By Mike Cinderey

YET another warm month! Temperatures were quite steady throughout October and so it was much milder than usual by its end. There was a lot of fuss about Halloween being the hottest on record. This was true for some spots in the North-East, but it wasn’t that exceptional, even with highs of 20C (68F).

They were nowhere near the peak for October. Only recently, on the 1st in 2011, 26C (almost 80F) was widely reached. Besides, there’s a good chance of measuring the warmest, coldest or wettest on any particular date on three or four days over a year.

High pressure, which gave the fine September, migrated into the Continent at the start of October. Depressions then dominated. They headed towards us across the Atlantic, mostly turning north to the west of Scotland. A few of these were very deep – typically autumnal.

As a result, winds blew chiefly from a southerly quarter, hence the warmth, and were strong at times. However, we missed the worst generated by ex-Hurricane Gonzalo late on Monday the 20th and into the Tuesday.

The only exception to this regime was from the 13th, when a small low developed over Biscay and moved north-east into the southern North Sea. This produced a north-easterly flow for four days, before it pressed on into northern Europe.

Remarkably, this month’s weather pattern was virtually identical to last October’s, and with similar effect. There were a few more chilly nights this time, with just a scattering of places near the coast escaping a ground frost. Accordingly, minima weren’t as balmy as in 2013 and, overall, it was a little cooler, too. Even so, it was still a very decent 1.5C (2.5F) above the mean, generally.

After a dry September, rainfall this month was back to what we’d expect. Around the region, it was within 20 per cent of the norm. By and large, October was the driest since 2011, though the last appreciably drier than average one was five years ago.

Rainfall totals on the wettest day of the month were fairly modest, well below 25mm (1.0ins). Yet, for most parts, they were the highest in any 24 hours since early August. For some, they were greater than the accumulation for the whole of September.

October’s figures at Carlton-in-Cleveland

Mean Maximum: 14.7C, 58.5F (+1.3C, 2.5F)

Mean Minimum: 8.5C, 47.2F (+1.3C, 2.5F)

Highest Maximum: 19.8C, 67.5F, 3rd

Lowest Minimum: 0.3C, 32.5F, 29th

Total Rainfall: 75mm, 2.95ins (+10mm, 0.4ins)

Wettest Day: 13.5mm, 0.55ins, 6th

No of Rain Days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more: 17 (+1)

(Figures in brackets show the difference from the 31-year mean, 1983-2013)