29.11.07 16:06

There is a proverb that states, “in autumn a spoonful of rain makes a tub of mud”, and we can be forgiven for thinking that autumn in the United Kingdom is a season dominated by wet and windy weather. It is often the case that successive low pressure systems zip across the country from the Atlantic, and a number of notable storm events in history have happened during the months of September, October and November; the Great Storm of October 16 1987 being just one such example. To quote Keats however, autumn is the, “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”, and this would be a far more appropriate description for the autumn of 2007.

After a disappointing summer of weather for many, September kicked autumn 2007 off on a quiet and generally dry note. It was pleasantly warm, even hot, in places during the first week; the month’s highest temperature of 25.8°C (78.4°F) was recorded in Howden in East Yorkshire on the 7^th September. The weather turned more changeable towards the end of September and the month finished on a cold note, but overall it was drier and sunnier than average in many parts of the country.

The month of October wasn’t as sunny for England and Wales but then high pressure at this time of year is often characterised by a lot of cloud, a forecaster’s headache, as well as fog – the ‘mists’ to which Keats refers.

All three of the autumn months saw below-average rainfall recorded almost everywhere, and the dry conditions helped the country’s deciduous trees become a riot of colour, with one of the best displays of autumn leaves for several years. If any further evidence was needed of the settled nature of this autumn, the absence of windy weather meant that the trees were able to hang on to the bulk of their leaves trees right into the second week of November in many parts of the country.

As climatological winter begins this weekend, interestingly the weather across the UK looks like turning more autumnal. Spells of wet and windy weather are set to dominate over the next week with some particularly windy weather forecast for southern parts of the country on Sunday. But then, it’s only what we’re used to at this time of year.

By: Laura Gilchrist