Climate summaries

Overview of weather across the UK for previous months, seasons and years

Those interested in climate change and predictions of future climates should also visit the Climate Change pages.

UK last month

October 2021

The weather during most of October was unsettled and wet, though there was a drier spell across most areas between the 8th and 17th. Temperatures were above average for much of the time, and frosts were few, but sunshine was in short supply for some areas. The heaviest rain came in the closing days of the month, with some notable totals in Cumbria, and there were gales also on the 31st.

The provisional UK mean temperature was 10.9 °C, which is 1.4 °C above the 1981-2010 long-term average. For most areas, mean monthly minima were slightly more elevated relative to normal than mean monthly maxima. Many parts of the UK saw more rainfall than average, with a few areas near average and only isolated spots below average. The wettest areas were southern Scotland, Cumbria, the north-west corner of Wales, and southern England, with many places above 150% of average, and the UK overall had 128% of average October rainfall. Sunshine was somewhat below average in Scotland, northern and south-eastern England, and most of Wales, giving an overall figure of 87% of average.

The UK monthly extremes were as follows: A maximum temperature of 22.9 °C was recorded at Thornes Park (West Yorkshire) on the 8th. A minimum temperature of -3.6 °C was recorded at Redesdale Camp (Northumberland) on the 16th. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 UTC on the 28th, 222.6 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbria). A wind gust of 65 knots (75 mph) was recorded at Needles (Isle of Wight) on the 31st.

Regional values for October 2021