PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - OCTOBER 2005 REVIW OF THE MONTH Headline: A very mild month dominated for the most part by a southerly airflow. The county lay in the shadow of heavy rain in areas further west. The month opened as a weak cold front worked eastwards delivering a small amount of rain to many areas. With pressure building on the 2nd any showers which followed behind the front were extinguished before reaching the county. There were some fairly decent spells of sunshine on both the 1st and 2nd and relatively clear skies overnight saw temperatures fall quite smartly. High pressure continued to build on the 3rd but then drifted eastwards introducing a more southerly airflow by the end of the first week and a good deal of cloud with very little sunshine. Winds remained very light. However, the cloud held temperatures up overnight and over the period overall temperatures gradually improved. Rain worked through the county on the 8th and quite a chilly night followed with lows falling to 5.0C on the morning of the 9th (1.7C on the ground). However, temperatures recovered smartly on the 10th reaching a warm 22.0C during the afternoon. In fact daytime highs remained in the 20s until the 13th. Weather fronts worked through from the west during this period introducing spells of rain, but amounts of slight compared to areas further west. Anticyclonic conditions developed on the 14th. A dry spell of weather then followed, albeit rather cloudy. A band of rain worked up from the south-west on the 16th but again amounts were slight in Northampton. Pressure then remained high until at least the 17th. A band of heavier and more persistent rain worked up from the south on the 18th with nearly 10mm recorded over a period of 6 hrs. The band of rain on the 18th introduced an unsettled spell of weather dominated by low pressure. There were showers and longer spells of rain on most days. The 23rd was particularly wet with 18.4mm of rain recorded at Pitsford Hall in the 24 hr period from 0900GMT. The wind also picked up becoming a fresh south-westerly. A second deep depression worked in off the Atlantic on 26th and its associated warm sector introduced a milder spell with some good sunshine on the 27th. The mild weather continued until the end of the month, in fact temperatures by night were unseasonably warm. Some showers were recorded, but amounts were slight. Overall this was the warmest October in Northampton since 2001 (13.5C), the second warmest since 1986 (14.7C – the warmest October on record) and the third warmest since 1969 (13.4C). CLIMATOLOGICAL STATISTICS Air Temperatures The Highest Maximum: 22.0C on 10th The Lowest Maximum: 13.3C on 31st The Highest Minimum: 13.6C on 11th The Lowest Minimum: 5.0C on 9th The Mean Maximum: 16.4C The Mean Minimum: 10.1C The Overall Mean: 13.3C Difference from the Monthly Mean: +3.0C Relative Humidity: Highest Relative Humidity (at obs): 98.9% on 17th Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs): 77.2% on 4th Mean Relative Humidity (at obs): 91.3% Dew Point: The Highest Dew Point (at obs): 16.4C on 12th The Lowest Dew Point (at obs): 6.4C on 2nd The Mean Dew Point (at obs): 11.7C Rainfall: Total: 50.3mm Difference from the Monthly Mean: 91.3% Duration: 44.0hrs Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs): 18.4mm on 23rd Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 12 Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 9 Sunshine: Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 67.6hrs Sunniest day: 7.0hrs on 2nd Days without sunshine: 8 Cloud cover (mean at obs): 6.1oktas (76.3%) Pressure (reduced to sea level): The Highest Pressure: 1032.4mb on 4th The Lowest Pressure: 993.1mb on 21st Mean Pressure (recorded at obs): 1014.7mb Winds Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 102.5miles Mean daily wind speed: 5.6mph Highest mean daily wind speed: 13.8mph on 24th Run of wind: 3176.6miles Highest Maximum Gust: 35mph on 25th Highest wind strength (at obs): 13.8mph on 25th Mean wind strength (at obs): 6.2mph Winds from the Following Directions: N 2 NE 4 E 2 SE 4 S 11 SW 4 W 1 NW 2 Calm 1 Ground Temperatures: Lowest Grass Minimum: 1.7C on 2nd & 9th Mean Grass Minimum: 6.3C Lowest Concrete Minimum: 5.4C on 9th Mean Concrete Minimum: 9.6C Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: 5.6C on 2nd & 9th Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 9.3C Soil/Earth Temperatures: Surface mean: 12.5C 5cm mean: 12.3C 10cm mean: 12.6C 20cm mean: 13.0C 30cm mean: 13.5C 40cm mean: 13.5C 50cm mean: 13.8C 100cm mean: 13.7C Days with: Thunder: 0 Hail less than 0.5mm: 0 Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0 Snow or snow & rain: 0 Fog 3 Air Frost: 0 Ground Frost: 0 Gales: 0 Evaporation (tank): not recorded