LAST month was pleasant enough, considering it was November. There were fewer days of autumnal gloom than we’d expect and had even more sunshine than in October. With up to one and a half times the norm, it was the sunniest November since at least 2006. Winds were also mainly light.

It was on the dry side, too, with just 50 to 80 per cent of the usual rainfall. This was despite the downpours on the 2nd and 20th, which widely accounted for over half the month’s totals. We endured twice as much rain in the November of 2012, but you only have to go back to 2011 for a drier one.

I was surprised, then, to find it was a chilly month, though this was perhaps masked by its good features.

Last November was nearly 1C (2F) warmer, but in 2010, when there was that unseasonably early, arctic end to the month, it was 1C cooler. The most wintry in the past 30 years, in 1985, was no less than 2C (3.5F) colder. This time, it was only about 0.5C (1F) below average during the day but, due to the largely clear, calm conditions, by 1.5C (2.5F) at night. Even so, there were no particularly hard frosts.

Snow, as well, was limited to the upper Dales and fell on just a couple of days.

Over the autumn, temperatures were average, thanks to the mild October. The season was 1C cooler last year but 1.5C warmer in 2011. Rainfall was also around normal, again much drier than 12 months ago, but appreciably wetter than in the previous year.

During November, Atlantic depressions moved chiefly north-east between Scotland and Iceland. They gave a very changeable, mainly westerly airstream across the country. However, in our region, we benefited greatly from being in the shelter of the Pennines.

The prime exceptions to this were on Sunday the 2nd and Wednesday the 20th. Then, showers were frequent, often heavy, and some accompanied by hail and thunder.

Remarkably, a few of the storms were as lively as we typically get in summer.

The wind veered more northerly on the 20th and for the next four days. After this, high pressure firmly took control and the weather settled down for the final week.

November’s figures at Carlton-in-Cleveland
Mean Maximum: 8.6C, 47.5F (-0.7C, 1.5F)
Mean Minimum: 2.4C, 36.5F (-1.6C, 3 F)
Highest Maximum: 12.7C, 55F, 11th
Lowest Minimum: -2.6C, 27.5F, 23rd
Total Rainfall: 60mm, 2.35ins, (-14mm, 0.55ins)
Wettest Day: 19mm, 0.75ins, 20th
No of Rain Days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more: 15(-1 )
(Figures in brackets show the difference from the 30-year mean,
1983-2012)