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A dry and sunny October for much of Scotland

Provisional statistics show north Scotland has had the sunniest and one of the driest Octobers since records began.

Updated to include provisional full month statistics for October 2016

North Scotland recorded 111.6 hours of sunshine, outstripping the previous record of 102 hours set in 1939 (records date back to 1929).  Scotland as a whole had its third sunniest October on record with 100.9 hours (the sunniest October was in 2003 with 106.4 hours).

High pressure has dominated much of the weather for the UK during October meaning many areas have been notably dry, the exception being the east coast of both Scotland and England (from Aberdeenshire to Norfolk) where rainfall has been closer to normal.  The western side of Scotland, most of Wales, part of Northern Ireland, and many western, central and southern parts of England have had a third or less of their average October rainfall. 

The UK as a whole had an average of 48.9mm of rainfall, just 38 percent of what we would expect for the month as a whole, placing it as the 6th driest October on record (dating back to 1910).  Meanwhile Scotland had its 4th driest with 65.6 mm (19.4 mm was recorded in October 1946).

Provisional October Max Temperature  Sunshine Rainfall
2016 Actual deg C Anm deg C Actual hours Anm% Actual mm Anm %
UK 13.3 0.6 107.7 117 48.9 38
England 14.2 0.3 113.2 110 39.1 43
Wales 13.4 0.4 110.3 119 47.1 28
Scotland 11.9 0.9 100.9 134 65.6 37
Northern Ireland 13.2 0.5 91.3 104 49.5 41

 

We understand from the Environment Agency that water resources are generally healthy as we move towards the beginning of winter.

Mean temperatures were generally close to or a little above average in some areas, but minimum temperatures were a little below normal in northeast Scotland and parts of southern England. 

The turn of the month has seen a change in the weather, with temperatures dipping below average with winds blowing in from the north. This means that frosts are more likely by night, with crisp autumn sunshine by day, however there will be showers in some locations.

You can keep up to date with the weather using our forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our new mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.

Channel website: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk

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