Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Mild at the start and changeable, but turning increasingly cold and wintry.

November began with a ridge of high pressure extending across the British Isles from the south-west and the remnants of a weak frontal system edging southwards. This high gave way rapidly on the 2nd as a deep low tracked past the north of Scotland driving frontal systems westwards across the UK. Further frontal systems worked in from the Atlantic over the next few days bringing outbreaks of rain to the county. With a dominant and at times strong south-westerly airstream it was noticeably mild with temperatures at Pitsford on the 4th climbing to 17.1C. A cold front drove southwards through the county on early on the 6th bringing a fair amount of rain, but a marked reduction in temperatures over the next few days.

A deep low began to work south-eastwards towards the British Isles on the 7th giving rise to a particularly unsettled spell of weather. The 8th was very wet across the county. 15.0mm was recorded over 9.6 hours at Pitsford and strong winds buffeted the county for several days, reaching a peak gust of 48mph on the 11th as a second very deep low tracked across the far north. The 11th also saw a change in wind direction with milder air reversing the trend towards significantly colder nights which culminated in temperatures falling close to freezing on the nights of the 9th and 10th. The situation remained generally cyclonic over the next few days, although with much lighter winds which led to some early morning fog on the 14th and 15th. Although the wind remained predominantly south-westerly, it had an Arctic origin and consequently temperatures began to fall away resulting in an air frost on the morning on the 15th. The fog was slow to clear, compounding the trend towards cooler temperatures.

A ridge of high pressure built in briefly on the 16th only to give way to another deep low on the 17th which drifted slowly southwards across Ireland. As this low worked southward, the wind swung round to the north-east maintaining a run of cold Scandinavian air which would last until the end of the month. High pressure which had developed over Iceland on the 21st began to extend its influence southwards across much of the North Atlantic. As it did so, it blocked the normal westerly track of depressions towards the British Isles and simply strengthened the cold Arctic airflow. Temperatures plummeted across Northamptonshire with daytime maxima at Pitsford falling consistently from 7.5C on the 22nd to 4.0C on the 24th and just 0.0C on the 28th. In fact, the morning of the 28th was the coldest November morning locally since 1987 with temperatures dropping to -6.6C. Snow was reported widely across the UK causing significant travel disruption, particularly in parts of Scotland, eastern England and the south. In fact, snow even fell across parts of Cornwall. However, Northamptonshire remained largely free of snow with just some light showers on the 25th and 27th. The county would have to wait until the 30th before enough snow fell to form a decent covering. With the snow showers feeding in as ‘trains’ from the north-east, it was the relative short track over the North Sea that led to the paucity of showers in this region.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 17.1 C on 4th
The Lowest Maximum: 0.0 C on 27th
The Highest Minimum: 13.5 C on 5th
The Lowest Minimum: -6.6 C on 28th
The Mean Maximum: 8.0 C  
The Mean Minimum: 2.4 C  
The Overall Mean: 5.2 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -1.7 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 250.0 W/m^2 on 6th
Mean (at 0900): 56.3 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100 % on 14th,15th & 20th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 70.0 % on 12th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 92.9 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 12.3 C on 4th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -7.1 C on 28th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 3.3 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 42.3 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 84.9 %  
Duration: 39.2 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 15.0 mm on 8th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 13   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 7   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 40.1 hrs  
Sunniest day: 5.5 hrs on 6th
No. of days without sunshine: 8   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 44.9 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.9 oktas 73.8 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1021.9 mb on 16th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 971.7 mb on 8th
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1006.0 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 105.9 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.7 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 3177.9 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 48 mph on 11th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 17.3 mph on 11th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 7.3 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 5 NE 2 E 1 SE 3 S 5 SW 5 W 2 NW 7 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -7.6 C on 28th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 1.1 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 29.3 ml  
Pan not available
    
Days with:    
Thunder: 0   
Hail <5mm: 0   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 3   
Snow lying: 3   
Fog: 4   
Air Frost: 10   
Duration of Air Frost: 127.5hrs
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.