Dry autumn across the UK

27 November 2007

As autumn draws to a close, provisional figures from the Met Office show that the season is on course to be one of the driest on record across the UK.

One of the main themes of the weather this autumn was the higher frequency of dry and settled conditions, often with fog and frost. These types of weather were brought out in the Met Office seasonal autumn forecast, which also predicted a distinct absence of wet and stormy weather. 

Richard Graham, seasonal forecaster at the Met Office said: "Although these long-range forecasts are still very much in their infancy, they do provide valuable guidance to businesses and the government. Further research will ensure that ongoing improvements in seasonal forecasting accuracy are achieved."

The provisional rainfall total for the whole of the UK, between 1 September and 25 November is 206.3 mm, well below the long-term average of 335.4 mm, although further rain is expected over the next few days.

The UK-wide rainfall record dates back to 1914 and the driest autumn was 1922 with 192.9 mm of rain. This autumn is currently the driest across the UK since 1972 when 206.0 mm of rain fell.

Despite some sharp frosts during November, the provisional mean UK-wide temperature for autumn is 10.1 °C, around 1 °C above the long-term average.

Climatologically, the Met Office regard the autumn season as the months of September, October and November.

Provisional rainfall figures across the UK
	Autumn 2007 (to 25 Nov)	Long-term autumn average (1971-2000)	Driest autumn on record
UK	206.3 mm	335.4 mm	192.9 mm (1922)
England	146.4 mm	240.6 mm	117.2 mm (1978)
Northern Ireland	181.2 mm	319.6 mm	142.7 mm (1933)
Scotland	304.5 mm	468.5 mm	240.2 mm (1937)
Wales	226.0 mm	434.0 mm	230.2 mm (1922)

 

UK climate and weather statistics