A view of the AVERAGE PRESSURE CHART for the period 1st to 1ßth of
November 2003, shows low pressure to the NW of Britain and high
pressure to the S and SE. A general dividing line runs from about
Cornwall to Northumberland and puts rainy weather to the NW of it, and
much dryer weather to the SE of it.

This means that winds will be generally from a SW or S direction,
lifting temperatures to averaage or slightly above. This, too, means
that the SW of England can sometimes expect misty, drizzly days as the
warm, moist air comes into the country.

Although the general pattern will not change all that much over the
period, there are small differences which need to be talked about.

On 1st November, the LP to the NW of Britain will be on station and a
HP over the southern Baltic will have a ridge stretching backwards to
cover the south of the country. This means dryer weather with possible
night frost for the S and SE of the country, but frequent rain showers
for the N and NW.

On 2nd November, low pressure still exosts to the N and NW and there
could be a weak belt of HP running from off the SW coast, eastwards
along the Channel to central France. This would mean almost a repeat of
yesterday's weather.

On 3rd November, low pressure is maintained on station to the NW and W
of the British Isles. However, a pressure build up from the SW about
noon spreading E across the southern part of the country brings
improving weather to these areas. As usual, the rainy weather exists
over Northern Ireland and N and W Scotland.

On 4th November, high pressure is settled over NW France and NW
Germany, a trailing ridge runs along the French coast down to Biscay.
.. The LP to the NW of the country is still on station, but this time
there is chance of a secondary LP forming out in the Atlantic. Today,
only the extreme SE part of the country benefits from the HP as it moves
away into the continent.

On 5th November, the LP still exists near Iceland, but this time a
trough with fronts and waves stretches SE'wards to the London area.
There could be an improvement from the SW later in the day. This is a
rainy day for most of the country,

On 6th November. once again the LP lies to the NW of the country. It's
a large afair covering the country in strong SW winds. There could be
a secondary travelling up the Channel causing quite a lot of rain for
the S of the country.

On 7th November, the Iceland LP casts a trough SE'wards once again
forming a small LP near Ireland. This is also a rainy day for much of
the country.

On 8th November, a depression stretching from W to E from the Atlantic
into Scotland brings rainy weather to the northern half of the
country. A small HP ridge across southern Biscay into France will
hardly bring an improvement to the SE.

On 9th November, although the LP is still on station to the NW, an HP
ridge can be expected stretching from the SW of the country over W
France up ino the North Sea. It should bring an improvement in the
weather for most of the country. Only the extreme W of Scotland and
Northern Ireland should suffer the bad weather.

On 10th November, a depression lies to the N of Scotland and a new
depression is moving eastwards towards W Scotland. Fortunately, the
HP can still be found across England from Cornwall to Northumberland.
It seems a bit smaller and perhaps a bit weaker but dryer weather can
still be expected in the southern half ofthe country.

So there we have it - a dismal SW airstream, with any dry weather to
the SE where the effects of HP can be experienced. During the periiod
in question there is very little chance of a continued spell of dry
sunny weather for us all. And with temperatures kept up by the SW
winds we can expect temperatures to drop generally where clear skies
bring us some night frost. In fact - nothing much to write home about.

Cheers, Keith