Sat 1st spells of rain some very heavy WW overnight with over an inch in places. Outbreaks of rain turned more showery during the day with sunny intervals, some torrential downpours with thunder in places although a few areas escaped largely dry. A cool day almost everywhere, locally very cool (Hereford 15.6c, Mumbles 15.4c, Shawbury max 11.1c, Capel Curig 10.9c, Aberporth 33.2mm).
Prolonged mostly dry bright spell; mostly average to rather warm by day but some night frosts:
Prolonged mostly dry bright spell; mostly average to rather warm by day but some night frosts:
Sun 2nd clear spells and cool overnight leading to thick fog in places and local grass frost Mid Wales & W Midlands (Tirabad air min 0.7c, Pershore & Tirabad grass min -1c). Dry sunny day, unbroken sunshine for some, average to rather warm temps (Trawsgoed 18.1c, Northampton 18.0c, Shobdon 10.6 hrs)
Mon 3rd clear cool night, grass frost locally inland Wales but widespread Midlands with some fog (Shobdon min 0.6c, Pershore grass min -3c). Dry with sunny periods, unbroken sunshine parts of the Midlands; generally rather warm for early October although a keen SE breeze (Porthmadog 18.6c, Pershore 17.5c)
Tue 4th clear periods but more of a breeze keeping temperatures up, only Hereford reporting a ground frost. Another dry day with sunny spells much of the Midlands, more cloud for WW and SW Midlands though but with sunny intervals. Generally rather warm again but breezy (Pershore College19.2c, Pembrey & Valley 18.5c)
Wed 5th mild breezy night. Dry and mostly sunny, a stronger east to SE wind tempered things further east; still quite warm over WW, nearer average East Midlands (Valley 19.1c, Pershore College 18.0c, Nottingham 15.6c)
Thu 6th very local grass frost overnight. Sunny spells everywhere and fairly sunny coastal WW, a cooler day but still above average in most places (Coton-in-the-Elms 16.9c, Trawsgoed 15.7c)
Fri 7th mostly cloudy with light showers in places, chiefly N Mids, generally around average but the Midlands tending to be rather cool (Whitechuch 16.4c, Nottingham 14.4c, Hereford 13.5c).
Sat 8th rather cloudy a few sunny intervals, few showers Midlands, average to rather warm (Whitechurch 17.5c, Coton-in-the-Elms 16.4c)
Sun 9th Sunny spells, mostly dry, a few light showers East Midlands, around average, locally mild (Porthmadog 16.8c, Pershore 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c)
Mon 10th widespread ground frost, the Season's first air frost at Llanwnnen (min -2.1c). Sunny spells, cloudier afternoon, a few showers again over the East Midlands, Rather cool to average temps (Milford Haven 15.4c, Coton-in-the-Elms & Newport, Salop 14.5c, Capel Curig max 11.8c)
Tue 11th widespread ground frost with localised air frost pockets. Sunny day WW, sunny intervals Midlands, dry virtually everywhere. Around average temps, locally mild (Coton-in-the-Elms & Whitechurch 16.4c)
Wed 12th localised ground frost. Sunny spells and mostly dry WW, sunny intervals and a few showers Midlands, average to mild temperatures (Llanwnnen & Pembrey 16.6c, Newport, Salop 16.2c, Nottingham 13.2c)
Thu 13th very local ground frost, some showers N Midlands overnight. Sunny spells WW, some sunny intervals Midlands, a few showers Midlands and N Wales. Average, locally rather mild WW, generally cool Midlands (Porthmadog 15.6c, Pershore College 13.3c, Market Bosworth 11.4c)
Fri 14th local frost WW, too much cloud for this Midlands (Llanwnnen -0.2c, Pembrey 1.9c). Mostly dry by day with sunny intervals, average to mild (Porthmadog 16.1c, Northampton 14.3c, Aberdaron 12.3c)
Changeable with some rain and heavy showers especially Wales; generally average to quite mild:
Sat 15th Showery rain in places WW overnight some of this reaching Midlands. Some sunny spells, with some rain for parts of the Midlands by evening. Average to mild (Wellesbourne 17.1c, Trawsgoed 15.1c, Aberporth 13.2c))
Sun 16th Some rain and wind for a time late night into the morning clearing to sunny intervals and showers, chiefly over WW where they became heavy and prolonged in places. Mostly dry afternoon Midlands. Average to mild again (Pershore College 17.3c, Mumbles 16.0c, Capel Curig 12.9c)
