Northeast, limited the warmth. The skies cleared later in the evening that allowed the thermometer to drop away to a minimum of 6.1C, which was also below my 40-year average being 1.4C below.

Thankfully the start to Thursday arrived with sunshine as soon as the sun rose above the horizon. The anticyclone to the north of Scotland will influence our weather for the next two days being dry with sunshine.

The barometric pressure has risen 12mb over the last two days, under the influence of the nearby anticyclone, hence the better weather. However, a low-pressure system is crossing towards us, now in mid-Atlantic being, the remains of Hurricane Kirk, that will develop further with very low pressure at its centre, that will mean more disturbed weather later in the weekend.

Tuesday was another of the recent dull and dreary days with total cloud cover and no sunshine that restricted the temperature rise to a maximum of 13.4C at 14.53 being 1.5C below my 40-year average. Brief light rain and drizzle were observed late afternoon, combined with the same early on Wednesday, produced 1.6mm of precipitation.

The diurnal range of temperatures was exceptionally small with a variation between day and night extremes of just 1.7C, the minimum being 11.7C at 00.54 early Wednesday due to the continuing thick cloud cover minimising loss of warmth into the atmosphere.

Wednesday revealed a continuation of the low, thick cloud with light rain before 08.00, this was due to light shower activity from the recent depression drifting in on a change in wind direction, now from the northeast.

The recent depression is now over southern France and we are beginning to come under the influence of a high pressure system just to the north of Scotland, hence the change in wind direction. A barometric reading of 1013.3mb is up 15mb since the end of September and will continue to rise with a much drier outlook after today. The change will be slow.

September 2024 review

Two rainfall records broken

Although the month got off to a very warm start, with a peak of 25.5C on the 1st, the temperatures dropped away on subsequent days.

On the 5th a large depression developed over the Continent that for three days plagued the UK with dark, dreary days with little solar and many hours of rain. A significant total of 26.8mm was logged on the 5th that fell over the previous twenty-four hours. The daytime temperatures were a degree or two below average due to the low, thick cloud.

Frequent thunder was heard on the 6th and in the early hours of the 8th.

We came under the influence of a low-pressure system to the northwest for the next four days that brought much cooler Arctic air from near Iceland, also windier weather. A maximum of 13.8C on the 12th was 5.3C below my 40-year average and the coldest day since 3rd May. The night that followed was very cold for September with the thermometer sinking to 1.0C, being a significant 7.7C below my 40-year average and the coldest night since 25th April. This low briefly produced a ground frost.

High pressure took control of our weather from the 16th that gave us seven dry days with the wind brisk from the northeast. There were many hours of strong sunshine that lifted the thermometer to 22.3C on the 19th, the warmest day since the 1st (25.5C).

As the anticyclone eased away over Scandinavia, during subsequent days, a depression began to take charge of our weather with thunderstorms arriving during the afternoon of the 20th, no thunder with only modest rainfall. However, in the early hours of the 21st a noisy thunderstorm arrived at 05.15 with very heavy rainfall. The daily rainfall amounted to 17.4mm.

A very slow-moving depression covered the country on the 22nd and 23rd producing a large quantity of rainfall with 35.4mm during the 24 hours up to the 08.00 on the 22nd and another 34.0mm to 08.00 on the 23rd. The monthly rainfall at that point exceeded the previous record set in 2006 when 131.9mm was logged for the whole month.

The new September rainfall record was broken again two days later as another 19.9mm daily precipitation was added up to 08.00 on the 26th.

Another depression settled itself right over our area at 06.15 on the 26th with a barometric pressure of 984.7mb, the lowest pressure since 28th March 2024, thus continuing the very unsettled weather.

The month ended with very cool days and nights with ground frost in the early hours of the 28th and 29th as the thermometer briefly dropped to a minimum of 2.2C on both nights, being 6.4C below my 40-year average. The maximum on the 29th was a significant 5.5C below my long-term average due to the persistent thick, low cloud that produced more rainfall.

The rainfall total for September was a record 221.4mm beating the previous high of 131.9mm set in 2006. The wettest day occurred on the 23rd with 43.4mm of precipitation. Not only was it greater than the previous September record but it also broke the record for the wettest month in the year set in November 2002 with 203.5mm.

It was a cooler than average September being 0.4C below my 40-year average principally due to the numerous cool days, 22 during the month.

Thunder was observed on four days, namely 6th, 8th, 11th and 21st, with radiation fog observed in the River Og valley in the early morning, up to 08.00, on the 17th.