Month: October 2024

The much cooler air stream on Thursday brought on the northerly breeze saw the thermometer struggle to reach a high of 11.7C at 14.39 before beginning to drop back. This maximum was 3.2C below my 40-year average and the coolest day since 27th April. There was a brief shower of light rain and drizzle, starting just before 10.00, that produced 0.2mm of precipitation. The temperature levelled out at a temperature of around 5C until after 03.00 early Friday before clearing skies saw it steadily drop to a minimum of -0.4C at 07.36, being a significant 7.4C below my 40-year average. The thermometer dropped below freezing just after 07.00 and produced not only a ground frost but the frost air frost of the season.

Friday gave us a clear sky and sunshine after sunrise that began to lift the temperature very slowly reaching -0.2C by 08.00. The wind direction has changed from north to come from the southeast for the bulk of the day.

The high pressure system, reaching from mid-Atlantic to Germany, will be around for a couple of days so there will be a few cooler days being mainly dry with variable sunshine.

The maximum of 14.3C at 15.35 on Wednesday was just below average thanks to the persistent cloud cover and cool northwesterly breeze being 0.6C below my 40-year average. There brief occasions when very light drizzle was detected but not measurable , however, overnight another 2.4mm of precipitation was added to the monthly total, now standing at 51.0mm.

The temperature fell away during the early hours of Thursday as a cold front began to push down from the north as the wind veered from the northwest into the north, as forecast, heralding the arrival of the much cooler for stream. The thermometer dropped to its lowest at 07.46, when its downward fall stopped.

Thursday revealed another dreary start to the day with the cool wind from the north and very brief showers of drizzle as the cold front traversed our area.

As the depression moves away today the pressure will continue to rise as a temporary ridge of high pressure begins to assert itself with drier brighter conditions arriving as the day progresses. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1004.1mb, and rising steadily, up 17mb since that time on Wednesday.

The rain stopped for a brief period mid-morning on Tuesday then showers began just before 11.00 and came frequently and heavy well into the evening. At 11.45 there was an intense downpour when rain fell briefly at a rate of 100mm/hour. The daily rainfall total was 23.9mm taking the monthly total to 48.6mm when the 40-year average is 93.0mm.

The almost continuous rain and thick cloud meant no sunshine but the airstream from the south was warm and meant a maximum of 14.9C was reached at 12.32, which was exactly average for October. Once again the thick cloud limited the loss of warmth into the atmosphere so the past night was mild that gave us a minimum of 11.2C at 06.40 on Wednesday being 3.8C above my 40-year average. The diurnal range of temperatures between day and night was thus very small, just 3.7C.

The start to Wednesday revealed another cloudy morning but no rain. The wind has veered into the northwest as the depression moves eastwards into the North Sea and this evening will veer further into the north heralding the arrival of a much cooler airstream.

Monday was a very pleasant day with many hours of sunshine that lifted the temperature to 16.9C at 14.56 being 2.0C above my 40-year average. There was a light shower around 11.30 but much more rain in the early hours, ceasing just after 06.10 Tuesday, amounting to 10.6mm. The minimum of 10.9C at 03.52 was also above average at +3.6C.

Tuesday dawned bright but thick cloud was threatening with shower activity not far away. It was another day with humidity reading 100% at 08.00 thanks to the recent substantial rainfall.

The centre of the low at midday will be just off the coast of Cornwall that is likely to produce frequent showers over our area. The barometric pressure has dropped further reading 992.5mb at 08.00, the lowest pressure since 26th September. The breeze will continue from the south for much of the day, a warm direction.

The breeze will pick up as the day progresses but nothing like Hurricane Milton threatening Florida with 155mhh gales and a barometric pressure reading at its centre of just 924mb

The temperature of the ground at a depth of 5cm has risen from a low of 7.1C on the 5th to 11.3C at 08.00 thanks to the warmer nights.

Sunday gave us a dreary, dark and damp day. The rain started at 16.10, light at first, later an intense area of very heavy rain arrived at 17.45 for 25 minutes falling at the rate of 60mm/hour for a brief period and amounted to 12.5mm in total. The lack of sunshine and thick cloud meant a cool day with a maximum of 14.3C being 0.5C below my 40-year average. The cloud persisted for much of the night thus a mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 10.0C at 03.15 early Monday, which was 2.6C above the average.

Monday started bright with a weak sun beginning to shine, between variable cloud, after 08.00.

The depression is still to the west of the UK but will not throw any weather fronts across the country on Monday although it is near enough to produce variable showers. The barometric pressure has dropped quite low with a reading of 997.6mb at 08.00, the lowest for over a week. The wind direction with veer a few degrees and come from the south today.