Mon 17th Sunny intervals and showers, mostly affecting WW where some were again heavy and prolonged but with much of the Midlands escaping with a generally dry day. Cooler and breezy although still quite mild in places (Newport, Salop 16.2c, Pembrey 15.5c, Llanwnnen 12.9c)
Tue 18th some showery rain night. Cooler still, rather windy but mainly dry with sunny spells once any early showery bursts of rain cleared to the east. Cool to average (Pershore 13.9c, Mumbles 13.7c, Capel Curig 10.3c)
Mostly dry and bright again, some frost and fog, around average by day:
Wed 19th very localised ground frost seemed restricted to Worcestershire. Mostly dry with sunny intervals, average to rather mild temperatures (Pershore 16.0c, Mumbles 14.3c, Aberporth 12.2c)
Thu 20th local ground frost and fog overnight. Sunny intervals and a few showers, mainly East Midlands, some areas rather cloudy. Temperatures close to average, locally mild however (Scolton Country Park, Pembs 16.0c, Pershore 15.6c, Capel Curig 12.0c)
Fri 21st local frost and fog, dense in places (Llanwnnen min -0.6c, Tirabad +0.4c, Pershore 1.4c). Any fog cleared to sunny intervals, much of SW Wales and SW Midlands quite sunny. Temps rather cool much of Midlands otherwise average to rather mild (Trawsgoed 15.3c, Pershore 15.1c, Coleshill max 12.0c)
Sat 22nd widespread ground frost and locally an air frost (Llanwnnen -1.3c, Tirabad -0.8c, Shobdon -0.4c). Lovely sunny day WW, cloud and some sunny intervals Midlands along with just a few well scattered light showers. Temperatures average to rather cool but locally rather mild WW (Whitechurch 14.9c, Shawbury 13.3c, Aberporth 8.7hrs)
Briefly more unsettled with rain in places and cooler:
Sun 23rd ground frost widespread across Mid Wales and the West Midlands. Sunny intervals WW, rather cloudy much of Midlands some places catching a light shower. Average to cool temps (Pembrey & Pershore College 13.3c, Capel Curig max 9.0c)
Mon 24th mostly cloudy with a little rain or drizzle in places, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands later, average to cool (Valley 12.7c, Wellesbourne 12.4c, Tirabad max 9c)
Tue 25th some rain overnight, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands, a milder night than of late. Mostly cloudy but a few sunny intervals and mostly dry, temps variable from rather cool Marches to rather mild much of WW (Milford Haven 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c, Shobdon max 11.0c)
Mostly dry and mild end to month:
Wed 26th a little rain in places overnight, most stayed dry though. Dry with sunny spells, mild or very mild (Hereford 17.0c, Milford Haven 16.8c, Aberdaron 14.1c)
Thu 27th mostly dry and mild, rather cloudy but some sunny intervals in most places (Hereford 16.4c, Trawsgoed 16.0c, Capel Curig 13.0c)
Fri 28th very mild night with everywhere above 10c (min Pembrey 13.7c, Hereford 13.1c). Mostly cloudy bur sunny intervals for some areas; mild or very mild (Nottingham 17.0c, Hereford 16.9c, Milford Haven 16.0c)
Sat 29th very mild night (Valley 12.8c, Coventry 12.4c). Mild, cloudy with little wind; drizzle in places inspite of the intense anticyclone over the UK (Coleshill 14.8c, Milford Haven 14.7c, Shobdon 12.8c)
Sun 30th another very mild night (Mumbles min 12.6c, Pershore 11.9c). Another mainly cloudy mild day with the odd brighter interval (Pershore 15.3c, Pembrey 15.0c, Nottingham max 11.9c)
Mon 31st fog in places overnight, slow to clear in the morning. Very mild/ warm with sunny periods, remarkably warm for the very end of October Ceredigion, the warmest Halloween on record for Wales as Trawsgoed reached 22.2c. Much cooler where fog slow to clear as Herefordshire (Llanwnnen 19.4c, Winterbourne, B'ham 19.2c, Aberporth 19.0c, Coleshill 18.1c, Hereford max 11.2c)
October 2016 summary
Very dry and generally quite sunny; average temperatures
Looks like it was the driest October for England & Wales since 1978. Just 16.0mm fell at Coventry compared with 6.0mm in Oct 1978. there have only been 9 drier October's in the past 146 in the city.
