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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 599 For   NOVEMBER  2005
MILD RAINY START, THEN MUCH COLDER;  SUNNIEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD
Text Box: A cyclonic/southwesterly regime prevailed throughout the first twelve days, but from the 13th onwards anticyclonic and northerly types were dominant. With such contrasting episodes, the sea-level pressure anomaly field over Europe and the Atlantic was relatively weak, and the main anomaly centres were -6mbar off north-west Norway and +6mbar over mid-Atlantic. The anomalous flow over the British Isles was NNW-ly. After a bright first day, the 2nd brought rain and strong winds to all areas but it was exceptionally mild with 18.8°C at Prestatyn (Flintshire), and the following night the temperature fell no lower than 15.8°C at Herne Bay (Kent) - one of the warmest nights on record in the UK. Another frontal system brought heavy rain to western and northern districts on the 5th and 6th with 50mm at Cardinham (Cornwall), then two intense secondary depressions swept past the UK’s northwestern seaboard on the 7th/8th and 11th/12th, the wind gusting to 80-90kn in the Western Isles on both occasions. Heavy orographic rain recurred, with 76mm at Capel Curig (Snowdonia) on the former occasion and 101mm at Cassley (Sutherland) on the latter, but between these two systems all regions were mostly dry and sunny on the 9th. It remained warm with highs of 14-17°C on several days. The briefest of northerly outbreaks was followed by a strong but short-lived build of pressure across the British Isles on the 13th and 14th, and this brought a general drop in temperature with frost by night and plentiful sunshine by day. Another northerly outbreak between the 15th and 17th preceded a prolonged rise in pressure which saw the establishment of a large anticyclone over the UK from the 18th-23rd. There were snow showers in Scotland on the 16th, otherwise this was a period of cold, settled weather with frosty nights and sunny days. At night temperatures fell widely to between -5 and -8°C, and reached -9.2°C at Tulloch Bridge (Lochaber) on the 18th and Braemar (Aberdeenshire) on the 19th. Freezing fog
Text Box: formed widely from the 19th onwards, persisting all day in places, and at Pershore (Worcs) the temperature remained below zero from sunset on the 18th to daybreak on the 21st. Elsewhere, many places had five or six consecutive days of unbroken sunshine, and Hastings logged 67 hours of sunshine in the 10-day period 13th-22nd. The anticyclone withdrew to mid-Atlantic on the 24th as a vigorous cold front swept southwards across the country, introducing a northerly flow which lasted until the 29th. The front on the 24th was associated with hail, thunder, violent squalls, and a near-instantaneous temperature drop of 5-8 degC. The next day, heavy snow fell widely in the northern half of Scotland (20cm at Glenlivet), Northern Ireland, Wales, Devon and Cornwall, and hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight on Bodmin Moor following an accident which blocked the A30. The next two days were slightly less cold and rain fell rather than snow, including a fall of 70mm in 48 hours at Boulmer (Northumberland). Snow returned on the 28th, affecting chiefly Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Midlands; flights were disrupted at Manchester airport and roads over the Cotswolds were blocked by motorists unable to cope with the 5-7cm fall. It became somewhat less cold on the 30th as the wind backed westerly and rain approached from the Atlantic. The first half of November was the warmest since 1994 (temperatures 2.0-2.5 degC above normal), while the second half was the coldest since 1993 (3.5-4.0 degC below normal). It was a dry month in most eastern and some southern districts, with less than 30mm of rain over much of Lincolnshire, East Anglia and Kent, but monthly totals were rather above average in northern and western Scotland, northwest England, Wales and Cornwall. Sunshine aggregates were above normal practically everywhere, and approached twice the long-term mean locally in northeast England and the Midlands. Averaged over England and Wales this was easily the sunniest November in a record stretching back to 1881.
                                                                                                                                           
                       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
   
Lowest
 
Year
             
Highest
   
Lowest
 
Year
       
             
Date
   
Date
         
Date
         
Year
         
Date
         
Year
           
                                                                     
      ºC       ºC       ºC       ºC             Hrs     Hrs         Hrs       Hrs       mm       mm         mm     mm          
                                                                                                                                           
  *Hampstead   10.1   +0.3   03.3   -0.9   16.5   02   -02.1   25   15   08   04   07.2   14   100   158   1910   109   1989   030   1932   13   07.5   02   030   042   1910   183   2002   05   1945   00   00   01  
  Thorney Island   10.5   0.6   04.3   -1.2   16.6   02   -04.2   30   16   07   05   08.3   17   121   151   1958   125   1989   038   1994   07   20.0   01   061   075   1941   205   1970   07   1945   01   00   00  
  *Coltishall   10.4   +0.5   03.9   -0.2   17.3   02   -04.5   30   14   07   02   07.5   12   091   140   1979   103   1989   041   2004   07   14.2   25   071   103   1964   150   1970   21   1994   01   05   01  
  Wittering   09.2   +0.2   03.4   -0.5   17.5   02   -03.5   20   17   09   05   08.5   01   * 113   174   1950   110   1996   038   1968   12   09.1   01   028   048   1945   131   1970   11   1945   01   06   02  
                                                                     
