Last month was one of the warmest Octobers on record thanks to
remarkably persistent winds from a southerly quarter delivering air
from unusually low latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean. It was also a
wet and very cloudy month over much of the UK.

More available:
Charts: http://www.climate-uk.com/monpre/0510.htm
Review: http://www.climate-uk.com/monthly/0510.htm
Graphs: http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/0510.htm and
http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/200510.htm
Not The Long Range Forecast will be uploaded on Nov 3 to
http://www.climate-uk.com/page4.html

The mean sea-level chart shows the Icelandic Low displaced
southeast towards Ireland compared with its normal position,
with a centre of 999 mbar at 58N 21W. The Azores High was
absent, and an intense blocking high of 1026mbar was centred
near Moscow. A strong SSW-ly flow covered the British Isles;
indeed it was the fifth most "southerly" October in 133 years
of records.

The sea-level pressure anomaly field was dominated by
the following centres:
-11mbar just north of the Azores
+10mbar near St Petersburg
+7mbar over SW Greenland
Over the British Isles pressure anomaly ranged from +1.5mbar
in Shetland to -5mbar at Valentia. The anomalous flow over
the UK was SSE-ly.

CET (provisional) 13.1°C (+2.7 compared with 1971-2000)
(one of the four warmest Octobers, and statistically
not significantly different from 2001, 1995 or 1969)
E&W Rain: 124.6mm (131% of 1971-2000 mean)
(26th wettest in last 100 years, but five of the last
seven Octobers have been wetter)
E&W Sunshine: 89.1 hr ( 79% of 1971-2000 mean)
(13th dullest in last 100 years, and dullest since 1982)

CScotT: 11.3°C (+1.7 degC)
ScotRain: 139.1mm (133%)
ScotSun: 60.9 hr (70%)

NIT: 12.1°C (+1.6 degC)
NI Rain: 104.4mm (108%)
NI Sun: 71.7 hr (79%)

Rainfall totals ranged from 316mm at Strath of Orchy (Argyll)
to 49mm at Coningsby (Lincs). Percentages ranged from
267 at Carlisle (Cumb) to 46 at Loch Glascarnoch (W.Ross).

Sunshine totals ranged from 143hr at Hastings to 36.5hr (CS
recorder) and 29.8hr (KZ sensor) at Eskdalemuir (Dumfries).
Percentages ranged from 118 at Wattisham (Suffolk) to 47
at Eskdalemuir. It was the dullest October on record at
several sites in N England and S Scotland.

(c) Philip Eden