Driest since 2007 (45mm) here at Llanwnnen, a 12 day dry spell first half of month at Llanwnnen.
Anticyclonic month, mean pressure 1022mbar - the map for October 2007 in the Climatological Observer's Link bulletin shows pressure average over 1023mbar that month.
We went firmly into Autumn after the warm September, at least we were spared the more typical rain and winds! Many places were somewhat sunnier than average, a few parts of the Midlands slightly below. Here at Llanwnnen there were a fair few frosts albeit only slight (total 5 air frost, min -2.1c). Few places elsewhere saw more than a few ground frosts though throughout the month.
The final day was remarkably warm over WW with 22.2c recorded at Trawsgoed, this similar to the reading there 1st November 2015.
October rainfall totals:
Llanwnnen 51.0mm (36%)
Aberporth 40.6mm
Pembrey 33.2mm
Mumbles 39.8mm
Long Lawford 17.3mm (31%)
Church Lawford 18.8mm
Coventry, Bablake School 16.0mm (24%)
Coleshill 19.8mm
Pershore 19.2mm
Shawbury 22.8mm
Hereford 22.2mm
Sunshine
Llanwnnen 121 hours estimated (137%)
Aberporth 129 hrs (125%)
Coventry, Bablake School 100.0 hrs (95%)
Shawbury 103 hrs (114%)
Nature notes
The mostly fine October saw some butterflies still about, especially Red Admiral during the first fortnight. Cold nights seem to have put paid to these after mid month.
First few Fieldfare and Redwing observed at Hawkesbury, Coventry 12th, these are Winter visiting Thrushes here to escape the cold of Russia and Scandinavia. Large mixed flock of these Thrushes seen near Llanwnnen 21st.
Two raven observed Alderman's Green, Coventry, don't recall seeing them in that area before.
Plenty of flowers in bloom throughout October along hedgerows and in gardens. Red Campion putting on a fine Autumn bloom, also few Foxglove, these very short compared with Summer growth having taken advantage of late Summer verge and hedge cutting. Various other not known wildflower in bloom also.
Holly berries turned red this month.
Mon 3rd clear cool night, grass frost locally inland Wales but widespread Midlands with some fog (Shobdon min 0.6c, Pershore grass min -3c). Dry with sunny periods, unbroken sunshine parts of the Midlands; generally rather warm for early October although a keen SE breeze (Porthmadog 18.6c, Pershore 17.5c)
Tue 4th clear periods but more of a breeze keeping temperatures up, only Hereford reporting a ground frost. Another dry day with sunny spells much of the Midlands, more cloud for WW and SW Midlands though but with sunny intervals. Generally rather warm again but breezy (Pershore College19.2c, Pembrey & Valley 18.5c)
Wed 5th mild breezy night. Dry and mostly sunny, a stronger east to SE wind tempered things further east; still quite warm over WW, nearer average East Midlands (Valley 19.1c, Pershore College 18.0c, Nottingham 15.6c)
Thu 6th very local grass frost overnight. Sunny spells everywhere and fairly sunny coastal WW, a cooler day but still above average in most places (Coton-in-the-Elms 16.9c, Trawsgoed 15.7c)
Fri 7th mostly cloudy with light showers in places, chiefly N Mids, generally around average but the Midlands tending to be rather cool (Whitechuch 16.4c, Nottingham 14.4c, Hereford 13.5c).
