Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: More settled and anticyclonic than some recent Octobers – rainfall below average and temperatures close to the norm.

The anticyclonic conditions which influenced the weather for much of September were still around for the start of October although the high was beginning to retreat westwards to the mid Atlantic. This made way for a deepening low to track between Iceland and southern Scandinavia between the 2nd and 4th. The presence of this low was felt across Northampton by the development of some strong winds, particularly on the 3rd, although it stayed mostly dry compared to most other areas with some good spells of sunshine.

The remnants of tropical storm ‘Grace’ tracked across the British Isles on the 5th and 6th. This system by contrast brought fairly hefty amounts of rain in the county, most notably on the 6th when 15.4mm was recorded in just under 6 hours, by far the wettest day in September. Wind speeds, however, remained generally light. The 6th was in actual fact quite a warm and muggy day with highs at Pitsford reaching 19.9C with an overnight low not falling below 10.9C – quite a contrast to the previous few nights and those which followed which were rather chilly. Lows overnight on the 7th moving into the 8th fell to just 3.6C at Pitsford. Further outbreaks of rain were recorded on the 9th and 10th, but from the 11th onwards pressure began to rise and conditions remained anticyclonic across the UK until the 18th.

With pressure rising, some good sunshine was recorded initially, but from the 14th onwards sunshine became increasingly eclipsed by cloud as the remnants of frontal systems became embedded in the circulation of the high. The persistence of the cloud had an impact on temperatures. Overnight lows became progressively colder falling to just 3.9C on the 18th with daytime temperatures typically hovering around 12 or 13C.

From the 19th onwards conditions became more cyclonic with the emergence of low pressure to the south-west of Iceland. This system drove outbreaks of rain across much of the UK including Northamptonshire on the 20th. Further low pressure systems crossed the northern half of the

during the course of the following week with rain falling everyday between the 22nd and 26th. With a southerly airflow becoming established at the same time it became warm and, at times, rather muggy with little sunshine. The month ended with a fairly persistent theme in the weather – overcast and mild with occasional outbreaks of rain.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 19.9 C on 6th
The Lowest Maximum: 11.6 C on 17th
The Highest Minimum: 11.3 C on 1st
The Lowest Minimum: 3.6 C on 8th
The Mean Maximum: 15.0 C  
The Mean Minimum: 7.8 C  
The Overall Mean: 11.4 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 0.9 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 482.0 W/m^2 on 2nd
Mean (at 0900): 163.6 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100 % on 21st, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th & 30th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 65.8 % on 1st
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 89.0 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 15.8 C on 6th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): 6.0 C on 18th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 9.5 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 43.4 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 75.2 %  
Duration: 33.3 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 15.4 mm on 6th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 13   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 10   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 65.6 hrs  
Sunniest day: 5.7 hrs on 12th & 25th
No. of days without sunshine: 5   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 57.5 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 6.5 oktas 81.3 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1034.2 mb on 16th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 996.2 mb on 21st
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1016.9 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 97.8 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.3 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 3031.4 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 37 mph on 3rd
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 17.3 mph on 3rd
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 6.9 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 2 NE 0 E 2 SE 6 S 7 SW 3 E 3 NW 6 Calm 2
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: 1.2 C on 8th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 6.5 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 47.4 ml  
Pan 21.33 mm      

Days with:    
Thunder: 0   
Hail <5mm: 0   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 0   
Snow lying: 0   
Fog: 1   
Air Frost: 0   
Gales: 0 

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

The weather station publishes a full Monthly Weather Report (ISSN 1741-4733) which is distributed to libraries across Northamptonshire. This report comprises a full UK weather diary, reports of extreme weather events across the county, statistics from Pitsford Hall's affiliated stations across the county as well as news from the weather station itself. Individuals may download this report for £2 or take out an annual subscription for the paper-based report for £25. Click here for further details.