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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 611 For   NOVEMBER  2006
SUNNIEST NOVEMBER EVER IN MANY PLACES; WET IN THE WEST AND NORTH
Text Box: Pressure was generally high until the 12th especially in southern Britain, but a very disturbed period followed between the 13th and the end of the month although pressure did rise sharply in the south on the 29th/30th. Mean sea-level pressure ranged from 10mbar below normal in the Western Isles to 1mbar above at Dover, resulting in an enhanced southwesterly flow over the British Isles - it was the most southwesterly November since 1992 and it ranked eighth most southwesterly in 133 years of records. A northerly airflow covered the country as the month opened, but strongly rising pressure soon led to the establishment of an anticyclone over the British Isles. Pressure remained high over southern Britain until the 7th but a westerly flow developed further north. Sunny days and frosty nights characterised this period, although it became cloudier in northern and western districts from the 4th onwards, and morning fog developed in parts of England and Wales on the 6th, 7th and 8th. The temperature fell to -6.5°C at Sennybridge (Powys) overnight 1st/2nd and to -6.6°C at the same location the following night, but daytime temperatures were not so far below the seasonal average. Many places in southern England enjoyed practically unbroken sunshine daily, and the aggregate for the first week at Pendennis Point (Cornwall) was 57.2h - an average of over 8h per day. Atlantic fronts brought some rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland from the 4th onwards and it became windy at times here too; a little rain penetrated to southern England overnight 8th/9th but a broad belt of moderate to heavy rain crossed all districts on the 10th. This was the first measurable rain in parts of the Midlands and Southeast for 16 days and marked the beginning of a much more disturbed spell of weather. From then until the 19th active frontal troughs and secondary depressions crossed the country at frequent intervals bringing some heavy falls of rain to all areas, and flooding was reported from southwest Scotland on the 15th (Threave in Galloway
Text Box: recorded 46mm), and from southeast England on the 17th where totals of 25-30mm were reported at several places. However, there were brighter interludes too and the weekend 18th-19th was particularly sunny in southern and eastern England with over 7h of bright sunshine on both days, although there was slight frost night and morning. Very deep Atlantic depressions tracked past our north-western seaboard during the remainder of the month, maintaining the very disturbed weather over all parts of the UK, although the last two days were fine in the south and east as pressure rose sharply over the near-continent. There were heavy falls almost daily over the western Highlands, Cumbria and Snowdonia: Capel Curig recorded 61mm on the 19th while Tyndrum (Perthshire) logged 91mm in 48h on the 19th/20th. Meanwhile on the 25th and 26th there were outbreaks of torrential rain accompanied widely by thunder and locally by hail across many southern and central districts leading to widespread though generally short-lived flooding. Small tornadoes were reported near Portsmouth on the 25th and near Aberystwyth on the 28th. Winds reached gale force at times in the west and north, with gusts to 65kn at South Uist (Western Isles) on the 30th. However, there were also some good sunny breaks, notably on the 21st, 23rd and 29th. In spite of the cold first week, mean temperature was above long-term average practically everywhere in the UK, and by up to 2 degC in parts of East Anglia and the Southeast. This was sufficient to establish a new record for the autumn quarter, the CET of 12.5°C beating the previous record held jointly by 1730 and 1731, by the wide margin of 0.7 degC. November rainfall was slightly below normal locally in eastern England, but approached three times the normal in the southwestern Highlands (where monthly totals exceeded 600mm) and parts of Clydeside. New sunshine records were established over much of eastern and central England with monthly aggregates of 100-120h, and as much as 136h at Bognor Regis (Sussex).
                                                                                                                                             
                       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