Despite notching up just over 100 mm of rain, October finished drier than average, but many days were somewhat cool and failed to reach the seasonal norm'. Indeed this is the first time in my records that the highest maximum temperature for the month remained below 15°c - subsequently the mean monthly temperature was markedly below average.

  After a damp day on the 1st colder air arrived on the 2nd, but was short-lived. Then until the 19/20th numerous low pressure systems and their associated fronts brought unsettled weather. It was quieter during the 20-24th and then after a wet day on the 25th, it turned cold, dry and sunny with frosts on all of the last four days of the month.

  The majority of the month's rain had fallen by the 20th, during which time the 5th and 10th had seen the heaviest falls, but whilst no days saw particularly heavy falls, there was some rain on most days. From the 26th it felt truly autumnal with frosts being followed by dry and sunny days, with the leaf fall noticeably accelerating.

  MSLP of 1009.8 Mb was -1.1 Mb below the local average for the month and overall a mean minimum of 4.78°c and a mean maximum of 11.60°c saw the temperature 1.49°c below the ten year average for this site.

  It was the coldest since 2012 and of the eleven now recorded, one has been colder and nine have been warmer. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 14.1°c (4th), the lowest minimum -3.2°c (28th).

  Rainfall of 106.7 mm (Crosby Ravensworth School 115.0 mm - Castlehowe Scar 153.3 mm - Reagill 91.4 mm) was 92.3% of average for 2007-18 and made it the driest October since 2016 - of the 13 now recorded seven have been wetter and five have been drier.

  During the month there was: fog on one day (28th) and the maximum gust of wind was 40 mph on the 8th.

  At the Met' Office site at Newton Rigg, rainfall of 77.2 mm (72.2%) was the driest since 2016 and in a series back to 1900 (records missing in one year) October has been wetter in 77 years and drier in 41.     A mean temperature of 8.23°c is 0.9°c below average for the month and in a record back to 1951 October has been warmer in 54 years and colder in 14.

  Locally, rainfall percentages were below average, the first time since May. Those percentages did vary across the county, down as low as 59% at Seathwaite, but more typically in the range of 75-90%, albeit Kirby Thore did venture just above the 100% mark.

  Figures from the Environment Agency’s rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1961-90)   ‘Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)’:

  Kirkby Thore 69.6 mm (65.8 mm)

  Haresceugh Castle (Kirkoswald) 91.71 mm (101.0 mm)

  Brothers Water 178.71 mm (276 mm) and

  Orton (Shallowford) 121.2 mm (161.9 mm [average for 1967-2018])

  229.4 mm at Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale - 389 mm [average for 1981-2010]).

  General Synoptic Report for the Month

   Low pressure (LP) from the SW moved across the UK on the 1st bringing a damp and overcast day, but this would then be replaced by high pressure (HP) 2nd and 3rd.

  The HP ridged north-south over Eire and with the LP from the 1st now near Norway, a northerly flow ensued and which would bring the first frosts of the season. That first air frost came on the 2nd, just, at -0.1°c and a lovely sunny day then followed. The 3rd was then slightly colder at -0.7°c.

  From the 4th, which would be the month's warmest day, the weather would turn unsettled with a series of LP systems arriving from off the Atlantic. Rain was frequent with limited brighter moments, the only sunshine of note coming on the 11th and then the 17-18th. The 5th saw a wet end to the day (continuing overnight into the 6th), which with 22.3 mm would be the month's wettest day, but whilst daily totals for the 6-9th weren't high, the days were dull with showers and/or drizzle.

  Another wet day (21.5 mm) followed on the 10th with the rain arriving in the afternoon and continuing through to 0300 hrs on the 11th. Temperatures during this time tended to be mild at night and close to the norm' by day.

  During the 15-20th a LP system to the west of the UK would become the dominant feature, slowly moving east through the period before clearing and weakening to the east. However, we avoided the worst of its fronts and indeed during the period Cumbria often sat within a slack pressure gradient and apart from rain during the evening of the 17th, we saw little in the way of rain and as already mentioned, even some sun a.m. during the period.

  As the LP exited out into the North Sea during the 19th, HP in the Atlantic would start to ridge in and introduce a northerly flow. Day-time temperatures 19-20th fell below 10°c and now for the rest of the month would remain below the seasonal average.

  The weather fell quiet during the 20-24th before a LP system arrived on the 25th to bring a wet afternoon.

  The rest of the month would then become settled, dry and much cooler with overnight frosts as HP in the Atlantic became dominant over the UK. However, whilst cool, it was a decent spell of weather with plenty of sunshine and no rain.

  Daytime temperatures on the 25th fell to a month's low of 7.0°c before becoming marginally warmer for the rest of the month, but clear skies at night saw the temperature fall to a month's low of -3.2°c (26.2°f) overnight into the 28th and the last four nights of the month would all have air frosts.

  This spell of cooler weather brought the first snow of the season on Cross Fell. The evening of the 27th saw snow falling down as low as Hartside, with a slight cover on Cross Fell on the morning of the 28th, albeit only on the last 50 metres of the summit.