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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 598 For   OCTOBER  2005
                        EXCEPTIONALLY  WARM  BUT  CLOUDY;   VERY  WET  SECOND  HALF
Text Box: This exceptional month was dominated by winds from a southerly quarter almost throughout. Mean monthly sea-level pressure was low to the west of Scotland and high over eastern Europe; the main anomaly centres were -10mbar just north of the Azores and +10mbar near St Petersburg, resulting in an anomalous SSE-ly flow over the British Isles. An unstable northwesterly airflow covering the British Isles on the 1st soon relaxed as a strong build of pressure led to the establishment of an anticyclone which persisted over or to the east of the UK until the 7th, but it was less settled over northwestern Britain. After a showery first day of the month, the weather became mostly dry with variable - often large - amounts of cloud, and occasional sunshine. The morning of the 3rd was cold in the south with -0.5°C at Redhill airfield (Surrey) but afternoons were warm between the 6th and 8th with highs typically 18-21°C. With pressure now high over eastern Europe a mainly southerly type persisted until the 18th, although a vigorous frontal trough moved very slowly eastwards across the UK between the 11th and 13th, followed by a sharp but short-lived rise in pressure. Most areas had some rain on the 8th, and heavy prolonged rain affected Scotland and Northern Ireland over the next few days with 130mm at Broadford (Skye) between the 8th and 10th, but eastern, central and southern districts again became fine and warm with highs of 20-23°C. Herne Bay (Kent) reached 23.6°C on the 10th, while St James’s Park (London) logged a minimum of 17.8°C overnight 11th/12th. Torrential rain in many western districts led to serious but short-lived flooding, notably in Wales and Cumbria, and 48hr totals for the 11th-12th included 140mm at Milford Haven (Pembrokeshire) and 115mm at both Eskdalemuir (Dumfriesshire) and Carlisle (Cumbria). The rain belt weakened as it moved across eastern areas on the 13th. A cooler interlude then brought a couple of frosty nights to Scotland, but it became very warm again on the 15th-16th with 21.5°C at Wisley (Surrey) on the 15th.
Text Box: A trough advanced across the country from the southwest on the 19th, introducing a cyclonic spell which lasted until the 25th. Rain fell frequently and often heavily, and hail and thunder occurred in many places. Some 68mm of rain reportedly fell at Ottery St Mary (Devon) on the 19th. It became somewhat colder for a few days in Scotland with some hill snow, and on the 23rd Kinbrace (Sutherland) recorded an early-morning minimum of -4.9°C while Dalwhinnie (Inverness-shire) had an afternoon high of 4.9°C. Further flooding was reported on the 24th, notably in Northern Ireland where 69mm fell in 12hr at Killowen (Down); at Capel Curig (Snowdonia) 101mm fell between the 23rd and 25th. A broad SSW-ly flow brought tropical air from unusually low latitudes during the last seven days of the month. The weather was warm but largely cloudy with rain at times, heavy in the north and west, but the 27th was notably sunny and on this day the temperature climbed to 22.5°C at Kinlochewe (Wester Ross) and to 23.6°C at Aber (Caernarfon) - a new UK record for so late in the season. The COL 'A' station at Llansadwrn (Anglesey) reported 24.1°C on the same date. Herne Bay logged 20.7°C on the 30th following a minimum the previous night of 17.3°C. The 31st was wet in the Southeast and East Anglia. This was among the four warmest Octobers on record, the others being 1969, 1995 and 2001, although unusually the positive anomaly was much greater by night than by day. At several sites in the southeastern quarter of England it was the warmest October of them all. The CET for September and October together was also higher than in any other year. It was a very wet month in many parts of the country and Carlisle registered over three times its normal amount of rain, although scattered locations in the east and far north had near-normal rainfall. Over the country as a whole it was the dullest October since 1982, and the sunshine aggregates at Eskdalemuir, Boulmer and Leeming were the lowest since records began in 1911, 1945 and 1945 respectively.
                                                                                                                                             
                       TEMPERATURE                                SUNSHINE                             RAINFALL                                                       
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                          Highest and lowest totals                     Highest and lowest totals        
                                              on record for month    
Maximum fall in 24 hrs (beginning 09 h)
                    on record for month    
Days with snow or sleet
 
Days with fog (Vis <220 yards at 09 h)
 
                                                                                         
     
Difference from average
   
Difference from average
 
Highest maximum
   
Lowest minimum
   
No. of days with grass minimum below 0ºC
   
Days of no sunshine
 
Maximum duration
       
First year of record
         
Days of no rainfall (0.1 mm or less)
         
First year of record
         
Days with thunder
     
       PLACE  
Mean Maximum
   
Mean minimum
             
No. of air frosts
       
Total for month
                   
Total for month
                   
                               
% of average
                   
% of average
                 
                                                                     
                                   
Highest