  Lyneham   08.9   0.8   02.9   -1.1   16.5   02   -05.8   20   16   12   06   07.7   01   096   137   1952   105   1971   026   1994   15   15.4   06   069   085   1945   145   1951   10   1945   00   03   01  
  Ross-on-Wye   09.7   -0.2   02.8   -1.7   18.0   02   -05.0   18   16   11   09   07.8   09   079   123   1914   108   1923   025   1945   12   17.3   06   068   092   1859   227   1929   11   1945   00   04   03  
  *St Athan   10.0   -0.1   04.7   -0.8   18.0   02   -03.3   20   15   08   06   06.6   14   084   123   1954   106   1971   034   1994   06   12.4   08   086   082   1954   215   1970   32   1956   01   01   01  
  St Mawgan   11.2   +0.2   06.8   +0.0   16.5   02   02.2   26   05   00   04   08.3   21   106   145   1945   115   1989   036   1994   08   23.2   08   132   115   1944   236   2002   34   1945   01   01   00  
                                                                     
  *Edgbaston   08.9   -0.3   04.2   -0.3   17.0   02   -01.9   18   13   06   05   05.9   14   073   118   1887   099   1977   014   1912   09   16.8   08   055   078   1887   198   1951   17   1920   01   05   01  
  *Valley   10.6   -0.1   06.0   -0.7   16.1   02   -00.2   19   09   01   05   07.5   13   076   118   1946   089   1989   032   2004   08   39.2   07   119   111   1941   219   2000   27   1983   00   04   00  
  *Woodford   08.8   0.0   01.7   -2.0   17.5   02   -07.7   29   15   15   10   07.7   13   083   146   1945   089   1975   024   1946   02   19.4   08   074   092   1942   179   2000   11   1945   00   01   02  
  *Watnall   08.9   -0.1   03.6   -0.4   17.9   02   -02.4   18   14   08   03   07.5   13   * 101   155   1948   100   1988   031   2002   10   15.4   08   049   083   1942   145   1951   07   1945   00   04   02  
                                                                     
  *Leeming   09.0   -0.2   02.7   -1.0   17.6   02   -05.4   19   16   13   06   08.0   09   107   194   1945   111   1947   027   1946   12   12.8   08   063   101   1944   149   1951   10   1945   00   04   03  
  *Boulmer   09.4   +0.4   03.9   -0.1   15.3   03   -03.8   23   12   03   05   07.4   09   104   149   1945   109   1947   025   1968   09   39.4   27   130   194   1945   163   1984   13   1973   01   01   00  
  Eskdalemuir   06.7   -0.7   01.2   -0.7   13.0   02   -07.1   19   19   13   11   07.4   16   068   127   1911   089   1925   020   1946   12   17.4   02   141   088   1911   297   1938   18   1945   00   07   01  
  *Bishopton   08.6   -0.4   03.1   -0.1   13.9   03   -04.5   18   15   08   09   07.0   17   069   137   1921   090   1996   023   1941   07   16.8   02   096   089   1921   205   1938   08   1945   00   04   01  
                                                                     
  *Leuchars   08.6   -0.2   03.1   -0.1   14.1   11   -04.5   19   14   07   03   07.4   18   099   140   1922   109   1947   033   1968   12   07.8   26   055   086   1922   194   1963   11   1942   00   04   00  
  Dyce   08.3   -0.1   02.6   -0.1   15.3   14   -06.2   19   14   07   06   07.2   09   081   130   1941   097   1996   023   1941   10   16.6   25   087   105   1941   268   1984   19   1964   00   08   00  
  *Stornoway   09.3   +0.4   04.8   +0.6   13.5   03   -01.0   25   09   01   10   05.9   18   042   095   1880   073   1968   019   1881   06   17.8   11   131   099   1943   228   1981   24   1945   00   05   00  
  *Aldergrove   08.6   -0.6   03.6   0.0   16.1   02   -03.8   22   13   06   06   07.9   01   074   140   1927   083   1986   026   1962   05   08.0   07   044   059   1927   158   2002   15   1942   00   04   00  
                                                                     
                                                                                                                                           
  Stations marked with an asterisk record sunshine electronically; comparisons      
  with earlier records are therefore somewhat speculative. Thorney Island's   * New high record    
  sunshine figures are made at a nearby site.