Low pressure systems dominated the weather patterns across the UK for most of October resulting in a very unsettled, dull and wet month.

There were only two periods with higher than average pressure, the 10th to 11th and the 15th to 18th. These dates accounted for most of the dry days during the month.

There were two especially wet days: the 2nd, when most places had around 25mm of rain, and the 21st with over 20mm recorded. Both days were associated with quite intense areas of low pressure near to SW England.

In terms of statistics:

Rainfall for the month totalled between 100mm and 160mm, typically around 125mm in Dawlish and Teignmouth, which was about a third more than the long term average.

There were only about 6 days with no measurable rain which compared to an average of 14 days. There were 21 days with 1mm or more of rain recorded, (average 12 days), 4 or 5 days with 10mm or more (average around 3 days) and two days with 20mm or more. The highest rain totals occurred on the 2nd with most places recording 20mm to 30mm, although Netherton managed nearly 40mm.

The temperature for the month averaged out about a half of a degree below the 30-year average of 12.3 Celsius.

The warmest day, when afternoon values reached 17 Celsius, was for most places on the 7th, although some places had a similar value on the 20th. The coldest morning was on the 10th when values dipped to between 3 and 6 Celsius, although Netherton reported a chilly 1.3 Celsius. It is possible that some inland colder spots had a hint of frost on the grass on a few nights during October.

The sea temperature, measured at the Dawlish wave buoy, started the month at 16 Celsius and ended up at 14 Celsius on the 31st.

Long term average sunshine in October is around 110 hours. The electronically recorded values were between 95 to 105 hours in the Teignmouth and Dawlish are but tend to be over estimates. The official value recorded at Exeter was 70 hours and other locations in SW England recorded about 70% of normal sunshine.