Southerly winds prevailed throughout the month with only a few brief interruptions, resulting in an October of persistent warmth often accompanied by cloudy skies. It was exceptionally dry at first, but the middle and latter parts of the month were often wet.

The Central England Temperature for October was 13.1°C which is 2.7 degC above 1971-2000 mean. This meant that it was among the four warmest Octobers in over three centuries of records, the others being 1969, 1995, and 2001; statistically, the differences between the four were not significant. The two-month period September-October was the warmest in the entire record with a CET of 14.1°C, 2.0 degC above the long-term mean.

The month’s highest temperature (recorded under standard conditions) of 23.6°C was reported at Herne Bay in Kent on the afternoon of the 10th. There were some remarkably high maxima during the last few days, including 22.5°C at Kinlochewe in Wester Ross on the 27th and 20.7°C at Herne Bay in Kent on the 30th, both new UK records for the respective dates.

Excessively warm nights were a particular feature of October 2005. Overnight 11th/12th the temperature did not fall below 17.8°C at St James’s Park in London, while on the night of 26th/27th the temperature did not fall below 17.3°C at Herne Bay, both new records so late in the season. Averaged nationally, the overnight minimum was actually above the average maximum temperature on four occasions.

Colder-than average weather was rare, but there was a cold episode in Scotland between the 21st and 24th. On the morning of the 23rd the temperature fell to minus 4.9°C at Kinbrace in Sutherland, while the daytime maximum on the 23rd was just 4.9°C at Dalwhinnie in Inverness-shire.

Rainfall, averaged over England and Wales, was 124mm which is 132 per cent of the mean for the standard reference period 1971-2000. In the last 100 years, 75 were drier while 25 were wetter, but of those very wet Octobers six occurred in the last eight years. Prolonged heavy downpours dropped 140mm on Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire in 48 hours on the 11th/12th, while over 100mm fell in many parts of Wales, northwest England and southern Scotland, leading to serious but short-lived flooding. Further wet episodes led to flooding in south Devon on the 19th and in Northern Ireland and Wales on the 23rd.

Sunshine over England and Wales totalled 89 hours during October 2005 which is just 79 per cent of the 1971-2000 average. The equivalent figure for Scotland was 65 per cent, and for Northern Ireland 78 per cent. It was the dullest October on record at Eskdalemuir in Dumfriesshire, at Leeming in North Yorkshire, and at Boulmer in Northumberland.

© Philip Eden