Although November began with a week or so of anticyclonic
weather with occasional Nly and NWly winds, thereafter
cyclonic and SWly weather types dominated to such an
extent that it ended up the most SWly November since 1992
and the eighth most SWly November in the dataset (1873- ).
No surprise, then, that rainfall showed strong orographic
modulation, with very high totals in the southwest
Highlands, and below-average totals locally in E England.
What is surprising is the record-breaking sunshine totals:
a disturbed Wly month in the winter half-year is typically
quite sunny as well, but the very sunniest winter months
usually have a substantial northerly component to the mean
flow (eg Nov 2005, Jan 2003) whereas this Nov was
basically westerly/southerly/cyclonic.

Mean pressure charts are available at:
Charts: http://www.climate-uk.com/monpre/0611.htm
The Monthly Review has been uploaded to:
http://www.climate-uk.com/monthly/0611.htm
Graphs: http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/0611.htm and
http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/200611.htm
Not The Long Range Forecast can now be found at:
http://www.climate-uk.com/page4.html

The mean sea-level chart shows that the Icelandic Low was
more intense than usual and displaced SE of its normal position,
centred 991mbar at 61N 20W. A seconary centre of 992
mbar was located in the Norwegian Sea. The Azores high
was still displaced well to the SW (as it had been in Oct) but
had returned to normal intensity, 1025mbar, at 35N 50W.
Further areas of high pressure were located over Switzerland
(1022mbar) and north Africa (1022mbar). The mean flow
over the UK was WSWly.

The sea-level pressure anomaly field was dominated by a
large below-normal area over much of the northern Atlantic,
the British Isles, Scandinavia, Greenland, and the Arctic
either side of the Greenwich meridian. Pressure was above
average over eastern Canada and the adjacent Atlantic, and
also over southern and central Europe.

The main anomaly centres we
-14mbar south of Iceland (60N 18W)
+9mbar off Nova Scotia
+5mbar over the central Mediterranean

Over the British Isles pressure anomaly ranged from +1mbar
at Dover to -10mbar in Shetland the the Western Isles. The
anomalous flow was strongly SW-ly.

CET (after Manley) 8.0°C (+1.1 degC wrt 1971-2000)
making it the warmest since 2003,
CET (after Hadley) 8.1 or 8.2°C (+1.2 or 1.3 degC)
E&W Rain (provisional): 107.8mm (108% of 1971-2000 mean)
E&W Sunshine (prov): 103.4 hr (155% of 1971-2000 mean)
beating the previous record established only last year, although
the areas of highest sunshine were different from last Nov.

CScotT: 7.5°C (+1.6 degC)
ScotRain: 154mm (145%)
ScotSun: 61hr (113%)

NIT: 7.5°C (+0.6 degC)
NI Rain: 105mm (112%)
NI Sun: 81hr (138%)

Rainfall totals ranged from 608mm at Inveruglas (Dunbartonshire)
to 35mm at Manston (Kent) [figure not entirely reliable]

Percentages ranged from 279 at Bishopton (Renfreshire) to
44 at Charterhall (Berwickshire). It was the wettest Nov on
record in the Renfrew/Abbotsinch/Bishopton series.

Sunshine totals ranged from 135.4h at Bognor (Sussex) -
presumed CS recorder - to 30.4h at Lerwick (KZ sensor).

Percentages ranged from 217 at Church Fenton (W Yorks)
to 69 at Tiree (Inner Hebrides)

(c) Philip Eden