November 10th driest since 1843 – Met Office
GUERNSEY had a warm, dry autumn, with last month being the 10th driest and 10th warmest November since records began.
It proved to be a mixed month to round off autumn.
‘With only 38% of the average rainfall, this November became the 10th driest on record (since 1843) and the driest since 2011,’ a Guernsey Met Office spokesman said.
‘It was, however, slightly duller than usual and marginally cooler than the long-term average, with more winds recorded from a northerly direction.
‘Despite Storm Arwen on the 27th, we noted the lowest mean wind speed for November since records started at the airport in 1947. We also recorded just one day with any fog.’
Overall autumn was drier, warmer and sunnier than average and with a mean temperature of 13.6C was the 10th warmest on record.
‘A very dry November and dry September offset a slightly wetter than average October to provide us with the driest autumn for six years and although sunshine was above average, we have had sunnier autumns in recent years,’ the spokesman said.
November started with cool, unsettled conditions, with sharp showers, followed by a warmer front bringing in cloudy, damp weather.
Two-thirds of the way through the month increasingly colder air was brought in from the north, resulting in temperatures tumbling to single figures and hail showers.
Storm Arwen, the first named storm of the winter, started to make itself felt across Scotland early on the 26th, with cold air bringing prolonged and heavy sleet and snow showers across northern parts of the UK.
‘Locally, our winds started to increase though the day with a scattering of showers and steadily falling air temperatures,’ Guernsey Met Office said.
‘By dawn on the 27th, Arwen was off the east coast of Scotland with strong northerly winds across the islands. Air travel was disrupted due to strong crosswinds that morning, but flights resumed that afternoon in Guernsey.
‘However Alderney’s airport didn’t manage any aircraft at all that day.
‘Apart from a scattering of showers, we recorded very little rainfall in the islands considering the ferocity of the storm, and whilst it was unusually windy from the north, we didn’t quite note a full gale at Guernsey Airport – although Alderney did report gusts up to 60mph at times.’
The last day of autumn on Tuesday dawned cloudy but dry as mild-Atlantic air covered the Channel, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle arriving later that morning.
