Author: Eric Gilbert

Saturday was such an enjoyable day with many hours of sunshine. However, after a cold night with a minimum of 2.2C and a brisk westerly breeze, the thermometer struggled to reach 14.3C late in the afternoon at 16.25, this being 4.8C below my 40-year average. The clear skies initially overnight saw the thermometer once again drop to a minimum of 2.2C in the early hours at 02.51 on Sunday, after that increasing cloud saw the temperature rise to 5.1C by 08.00.

Sunday dawned with a very red sky in the east for a few minutes as the sunrise illuminated the thin high cloud, but no sunshine. The barometric pressure has started to fall as the next depression closes in.

Another depression is slowly making its way towards the UK that will see the cloud increase significantly during Sunday bringing rain, probably starting light in midafternoon. The centre of the low-pressure will be just off Cornwall by midnight, it is forecast, so a very wet night ahead as there are two weather fronts that will cross our area during the hours of darkness.

The question is, will the rainfall in the next twenty-four hours break my all time monthly rainfall record for any month, set in September 2014, it only needs an additional 15.7mm. The rain had reached the Lizard Peninsula by 09.15.

The rain and drizzle eventually ceased around midday on Friday with the afternoon brightening a little with weak sunshine. However, the cloud and rain for part of the day combined with a brisk wind from the northwest gusting 25mph meant a very cool day with wind chill and the thermometer only reaching 12.3C at 16.17 being a significant 6.8C below my 40-year average. It was the coolest day since 27th April – Autumn is upon us! During the late afternoon and certainly overnight the skies cleared allowing any warmth to dissipate into the atmosphere that saw the thermometer drop to just 2.2C at 07.12 on Saturday giving a ground frost. This low was 6.5C below my 40-year average and was the coldest night since the 13th September when just 1.0C was logged.

Another 2.5mm or rainfall fell yesterday morning that took the monthly rainfall total to 203.5mm making it the second wettest month in the near since my records began in 1984 and equalled the identical amount in November 2002.

Glorious sunshine greeted the start to Saturday, what a relief after so many full wet mornings. Today we will be under a temporary ridge of high pressure that will give us a dry day with many hours of sunshine. The barometric pressure has risen a very significant 26mb since 08.00 on Friday. However, on Sunday another Atlantic depression will be heading towards the UK bringing more cloud and rain later in the day.

Thursday brought us a bright, sunny start to the day but by mid-morning in began to cloud over and just before mid-day an extremely heavy and intense shower arrived that caused some flooding on some Marlborough roads for a brief period. The brighter morning saw the temperature climb to a maximum of 17.3C at 11.29 before falling back a little as the cloud and rain arrived. The wind as forecast, backed into the northwest just after midnight, heralding a cooler airstream that saw the thermometer steadily drop away to reach a minimum of 7.5C at 07.53. The maximum was 1.8C below my 40-year average and the minimum was 1.2C below my 40-year average.

Another 14.8mm of precipitation was recorded taking the monthly total to 201.0mm, which is 319% of my 40-year average for September making it the third wettest month in a year, not just September, since my records began in 1984, using the recognised Meteorological Office 5″ copper rain gauge.

Friday revealed another wet start to a day with steady rain driven on by a strong northeasterly breeze. The strong wind from the northwest is producing a wind chill this morning so that outside it feels more like 5C than 7.5C.

The two depressions will join force as the day progresses and migrate into the North Sea, but the cooler airstream on the strong northeasterly wind will continue throughout the day. The barometric pressure is rising strongly, up 12mb since 08.00 yesterday, that will see the rain depart our area, probably soon after midday and bring a brief, drier period over Saturday.

The heavy, low cloud persisted all day on Wednesday with occasional drizzle and very heavy rainfall falling again just before 18.00. More rainfall fell during the early hours amounting to another 19.9mm that broke the new September record set yesterday with the monthly rainfall now totalling 186.2mm, which is 296% of my 40-year average or plus 123mm.

Not surprisingly, the lack of sunshine and the southeasterly breeze meant a cool day with the thermometer not rising above 14.9C being a significant 4.2C below my 40-year average. Once again the cloud overnight meant a mild night with the thermometer dropping to 11.8C just after midnight at 00.03 being 3.1C above my long-term average.

The start to Thursday brought glorious sunshine after sunrise, such a treat after the depressing cool days with continuous cloud and rain.

At 06.10 Thursday morning the barometric pressure had dropped to 984.7mb as another depression has moved to position itself almost overhead our area. This is the lowest pressure reading since 28th March 2024 and indicates that the weather is still unsettled with more showers, possibly heavy, as the day progresses.

As this depression gravitates into the North Sea during the daytime the wind will back after midnight into the northwest as a cold front crosses the country from the north bringing a much cooler air stream for Friday and more rain in the early hours.

Although Tuesday was dry the brisk breeze from the west meant another cool and cloudy day with some brightness in the early afternoon that raised the temperature to 15.7C at 13.56, however this was 3.4C below my 40-year average. Any warmth trickled away overnight that saw the thermometer drop to 10.4C at 07.38 on Wednesday being 1.8C above the long-term average.

Another 5.5mm of precipitation has been added to the total from rain then drizzle in the early hour of Wednesday taking the monthly total to 166.3mm being 264% of my 40-year average.

Wednesday struggled to wake up under low, thick cloud masking the Marlborough Downs and Savernake Forest with light drizzle still falling at 08.00.

Two depressions have formed off the southern Irish coast that are slowly moving towards us bringing more rain as the morning progresses. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1001.2mb, the lowest for a month.