Saturday 15th November
Friday was a memorable day in that it rained all day following a wet night and then continued into the early evening. The daily rainfall amount was 28.8mm that took the monthly total to 111% of my 41-year average. The rain became broken after 16.00 and stopped just after 18.00 following a sharp shower from the broken back edge of the rain band. Even though the sky was dominated by thick, low cloud all day we still had the remnant of the warm, moist air stream, then from the southeast, that resulted in a maximum temperature of 13.8C, unusually for this time of year, in the early evening at 18.46. The temperature see-sawed up and down a little overnight, eventually producing a minimum of 10.6C at 04.09 early Saturday, being 6.6C above my long-term average.
Although it was a substantial fall of rain, the heaviest rainfall was just to the west and north of our area, so we got off relatively lightly!
I mentioned yesterday that the River Kennet at Winterbourne Monkton, close to the sources of the Kennet, had started to flow at 14.15, having been dry for many months. The graph on the Government website this morning indicated that the flow had been dropping from its peak at 19.45 late Friday, and had dropped to a level of 0.21m at 08.15, and was still falling as little rain had fallen in the last twelve hours. Data was taken from the automatic river depth gauge and rainfall data on the Government website.
Saturday arrived under a cloak of cloud again but not so thick and a little higher. The temperature had recovered from the low point, having risen to 11.2C by 08.00. The weather front, now almost devoid of precipitation, will sink south across the UK today giving us a cloudy and probably sunless day. Although the wind has now backed into the northeast, the maximum will rise, still into double figures, several degrees above average for November.
Sunday will see the first of the days when the temperatures begin to drop significantly under a brisk northeasterly that in the evening will back into a northerly, heralding the arrival of the cool, Arctic air, streaming down from the north, which will mean single digit maxima next week, with temperatures, both by day and night, below average, with the possibility of the first air frost of the season.
Before we get to the Christmas period I will feature images of early winter showing the trees bare of their late autumn leaves. Today the picture is from Savernake Forest, as most will be for the coming week.