Climate summaries

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

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UK last month

September 2024

September saw unsettled weather across the UK, with variable temperatures and persistent showers. Northern Ireland and Scotland experienced a relatively dry and sunny month, while central and southern parts of the UK were particularly wet and dull. The month began on a warm note, with above average temperatures across the UK persisting for the first week as successive plumes of warm, humid air were drawn northwards off continental Europe. However, by the 11^th the temperatures dropped as Arctic air moved in. The third week saw temperatures again above average, before a return to much cooler conditions in the final week of the month. It was also a very wet month for many: the first few days of September saw heavy, widespread showers across the country as well as thunderstorms in the southwest. On the 13^th, generally fair conditions overnight coincided with visible Aurora in northern regions. High pressure to the northeast of the UK brought a period of settled weather on the 16^th, but low pressure soon returned and allowed scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms to develop across southern and central England and Wales during the afternoon. Frontal systems brought bands of heavy and often slow-moving rain to parts of southern England, Wales and central England, while scattered showers brought rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Overall, September saw below average temperatures, with a provisional mean of 12.7°C (anomaly -0.3°C). Temperatures were slightly lower in Scotland and Northern Ireland than in southern and central England. East Anglia saw mean temperatures around 0.5°C above average, while eastern Scotland recorded temperatures around 0.7°C below average. Rainfall for the UK overall was slightly above average (provisional anomaly 125%), but there was strong regional variation, with southern England provisionally recording 233% of their average rainfall while Scotland recorded just 63%. Several counties including Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire provisionally recorded their wettest September on record, with over 300% of the average September rainfall. Southern England recorded its third wettest September on record, and its wettest since 1918. Several stations including Woburn (Bedfordshire) and Shawbury (Shropshire) provisionally experienced new record daily rainfall accumulations. Sunshine duration was below average for the UK overall for September (anomaly 96%), although Scotland and Northern Ireland both experienced above average sunshine durations. Wales and southern England recorded around 80% of the average sunshine duration in September.

The UK monthly extremes were as follows: A maximum temperature of 30.1°C was recorded at Cambridge Botanic Gardens (Cambridgeshire) on the 1^st. A minimum temperature of -3.0°C was recorded at Braemar (Aberdeenshire) and Tyndrum (Perthshire) on the 25^th. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 UTC on the 30^th, 119.9mm of rain fell at White Barrow (Devon). A wind gust of 60 knots (69 mph) was recorded at Berry Head (Devon) on the 29^th.

Regional values for September 2024