Category: Commentary

The rain stopped for a brief period mid-morning on Tuesday then showers began just before 11.00 and came frequently and heavy well into the evening. At 11.45 there was an intense downpour when rain fell briefly at a rate of 100mm/hour. The daily rainfall total was 23.9mm taking the monthly total to 48.6mm when the 40-year average is 93.0mm.

The almost continuous rain and thick cloud meant no sunshine but the airstream from the south was warm and meant a maximum of 14.9C was reached at 12.32, which was exactly average for October. Once again the thick cloud limited the loss of warmth into the atmosphere so the past night was mild that gave us a minimum of 11.2C at 06.40 on Wednesday being 3.8C above my 40-year average. The diurnal range of temperatures between day and night was thus very small, just 3.7C.

The start to Wednesday revealed another cloudy morning but no rain. The wind has veered into the northwest as the depression moves eastwards into the North Sea and this evening will veer further into the north heralding the arrival of a much cooler airstream.

Monday was a very pleasant day with many hours of sunshine that lifted the temperature to 16.9C at 14.56 being 2.0C above my 40-year average. There was a light shower around 11.30 but much more rain in the early hours, ceasing just after 06.10 Tuesday, amounting to 10.6mm. The minimum of 10.9C at 03.52 was also above average at +3.6C.

Tuesday dawned bright but thick cloud was threatening with shower activity not far away. It was another day with humidity reading 100% at 08.00 thanks to the recent substantial rainfall.

The centre of the low at midday will be just off the coast of Cornwall that is likely to produce frequent showers over our area. The barometric pressure has dropped further reading 992.5mb at 08.00, the lowest pressure since 26th September. The breeze will continue from the south for much of the day, a warm direction.

The breeze will pick up as the day progresses but nothing like Hurricane Milton threatening Florida with 155mhh gales and a barometric pressure reading at its centre of just 924mb

The temperature of the ground at a depth of 5cm has risen from a low of 7.1C on the 5th to 11.3C at 08.00 thanks to the warmer nights.

Sunday gave us a dreary, dark and damp day. The rain started at 16.10, light at first, later an intense area of very heavy rain arrived at 17.45 for 25 minutes falling at the rate of 60mm/hour for a brief period and amounted to 12.5mm in total. The lack of sunshine and thick cloud meant a cool day with a maximum of 14.3C being 0.5C below my 40-year average. The cloud persisted for much of the night thus a mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 10.0C at 03.15 early Monday, which was 2.6C above the average.

Monday started bright with a weak sun beginning to shine, between variable cloud, after 08.00.

The depression is still to the west of the UK but will not throw any weather fronts across the country on Monday although it is near enough to produce variable showers. The barometric pressure has dropped quite low with a reading of 997.6mb at 08.00, the lowest for over a week. The wind direction with veer a few degrees and come from the south today.

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.