Wednesday 7th October
Tuesday was the last of the warm, dry and sunny days that saw the thermometer rise to a maximum of 20.6C at 14.34, after a slightly cloudier period around midday. The high was 5.7C above my October average. The cloud began to build in the evening as a weather front edged closer that meant another mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 12.2C at 04.49, which was 4.4C above average.There were a few spots of rain observed around 23.00, from the first broken and light showery activity ahead of the main rain band, but not measurable.
First light on Wednesday revealed a wet and gloomy outlook. The weather front is currently passing over the UK that produced the first measurable rainfall at 04.03, slightly heavier just before 05.00 and then light but continuous into the morning that had produced a fall of 11.6mm by 08.00. The rain will likely peter out early afternoon.
The weather front is a cold weather front that is bringing behind it a cooler air stream with the very light wind already having veered into the northwest. Wednesday will be a cool day under the rain, cloud and cooler air flow that will see a maximum well below average for October.
The cloud will thin and clear overnight. Behind the weather front a minor ridge of high pressure will push back across the country giving us a fine day on Thursday with the daytime temperature recovering to around the October average.
The forecast pressure charts indicate another weather front will cross the UK on Friday, resulting in a mainly cloudy day with possible light shower activity.
The extended period of consistent high pressure, that gave us the warm and dry conditions for so long, has now given way to a more unsettled and cooler period with the wind veering back into the southwest on Friday with a more moist airstream coming off the Atlantic over the weekend.
With a wet morning and the early autumn colours still muted, I will pause the images of Savernake Forest in full colour and start a new sequence of early Autumn in Exbury Gardens, Hampshire.
Met Office issues polar vortex warning as ‘largest El Nino in living memory’ threatens winter of snow and storms
The Met Office has weighed in on whether this year’s El Niño – which could be ‘unprecedented’ and the ‘largest in living memory’ – will trigger a polar vortex and send Britain into a deep freeze
Snow and bitterly cold temperatures could soon hit the UK as the Met Office weighs in on whether this year’s El Niño might trigger a polar vortex.
El Niño could, the Met Office warned, “potentially unleash cold snaps, heavy snow, and storms across the country”.
It’s also feared the weather phenomenon could destabilise the polar vortex, potentially sending Britain into a deep freeze.
This leads to a weakened jet stream, sending severe, freezing Arctic air into North America and Europe.
But according to the Met Office, a polar vortex-driven cold snap or snow remains unlikely this autumn, with freezing temperatures more likely to hit later on during winter.