PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM

MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - OCTOBER 2002


Headline: The wettest October in Northampton since 1960. Colder 
than normal and marked by damaging gales in the final week.

Apart from slight showers on the 1st and 2nd, October opened on a 
warm, dry and sunny theme. In fact, the warmest day of the month 
was the 1st with a maximum of 22.5C. Pressure remained reasonably 
high with a ridge extending from Scandinavia from the 5th onwards. 

The settled weather broke down on the 11th as a succession of lows 
and associated fronts began to cross the region. Rainfall amounts 
were significant with 10.1mm falling on the 11th and a further 
12.5mm on the 13th.  However, the intense low on the 15th produced 
a total of 49.9mm at Pitsford Hall, falling over a period of 11.5 
hours. Together with winds gusting to 49mph, this forced the 
postponement of a ceremony to unveil new flood defences in 
Northampton. Statistically, this was the wettest day in Northampton 
since the Easter floods of 1998.

A brief window in the weather then emerged between the 16th and the 
19th as pressure rose consistently. Nevertheless, it felt distinctly 
autumnal with daytime maxima struggling to reach 12C. Clear night-time 
skies led to the first air frost of the season on the 19th (-0.2C) 
and minima on the 20th also dipped below freezing. 

The period from the 20th to the 24th saw a deep low moving across the 
region. Again, rainfall values were not modest: 9.5mm fell in just 
under 5 hours on the 20th. A hailstorm with brief thunder was also 
recorded on the 23rd. In fact, a succession of lows dominated the 
weather until the end of the month with rain being recorded every day. 
The significant event as the month came to a close were the devastating 
gales on the 27th. Gusts of up to 70mph were recorded at Pitsford Hall 
and up to 80mph elsewhere in the county. The weather caused widespread 
disruption including structural damage to property and infrastructure. 
Several villages in the county remained without power for several days 
afterwards.

This was Northampton's wettest October since 1960 when 157.7mm were 
recorded and the windiest  since 1987.



Air Temperatures				
The Highest Maximum:			22.5C	on	1st
The Lowest Maximum:			9.0C	on	30th
The Highest Minimum:			15.4C	on	2nd
The Lowest Minimum:			-0.3C	on	20th
The Mean Maximum:			13.8C		
The Mean Minimum:			6.2C		
The Overall Mean:			10.0C		
Difference from the Monthly Mean:	-0.3C		
				
Relative Humidity:				
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900):	98.7%	on	12th, 14th & 21st
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900):	61.0%	on	8th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900):	89.3%		
				
Dew Point:				
The Highest Dew Point (at 0900):	14.4C	on	2nd
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900):		0.5C	on	19th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):		7.9C		
				
Rainfall:				
Total:					117.8mm		
Difference from the Monthly Mean:	213.8%		
Duration:				60.3hrs		
Highest 24 hour fall (from 0900):	49.9mm	on	15th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):			18			
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):			14			
				
Sunshine:				
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:	90.5hrs		
Sunniest day:				8.7hrs	on	23rd
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):		6.3oktas (78.8%)		
				
Pressure (reduced to sea level):				
The Highest Pressure:			1029.2mb	on	4th
The Lowest Pressure:			980.5mb		on	22nd
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900):	1010.6mb		
				
Winds				
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):		110.8miles		
Mean daily wind speed:			6.0mph		
Run of wind (to date):			3434.1miles		
Highest Maximum Gust:			70mph	on	27th
Highest wind strength (at 0900):	31.1mph	on	27th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):		7.8mph		
				
Winds from the Following Directions:

N 0 NE 4 E 5 SE 4 S 4 SW 3 W 2 NW 7 Calm 2			
		
				
Ground Temperatures:			 	
Lowest Grass Minimum:			-2.9C	on	24th
Mean Grass Minimum:			4.2C		
Lowest Concrete Minimum:		-1.6C	on	19th
Mean Concrete Minimum:			5.0C		
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum:		-0.3C	on	19th
Mean Bare Earth Minimum:		6.0C		
				
Soil/Earth Temperatures:		 		
Surface mean:				9.7C		
5cm mean:				9.3C		
10cm mean:				9.9C		
20cm mean:				10.7C		
30cm mean:				11.3C		
40cm mean:				11.4C		
50cm mean:				12.0C		
100cm mean:				12.8C		
				
				
Days with:				
Thunder:				1			
Hail less than 0.5mm:			1			
Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm:	0			
Snow or snow & rain:			0			
Fog:					2	
Air Frost:				1	
Duration of Air Frost:			0.5hrs
Ground Frost:				4

Total Evaporation (tank):		62.77mm