Thursday 10th September
The sunny intervals on Wednesday meant a slight recovery in the daytime temperature, compared to Tuesday, with the thermometer rising to 18.9C at 15.39 being 0.1C below average. It was a dry day with the UV level now reduced to a Moderate level, but we are almost three months away from mid-summer. The temperature fell away quite quickly before midnight then levelling off with a loss of about 1C every hour until reaching a minimum of 6.3C at 05.52. The low was 3.2C below my long-term average.
There was very brief brightness on the eastern horizon on Thursday after dawn as the sun rose through thin high cloud, however, it was evident that thicker cloud was already slowly edging in from the west that had obliterated the sun by around 07.45. Thus a predominantly cool and cloudy day ahead. The rain radar at 08.30 indicated well separated bands of showery rain running along the coastal areas of Devon and Dorset but unlikely to reach our area.
The next few days will see the northern edge of the high pressure ebb and flow as the depression to the north attempts to push weather fronts down across the country. The first of those will arrive late Thursday afternoon and into the evening, probably just thick cloud with little precipitation anticipated.
This pattern will continue up to the weekend with another possible weather front and its associated cloud pushing down on Saturday. The pattern can be summed as sunny intervals with much more cloud than previous weeks.
When does Autumn start?
Author: Met Office
Wed, 02 Sep 2026
As summer draws to a close and the first signs of changing leaves begin to appear, many people start asking the same question: when does autumn actually begin?
The answer depends on which definition you use.
While some people consider autumn to begin on 1 September, others wait until later in the month. Both approaches are correct, but they are based on different ways of defining the seasons.
Autumn: a season of transition
Autumn is the transition season between summer and winter. It is often associated with cooler temperatures, harvest time and the gradual transformation of the landscape as leaves turn shades of yellow, orange, red and brown.
Across the UK, autumn can bring a striking change in weather patterns. Warm spells are still possible, particularly during September, but temperatures generally begin to decline as the season progresses. At the same time, daylight hours shorten and the likelihood of wetter and windier weather increases.
When does meteorological autumn begin?
Meteorological autumn always begins on 1 September and ends on 30 November. This definition divides the year into four fixed seasons, each lasting three complete calendar months. Autumn therefore consists of September, October and November.
Meteorologists use this system because it aligns neatly with annual temperature cycles and makes it easier to compare weather and climate statistics between different years and seasons. Using fixed dates provides consistency when analysing long-term climate records and producing seasonal summaries.
For this reason, the Met Office and other meteorological organisations use the meteorological definition when discussing seasonal weather and climate.