Climate summaries

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

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UK last month

November 2023

The first half of November was unsettled and stormy at times with the ongoing influence of Atlantic low pressure systems and strong winds and heavy rain of most note. Storm Ciaran on 1st to 2nd was an exceptionally severe storm for the Channel Islands and northern France but fortunately a 'near miss' for southern England. Further south, winds were comparable to the 'Great Storm' of 16 October 1987. Storm Debi also brought some very strong winds on 13th, particularly affecting Northern Ireland, North Wales and north-west England. These storms contributed to mounting rainfall accumulations through a very wet autumn in some areas. 30 to 50mm of rain fell across southern England from storm Ciaran and a further 30 to 50mm across Northern Ireland and parts of north-west England from storm Debi - with over 100mm across upland areas. There were some incursions of colder air at times with -7.1°C recorded at Altnaharra, Sutherland on 16th, and frosts as far south as Kent with -0.8°C at East Malling, Kent on 12th, though nothing extreme for the time of year. In contrast, the second half of November saw rather quieter autumnal weather with a continued mild Atlantic influence until the last week. However, from 24th, a northerly airflow introduced drier but much colder weather, with some hard frosts (for example -4.8°C at Hurn, Dorset on 8th), and some wintry precipitation, particularly in the north and east.

Temperatures for November were near average overall (anomaly -0.1°C); slightly below across northern Scotland. Despite the wet first half of the month, rainfall totals were near average across much of England, Wales and eastern Scotland, although it was wetter than average for some southern counties. Western Scotland and Northern Ireland were drier than average. Overall the UK received slightly above-average sunshine hours (112%), but with a variable pattern: west parts of Wales and south-west England (for example) were notably dull whereas for the bulk of the rest of England this was a fairly sunny month.

The UK monthly extremes were as follows: A maximum temperature of 16.7°C was recorded at Writtle (Essex) on the 13th. A minimum temperature of -7.7°C was recorded at Shap (Cumbria) on the 25th. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 UTC on the 14th, 124.2 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbria). A wind gust of 68 knots (78 mph) was recorded at Langdon Bay (Kent) on the 2nd.

Regional values for November 2023