Monday 10th November
Sunday was dull and gloomy under a persistent cloak of cloud that produced a few minor splashes of raindrops a couple of times during daylight hours, but not measurable. The steady and continuous rain arrived, light at first, just before 17.00 with a substantial fall between 02.30 and 03.00, with the last measurable rain just after 03.45. The total rainfall over the past twenty-four hours amounted to 29.0mm that took the monthly total to 41.0mm, just less than 50% of my 41-year average. It was the wettest day since 26th January when 31.4mm was recorded.
It was the ninth consecutive day with a maximum above average, the high of 13.1C was logged at 12.47 being +2.8C. The past night has again been mild that saw the thermometer fall no lower than 11.5C at 07.00 early Monday, which was a significant 7.5C above average.
The start to Monday was dull and gloomy with rain beginning to fall again just after 08.00.
This week will bring us more unsettled weather, this morning I counted five low pressure areas in the Atlantic, approaching the UK. The Atlantic drift of moist, relatively warm air will continue uo to Thursday, when during the evening the wind is forecast to make a significant change in direction, moving from a southwesterly quadrant to likely coming from the north east, heralding the beginning of a major change in our weather. By Sunday into the following week the temperatures will begin to drop significantly, close to or below average, heralding a much cooler period of weather.
Today marks 10 years since the Met Office named its first storm, Storm Abigail, launching a public-facing initiative that has since become a cornerstone of weather communication in the UK.
In the decade since, the Western Europe naming group – which includes the Met Office in the UK, Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands – have named a total of 70 storms, giving severe weather a clear identity for the media and public.
Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said: “Ten years ago, Storm Abigail became the first UK storm to be named. Today, storm names are part of our national vocabulary.
“But storm naming is more than a label, it’s a public safety tool that makes severe weather easier to remember, talk about, and follow.
“We’ve named 70 storms since 2015, and each one helps communities prepare, keeps emergency services coordinated, and strengthens public awareness of severe weather risks.”