November 2001

Temperatures
(all temperatures in degrees Celsius; all averages 1961 – 1990)

Mean daily maximum: 10.9
Difference from average: +2.2

Mean daily minimum: 4.2
Difference from average: +2.4

Mean air temperature: 7.5
Difference from average: +1.9

Absolute maximum: 15.1 (30th)

Absolute minimum: -0.9 (10th)

Mean grass minimum: 2.6

Absolute grass minimum: -2.8 (10th)

Number of ground frosts: 9

Number of air frosts: 3

Mean soil temperature at 30cm depth: 7.9

Mean soil temperature at 100cm depth: 10.7

Rainfall
(all totals in millimetres; all averages 1961 – 1990)

Total for the month: 35.8
Difference from average: -26.2

Percentage of the average: 58%

Wettest day:  7.8 (8th)

Number of rain days (>0.1mm): 16

3-month total rainfall to 30th November:  155.4
Difference from average: -14.6

6-month rainfall total to 30th November:  267.2
Difference from average: -73.6

12-month rainfall total to 30th November: 601.4
Difference from average: -47.6

Humidity
(Averages for 09:00 hours GMT)

Relative Humidity:  82.5%

Sunshine
(all averages 1961 – 1990)

Total for the month:  58.1 hours
Difference from average: -8

Percentage of the average: 88%

Mean daily sunshine: 1.9 hours
Difference from average: -0.3

Sunniest day: 6.4 hours (26th)

Number of days with no recorded sunshine: 6

Cumulative total sunshine since 1st January: 1199.1
Hours Difference from average: -84.6

Wind

The mean wind speed: 12.2 km/h [6.6kt]
Difference from average:  -1.3 km/hr

The highest gust: 70.4 km/h [38kt] from 240° at 08:40 GMT on 27th.

ISSN1350-483

Comments on November 2001
November 2001 was, like October, a very warm month, but not quite so exceptionally so. Nevertheless mean air temperature was the 10th warmest on record since 1850, and the warmest since 1997. As expected, both maxima and minima were well above average too.

Despite an average September, autumn 2001 as a whole was easily the warmest on record at Durham in over 150 years, an average air temperature of 11.1°C beating the previous record in 1999 by 0.3°C.

Rainfall was below average, but so too was sunshine. The large number of rain days (16) perhaps explains this result; no sunshine at all was recorded on 6 days.

Professor Tim Burt
Department of Geography
Durham University