A Remarkable October Weather Event

November 16, 2017

*Please note this competition has now closed*

2 minute read

We've teamed up with Weather Eye to giveaway five subscriptions to Weather Eye magazine. Read on to discover one of Ian's most poignant weather memories, and find out how to enter the competition.

One of the most meteorologically interesting events of my observing life so far was that of the 28th/29th October 2008. My wife and I on the 29th October were clad in thick coats, hat and gloves and the snow— yes snow, crunched under our feet as we went for a walk.

Even by mid morning the thermometer was still hovering around freezing as an arctic airstream gripped the UK. The thick snow clung to the autumn foliage in a surreal manner; it was like Christmas but two months early with the wrong decorations! The picture above shows Chipstead, Surrey on the 29th October 2008.

The previous evening of the 28th brought a unique occurrence of two Football League matches being abandoned because of snow in October. They were at Luton (Bedfordshire) and High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire). Hundreds of homes were without electricity as the snow had disrupted power lines and it even lay in central London with beautiful but scarcely conceivable scenes in the Royal Parks. We have to go back to 1887 for a similar episode in the Capital during October. Astonishingly the snow lay for two days on the Chilterns and the North Downs.

This event was made even more remarkable by the fact that October has shown considerable warming in the 21st century. A temperature record known as the Central England Temperature Index (CET) has been devised (originally by the late Professor Gordon Manley) back to 1659 that gives a mean temperature for each month. In this series the first, second and third warmest are 2001, 2005, 2006 respectively. The year 2011 was the 7th highest and 30C was registered during this month, the record UK maximum recorded for October. This October has been yet another month well above par.

Competition Question: I am willing to give 5 subscriptions to Weather eye for the first 5 correct winners who can give the answer ‘When was the coldest October recorded? All entrants will receive a 15% off discount code to use at www.metcheck.co.uk valid until 4pm Thursday 23rd November.

To enter, email sales@metcheck.co.uk with your name, address and answer.

Weather Eye Issue 38

Metcheck would like to thank Ian Currie for contributing this article to our blog and recommend taking a look at www.frostedearth.com, a fantastic resource for all weather enthusiasts.

Prizes are non-refundable and have no cash value. Weather Eye prize subscriptions can be sent to UK addresses only. Winners will be contacted via email. By entering you are subscribing to email newsletters from both Metcheck and Weather Eye but can unsubscribe from these communications at any time.