ON Wednesday, October 1, we were warned that our first named storm of the season was on its way.

In Wellington, this was heralded by a strengthening breeze from the south which, combined with good sunny spells, gave us a very pleasant day with a maximum temperature of 19.5⁰C (67⁰F).

With the centre of storm “Amy” then crossing Scotland, our region had a couple of rather windy days but much less rain than had been anticipated.

Things cleared up on Saturday, October 4, a cool breezy day with sunny spells, and this pattern of weather continued into the start of the following week.

However, with high pressure establishing over the British Isles, the wind eased and temperatures were on the rise again. October 6, 7 and 8 were all unseasonably mild, with maximum temperatures in Wellington close to 19⁰C (66⁰F).

Thursday, October 9, was sunny after a clear cool night, but following that we would have no significant sunshine for almost a fortnight.

The phrase “anticyclonic gloom” was in frequent use by weather forecasters, with similar conditions day after day – a layer of grey cloud, little if any wind, and daytime temperatures struggling into the mid-teens Celsius.

Monday, October 13, began with hill fog and heavy drizzle, which didn’t help matters. It is quite unusual to get such persistently dull conditions so early in the autumn.

As the high pressure finally slipped away eastwards, a breeze picked up from the south, introducing milder air on Saturday, October 18.

That night we had the first significant rainfall since October 3 as a small depression tracked eastwards along the Bristol Channel, the following day being damp throughout with quite a wet night as well.

Even so, the 12mm (0.5 inch) of rain in the Wellington rain gauge next morning was not much by October standards.

Our weather forecasters then warned us of the development of another named storm. This was duly dubbed "Benjamin”, and reached its greatest intensity once centred over the southern North Sea, causing significant damage in northern France.

It had relatively little impact on our region, although Thursday, October 23, was rather unpleasant, with a chilly north-west wind and heavy blustery showers.

Conditions thereafter would remain very unsettled to the end of the month. A series of weather fronts crossed the country, giving a ten-day spell with some rain every day, though quite a lot of it was showery in nature.

The month ended with a strong south wind bringing very mild air, and then a short spell of torrential rain after dark on Hallowe’en.

In summary, October 2025 was the fifth in succession to be 1⁰C or more warmer than average, with a mean temperature of 14.8⁰C (58.6⁰F). It was one of the dullest Octobers for years but comparatively dry, the total rainfall of 84mm (3.3 inches) being 25% below average.

Water levels in our two local reservoirs continued to fall throughout the month.