Flooding disguises a sunny October

OCTOBER was the sunniest since 1959 despite heavy flooding, according to the London Weather Centre.

A spokesman said that although not all the statistics had been compiled, it appeared that October was only the wettest since 1990, when 103 millimetres fell. 'It was mainly dry for the last two weeks of the month, so it balanced out,' he added.

Overall, it was a 'notably sunny' month, particularly in Wales and the south-west of both England and Scotland.

Rainfall was only above average over eastern and southern parts of the country in the first few days. Much of Northern Ireland had less than half of its average rainfall.

Some parts of southern England had over an inch of rain in the first 24 hours of the month. Edinburgh had 3ins in the 48 hours ending on the evening of the 7th.

The second week brought further heavy rain which spread to the whole country, with 2.78ins falling in Lowestoft on the 12th. But by the middle of the month, most regions had plenty of sunshine.

Aberdeen had its earliest autumn covering of snow for 50 years on the 16th. On the same day, at Shap in Cumbria, a temperature of minus 9C (16F) was recorded - the lowest in the UK so early in the season since records began in 1875.

Piers Corbyn, of the independent Weather Action forecasting service, predicted a 'shocking November' with 'short-notice storms', blizzards, more floods, and cold spells as low as minus 10C.