Sunday 2nd November
There were a number of showers over the past twenty-four hours, both by day and night, that produced 4.0mm of precipitation as we are now in a much more unsettled period of weather.
Aa we move deeper into autumn the average temperature between October and November drops 4.5C, with my long-term average for this month standing at 10.25C.The maximum on Saturday was a peak 14.4C, late in the morning at 11.44, before the cloud cover increased and showers arrived. Thus, this high was 4.1C above average, solely due to the continuing drift of warm, moist air brought from around Iberia on a southwesterly breeze, that at times was gusty with a peak of 21mph. The sky cleared in the early evening resulting in a minimum of 4.7C at 01.40 early Sunday, before another rain band arrived with its associated cloud, that meant the temperature recovered to 7.6C by 08.00. This low was 0.7C above average.
Glancing at the sky after first light on Sunday, the back edge of the recent rain band could be seen towards the eastern horizon. By 08.00 the sun had risen above the cloud, but of course relatively weak at this time of year. The rain radar at 08.15, showed a rash of shower activity to the west Marlborough, however, the westerly breeze is directing them just south of our area at the moment, as they fizzle out.
A short lived high pressure system has developed over France and Iberia, with the barometric pressure rising steadily this morning. The higher pressure will help to cancel out any precipitation thus we should have two dry days ahead. The position of the high will mean the wind will continue to come from a southwesterly quadrant for the next few days.
October 2025 Review
The new month began with winds from a south-westerly quarter that by the 3Rd contained a depression called Storm Amy, which produced a very wet day that resulted in 11.0mm of rainfall, this was the wettest day for a month.
As the depression departed towards Scandinavia the pressure began to build again from an anticyclone forming just off the Bay of Biscay. This resulted in calm, dry conditions for second week of October. The air stream travelling over the sea from a south-westerly direction then from a Northerly quadrant, picking up moisture on its travels, meant variable cloud allowing welcome breaks of sunshine.
The weather in the middle of the month was a dry period, but cool, thanks to winds from the northeast then east. The fifteenth was especially cool as the thermometer struggled to reach a maximum of 10.7C, which was 4.2C below average. In fact, from the 15th to the 21st, every day produced a below average maximum.
The 19th and 20th brought us measurable rainfall from a deep depression, which was the wettest period all month with a daily rainfall total of 13.3mm, dropped on the very wet Sunday.
In a lull between depressions, the 22nd was a beautiful calm day when the sun was very warm before midday that saw the thermometer reach a maximum of 15.1C, an above average temperature for October. That was before the next depression arrived.
Storm Benjamin was named by Meteo France as they bore the brunt of the stormy weather that arrived on the 22nd. However, the depression deepened significantly during the evening of the 22nd with the barometric pressure dropping at a very rapid rate of over 1mb per hour that gave us a wet night although the heaviest and most prolonged rainfall was just to the east of Marlborough. During the morning of the 23rd, as Storm Benjamin exited our country, the barometric pressure began to rise rapidly at over 1mb an hour. The lowest barometric pressure all year of 979.6mb was logged at 04.07. The maximum gust I recorded was 27mph, strong but not exceptional.
From the 24th to the end of the month, temperatures were depressed by day thanks to a shift in wind direction, coming from the west and northwest as weather systems relocated around the UK. The weekend of the 25th and 26th was especially cool thanks to a stream of Arctic air originating north of Scandinavia.
The twenty-four-hour period of the 30th/31st gave us a reversal of the usual temperature trends. The minimum over that period was 5.2C when we started Thursday at 08.00, usually the following morning is the low point. However, the warmth built during the morning to reach 12.3C at 13.10, before dropping back to 10.9C at 17.00. During the late evening the thermometer began to climb slowly to reach the peak of the past twenty-four hours with a maximum of 13.1C at 01.01 early Saturday morning. The temperature at 08.00 was 12.9C, which made it the warmest start to a day at that time this month since the 3rd.
The October rainfall in my Met Office copper rain gauge totalled 72.3mm being just 79% of my 41-year record or minus 18.9mm, thus the seventh below average monthly rainfall this year. The average rainfall for the period January to October over the past 41 years was 678mm, however this year that period produced just 525mm, a significant below average total of 153mm.
The past month gave us average maximum and minimum values compared to my long-term average.
Research from the Met Office has revealed that the most popular reason people check the weather forecast is to decide whether to hang out the washing.
Almost half (41.4%) cited laundry as their main motivation, ahead of general curiosity in what the weather is doing for the day (40.6%), and planning outfits or outdoor activities (34.6%).
Other popular reasons for checking the weather forecast include:
• Travel and commuting (33.2%)
• Planning events or social activities (30.9%)
• Gardening or housework (29.8%)
The Met Office’s research also found that the UK remains a nation obsessed with the weather. On average, people spend 56.6 hours a year – equivalent to two days and nine hours – talking about it, with 60% saying it’s their go-to small talk topic.
windrushweather.co.uk