Author: Eric Gilbert

Wednesday was a very pleasant day with 5 hours of sunshine and no rain. However, as evening approached cloud arrived bringing the first rain just after 19.00 that with occasional showers during the evening amounted to 2.7mm. This brought the monthly total to 116.7mm, which is 31mmm above the 36-year average.

Late afternoon, the wind having been from the west all day, backed into the south bringing warmer air. Overnight the low pressure system traversed the country, and is currently over the North Sea, that has resulted in the changes in wind direction.

We have now had three consecutive days with maxima very similar that is 14.7C, 14.4C and 14.4C. As the cloud built last night the thermometer, having reached a low of 11.8C, which was 4.7C above average and the warmest night in three weeks, began climbing again.

Thursday arrived with thick cloud with light drizzle and a temperature at 08.00 of 15.1C, which was 0.5C above the daily average. A warm front associated with the depression is producing the drizzle from the low, thick cloud. As the depression continues to move east the wind will veer back more towards the south west.

Tuesday brought sunshine and showers but less sunshine than on Monday, just 2.6 hours, and very brief showers in the early evening amounting 0.7mm.

The sunshine recorder that I reported on Monday had gone berserk during the continuous rain over the weekend has, fortunately, reset itself after switching off overnight. Cross referencing its accuracy with other instruments it appears to working as normal. Even in bursts of sunshine the UV levels are now in the ‘Low’ category as expected for this time of year.

Temperatures by day and night were almost exactly average with a maximum of 14.4C (-0.2C) an a minimum of 7.1C (-0.1C).

Wednesday saw thin cloud blocking out any shine after dawn with very light winds from the west.

As the low pressure eased a little further away into the North Sea on Monday the clouds thinned and allowed us intermittent sunshine in the morning amounting to over 3 hours that lifted the thermometer close to the average with a maximum of 14.7C (+0.1C).

There were a couple of light showers mid-afternoon and one brief shower just before midnight that amounted to 1.5mmm bringing the monthly total to 113.3mm, which is 132% of the 36-year average.

Tuesday arrived with variable cloud but just after 08.00 the sun put in an appearance between the breaks. The minimum overnight was 10.0C being 2.9C above average.

The depression that has been with us for several days deposited another 15.9mm of rainfall over the area on Sunday, which brought the total for October to 111.8mm when the 36-year average is 85.6mm. After just four days in October it is currently the fifth wettest October that I have recorded since the station was set up in 1984. The record was set in 2006 with 131.9mm but with more depressions lining up to inflict more wet weather on us later in the week I wonder if that record might be broken.

Very sadly my sunshine recorder was overcome by the constant rainfall over the past three days so I will not be able to record any sunshine for the future, assuming we get some. By lunchtime on Sunday the recorder had clocked up 3 hours of sunshine when it had been raining constantly.

The thermometer on Sunday struggled to reach 10.5C, which was 4.1C below average. The thick cloud overnight meant the drop in temperature was just 2.3C with a minimum of 8.2C. being 1.1C above average.

The cloud associated with the recent depression is still with us on Monday but thankfully a little thinner.

The rain continued to fall all day on Saturday and into Sunday producing a total of 49.9mm, which was not only a record for October but the wettest day I have recorded since this station was set up in 1984. The previous wettest day was on 23rd December 2013 with 46.4mm. The average October rainfall over the past 36 years was 85.6mm that has already ben exceeded with the total at 08.00 Sunday standing at 95.9mm

After Storm Alex moved away it was followed immediately by a depression that developed just to the east of the UK and gradually migrated over the country, slowly rotating, becoming almost static for most of the past twenty-four hours.

The wind on Saturday was from the northeast in the morning but as the centre of the depression slowly changed position the wind then came from the north, followed by northwest, briefly from the south finally settling into the west.

The maximum temperature of 12.9C was 1.7C below average and the minimum of 8.0C was 0.9C above average.

Sunday dawned with the rain still falling from low, thick cloud but the wind strength had abated a little. At 08.00 the thermometer read 8.2C but the wind chill meant it felt more like 6.5C in the wind gusts.