October 2026 Commentary

The daytime temperatures were still fairly warm during the first week of October but it soon started to feel more autumnal and the nights were regularly chilly for the second half of the month.

While the first and last few days of October were dry, there was some rain on most other days though the major weather event of the month was the brief period from the 22nd until the 24th that produced two named storms bringing large amounts of rain and high winds.

The month overall was slightly milder than the average over the last decade with the figure of 13.1C, while the rainfall total of 145.3mm (nearly 6 inches) was a little less than average, though we have had some especially wet Octobers during the two thousand and twenties.

Plenty of leaves and branches came down during the stormy period but there was still enough vegetation on the trees during the last week of October to produce some beautiful autumn colours in what was often sunny conditions after early morning mist.

Philip Spray