A look back at September’s weather
As October begins, the provisional statistics for September’s weather have been trickling in. Whilst they’re not that impressive when taking the month as whole, there was certainly some notable weather at the end of the month.
The huge range of weather experienced during September is to be expected as the transition into autumn starts to take place, with cold air and warm air battling it out.
Rainfall
The rainfall for the whole of the UK was 117 per cent of average at 112.4mm, but there was a large variation from area to area.
From the 1-26 September, northern England, north east Wales and parts of Northern Ireland had more than 150 per cent of the average rainfall for the whole month, with some places seeing as much as 200 per cent.
Most of this rain fell on the 23-26 September, which caused severe flooding in some parts of the UK – especially northern England.
At the other end of the scale, central Scotland and East Anglia were drier than normal during the same time, with only 50-75 per cent of average rainfall.
This illustrates just how varied the weather can be at this time of year, with big differences depending on where you happen to be.
Percentage of average rainfall from 1-26 September – courtesy of the Met Office
Sunshine
There was more sunshine than usual during September, with 144.2 hours for the UK, making it the 10th sunniest September on record.
Most places enjoyed decent spells of sunshine during the early part of the month, with temperatures above average for a time in many places.
Temperature
Despite the abundance of sunshine and some warmth early in the month, the average temperature for the whole UK was 11.9C, which is 0.7C below average.
Cloud, rain and low daytime temperatures later in September offset the warmth experienced earlier on in the month.
In terms of what lies ahead for October, you can read my thoughts here or check out the latest forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website.