Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Changeable. Wet to begin with and mild, but turning increasingly cold.

It was a wet start to the month with low pressure dominating the UK centred to the north-west joined by further lows moving in from the south-west. The 1st and 2nd were particularly wet across Northamptonshire thanks to some slow moving frontal systems. 9.8mm was recorded at Pitsford on the 1st whilst a further 7.2mm was recorded on the 2nd. It was also quite breezy, with gusts on the 1st reaching 33mph and the mild southerly airflow ensured that daytime temperatures remained generally mild and in the mid to high teens. Once the rain cleared on the 5th it remained largely dry for several days with high pressure over mainland Europe making in-roads across the south-east. Some good spells of sunshine were recorded on the 7th and 8th and with the southerly breeze persisting, temperatures remained mild.

High pressure developed to the north of the British Isles on the 10th and over the next few days, as a mainly northerly breeze set in, temperatures generally fell. However, it remained dry and initially at least there were days with some decent spells of sunshine. The skies eventually clouded over on the 13th and the next few days remained fairly dull. The high pressure sank southwards to cover much of the British Isles over this period, although by the 15th had started to move away westwards clearing the way for some frontal systems which head southwards on the 16th.

These frontal systems lost much of the rain before reaching the county on the 16th, although a more active low tracking eastwards across Iceland introduced more significant amounts of rain on the 18th and 19th. In fact the trailing cold front associated with this system introduced much cooler air across the region with the result that daytime temperatures at Pitsford struggled at 8C on the 20th falling the following night to 0.3C . Over the next few days conditions remained very unsettled and cold, with frequent outbreaks of rain conveyed on quite a blustery west or north-westerly breeze. The first air frost of the autumn season was recorded at Pitsford on the morning of the 25th (-0.4C) as an area of high pressure formed across the UK introducing clearer skies.

However, this high was short-lived and as it slipped away south-eastwards, a milder south-westerly airstream was introduced allowing temperatures to recover. As low pressure deepened to the north-west it became increasingly unsettled again though with showers and longer spells of rain and quite a breeze too, especially on the 26th. There was a brief lull with sunshine on the 30th influenced by a col before further showers were delivered on the 31st.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 19.5 C on 10th
The Lowest Maximum: 8.0 C on 20th
The Highest Minimum: 13.0 C on 8th & 9th
The Lowest Minimum: -0.4 C on 25th
The Mean Maximum: 14.1 C  
The Mean Minimum: 7.5 C  
The Overall Mean: 10.8 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: +0.3 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 396.0 W/m^2 on 11th
Mean (at 0900): 146.8 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 98.8 % on 31st
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 70.6 % on 20th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 88.7 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 14.9 C on 3rd
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -0.5 C on 20th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 8.6 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 42.6 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 73.8 %  
Duration: 39.5 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 9.8 mm on 1st
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 13   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 9   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 90.9 hrs  
Sunniest day: 8.9 hrs on 20th
No. of days without sunshine: 9   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 79.7 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.5 oktas 68.8 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1029.8 mb on 25th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 993.0 mb on 3rd
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1013.2 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 108.7 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.9 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 3369.9 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 35 mph on 29th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 19.6 mph on 3rd
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.4 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 3 NE 6 E 2 SE 2 S 6 SW 5 W 3 NW 4 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -2.4 C on 25th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 6.7 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 45.6 ml  
Pan 62.79 mm      

Days with:    
Thunder: 0   
Hail <5mm: 0   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 0   
Snow lying: 0   
Fog: 0   
Air Frost: 1 
Duration of Air Frost: 1.8hrs  
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.