Sat 8th rather cloudy a few sunny intervals, few showers Midlands, average to rather warm (Whitechurch 17.5c, Coton-in-the-Elms 16.4c)
Sun 9th Sunny spells, mostly dry, a few light showers East Midlands, around average, locally mild (Porthmadog 16.8c, Pershore 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c)
Mon 10th widespread ground frost, the Season's first air frost at Llanwnnen (min -2.1c). Sunny spells, cloudier afternoon, a few showers again over the East Midlands, Rather cool to average temps (Milford Haven 15.4c, Coton-in-the-Elms & Newport, Salop 14.5c, Capel Curig max 11.8c)
Tue 11th widespread ground frost with localised air frost pockets. Sunny day WW, sunny intervals Midlands, dry virtually everywhere. Around average temps, locally mild (Coton-in-the-Elms & Whitechurch 16.4c)
Wed 12th localised ground frost. Sunny spells and mostly dry WW, sunny intervals and a few showers Midlands, average to mild temperatures (Llanwnnen & Pembrey 16.6c, Newport, Salop 16.2c, Nottingham 13.2c)
Thu 13th very local ground frost, some showers N Midlands overnight. Sunny spells WW, some sunny intervals Midlands, a few showers Midlands and N Wales. Average, locally rather mild WW, generally cool Midlands (Porthmadog 15.6c, Pershore College 13.3c, Market Bosworth 11.4c)
Fri 14th local frost WW, too much cloud for this Midlands (Llanwnnen -0.2c, Pembrey 1.9c). Mostly dry by day with sunny intervals, average to mild (Porthmadog 16.1c, Northampton 14.3c, Aberdaron 12.3c)
Changeable with some rain and heavy showers especially Wales; generally average to quite mild:
Sat 15th Showery rain in places WW overnight some of this reaching Midlands. Some sunny spells, with some rain for parts of the Midlands by evening. Average to mild (Wellesbourne 17.1c, Trawsgoed 15.1c, Aberporth 13.2c))
Sun 16th Some rain and wind for a time late night into the morning clearing to sunny intervals and showers, chiefly over WW where they became heavy and prolonged in places. Mostly dry afternoon Midlands. Average to mild again (Pershore College 17.3c, Mumbles 16.0c, Capel Curig 12.9c)
Mon 17th Sunny intervals and showers, mostly affecting WW where some were again heavy and prolonged but with much of the Midlands escaping with a generally dry day. Cooler and breezy although still quite mild in places (Newport, Salop 16.2c, Pembrey 15.5c, Llanwnnen 12.9c)
Tue 18th some showery rain night. Cooler still, rather windy but mainly dry with sunny spells once any early showery bursts of rain cleared to the east. Cool to average (Pershore 13.9c, Mumbles 13.7c, Capel Curig 10.3c)
Mostly dry and bright again, some frost and fog, around average by day:
Wed 19th very localised ground frost seemed restricted to Worcestershire. Mostly dry with sunny intervals, average to rather mild temperatures (Pershore 16.0c, Mumbles 14.3c, Aberporth 12.2c)
Thu 20th local ground frost and fog overnight. Sunny intervals and a few showers, mainly East Midlands, some areas rather cloudy. Temperatures close to average, locally mild however (Scolton Country Park, Pembs 16.0c, Pershore 15.6c, Capel Curig 12.0c)
Fri 21st local frost and fog, dense in places (Llanwnnen min -0.6c, Tirabad +0.4c, Pershore 1.4c). Any fog cleared to sunny intervals, much of SW Wales and SW Midlands quite sunny. Temps rather cool much of Midlands otherwise average to rather mild (Trawsgoed 15.3c, Pershore 15.1c, Coleshill max 12.0c)
Sat 22nd widespread ground frost and locally an air frost (Llanwnnen -1.3c, Tirabad -0.8c, Shobdon -0.4c). Lovely sunny day WW, cloud and some sunny intervals Midlands along with just a few well scattered light showers. Temperatures average to rather cool but locally rather mild WW (Whitechurch 14.9c, Shawbury 13.3c, Aberporth 8.7hrs)
Briefly more unsettled with rain in places and cooler:
Sun 23rd ground frost widespread across Mid Wales and the West Midlands. Sunny intervals WW, rather cloudy much of Midlands some places catching a light shower. Average to cool temps (Pembrey & Pershore College 13.3c, Capel Curig max 9.0c)
