Thursday October 22nd
After a damp start to Wednesday it did brighten up in the afternoon with some welcome, weak sunshine that lifted the temperature to a maximum of 11.2C. However, this made it the coolest day this month being 3.7C below average. The past night was also cool under clearer skies. The minimum of 7.2C was logged at 22.32 late Wednesday evening before variable cloud arrived that saw the temperature ease upwards to reach 7.8C by 08.00 Thursday.
The barometric pressure dropped to a low of 997.0mb at 06.53, the lowest pressure since February.
Thursday arrived with welcome sunshine just after dawn that will stay with us for much of the day. However, all the while, Storm Austen is approaching and will run along the English Channel with the first rain likely to arrive early evening that will be accompanied by increasing wind strength towards midnight. The wind direction will come from the west-southwest this morning. As the day progresses it will back into the south and then southeast, before backing further into the northwest on Friday morning as the depression transits the country, almost a complete circle.
The more continuous and heavy rain will track just behind the centre of the storm that will intensify during Friday morning with exceptionally strong, possibly damaging winds.
There will be no respite on Saturday as another deep depression is heading for Scotland that will push ahead of it more heavy and continuous rain and very strong winds.
The forecast pressure carts indicate that as the second depression edges towards Scandinavia early Sunday, a ridge of high pressure, from around the Azores high, will push across the country, if so, Sunday will be a drier, calmer and sunnier day.
The monthly rainfall total now stands at 66% of my 43-year record. It is possible that by Sunday, October will be the first month with above average rainfall since June.
How has the jet stream influenced Storm
Storm Austen’s development?
Author: Met Office
Wed, 21 Oct 2026
Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, is expected to bring strong winds to parts of the UK from late Thursday and through Friday.
Storm Austen has been able to deepen rapidly because of its interaction with a powerful jet stream over the Atlantic. As the storm crosses the jet stream and enters the left jet exit region, conditions high in the atmosphere support falling pressure at the surface, helping the low-pressure system strengthen rapidly.
How has the jet stream strengthened Storm Austen?
The jet stream is a band of strong winds high in the atmosphere which plays an important role in steering and developing weather systems. Within it, there can be sections where winds are stronger than in the surrounding flow. These are known as jet streaks.