Mon 24th mostly cloudy with a little rain or drizzle in places, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands later, average to cool (Valley 12.7c, Wellesbourne 12.4c, Tirabad max 9c)
Tue 25th some rain overnight, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands, a milder night than of late. Mostly cloudy but a few sunny intervals and mostly dry, temps variable from rather cool Marches to rather mild much of WW (Milford Haven 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c, Shobdon max 11.0c)
Mostly dry and mild end to month:
Wed 26th a little rain in places overnight, most stayed dry though. Dry with sunny spells, mild or very mild (Hereford 17.0c, Milford Haven 16.8c, Aberdaron 14.1c)
Thu 27th mostly dry and mild, rather cloudy but some sunny intervals in most places (Hereford 16.4c, Trawsgoed 16.0c, Capel Curig 13.0c)
Fri 28th very mild night with everywhere above 10c (min Pembrey 13.7c, Hereford 13.1c). Mostly cloudy bur sunny intervals for some areas; mild or very mild (Nottingham 17.0c, Hereford 16.9c, Milford Haven 16.0c)
Sat 29th very mild night (Valley 12.8c, Coventry 12.4c). Mild, cloudy with little wind; drizzle in places inspite of the intense anticyclone over the UK (Coleshill 14.8c, Milford Haven 14.7c, Shobdon 12.8c)
Sun 30th another very mild night (Mumbles min 12.6c, Pershore 11.9c). Another mainly cloudy mild day with the odd brighter interval (Pershore 15.3c, Pembrey 15.0c, Nottingham max 11.9c)
Mon 31st fog in places overnight, slow to clear in the morning. Very mild/ warm with sunny periods, remarkably warm for the very end of October Ceredigion, the warmest Halloween on record for Wales as Trawsgoed reached 22.2c. Much cooler where fog slow to clear as Herefordshire (Llanwnnen 19.4c, Winterbourne, B'ham 19.2c, Aberporth 19.0c, Coleshill 18.1c, Hereford max 11.2c)
October 2016 summary
Very dry and generally quite sunny; average temperatures
Looks like it was the driest October for England & Wales since 1978. Just 16.0mm fell at Coventry compared with 6.0mm in Oct 1978. there have only been 9 drier October's in the past 146 in the city.
Driest since 2007 (45mm) here at Llanwnnen, a 12 day dry spell first half of month at Llanwnnen.
Anticyclonic month, mean pressure 1022mbar - the map for October 2007 in the Climatological Observer's Link bulletin shows pressure average over 1023mbar that month.
We went firmly into Autumn after the warm September, at least we were spared the more typical rain and winds! Many places were somewhat sunnier than average, a few parts of the Midlands slightly below. Here at Llanwnnen there were a fair few frosts albeit only slight (total 5 air frost, min -2.1c). Few places elsewhere saw more than a few ground frosts though throughout the month.
The final day was remarkably warm over WW with 22.2c recorded at Trawsgoed, this similar to the reading there 1st November 2015.
October rainfall totals:
Llanwnnen 51.0mm (36%)
Aberporth 40.6mm
Pembrey 33.2mm
Mumbles 39.8mm
Long Lawford 17.3mm (31%)
Church Lawford 18.8mm
Coventry, Bablake School 16.0mm (24%)
Coleshill 19.8mm
Pershore 19.2mm
Shawbury 22.8mm
Hereford 22.2mm
Sunshine
Llanwnnen 121 hours estimated (137%)
Aberporth 129 hrs (125%)
Coventry, Bablake School 100.0 hrs (95%)
Shawbury 103 hrs (114%)
Nature notes
The mostly fine October saw some butterflies still about, especially Red Admiral during the first fortnight. Cold nights seem to have put paid to these after mid month.
First few Fieldfare and Redwing observed at Hawkesbury, Coventry 12th, these are Winter visiting Thrushes here to escape the cold of Russia and Scandinavia. Large mixed flock of these Thrushes seen near Llanwnnen 21st.
Two raven observed Alderman's Green, Coventry, don't recall seeing them in that area before.
Plenty of flowers in bloom throughout October along hedgerows and in gardens. Red Campion putting on a fine Autumn bloom, also few Foxglove, these very short compared with Summer growth having taken advantage of late Summer verge and hedge cutting. Various other not known wildflower in bloom also.
Holly berries turned red this month.
