With a frequent southerly component to the wind direction throughout, there were numerous very mild days and frosts were rare.
The UK mean temperature was 11.2ยฐC (2.1 degC above average) making this the second warmest autumn on record, with only 2006 warmer (11.4ยฐC). It was also the second warmest in the Central England Temperature series from 1659. The number of air frosts was the lowest in the last 50 years. An exceptional heatwave from late September to early October, particularly across England and Wales, resulted in maxima exceeding 25ยฐC widely on several days; new October temperature records were set for England, Wales and the UK. Persistent mildness made November the second warmest on record for the UK, and the warmest for Scotland.
UK autumn rainfall was near average, but with large variations across the country, from the relatively dry southeast to the much wetter northwest. Each month saw less than half the normal amount in parts of eastern England and the Midlands, increasing concern over water resources. In contrast, Northern Ireland and western Scotland experienced one of their wettest autumns on record.
Sunshine durations over the UK were near average each month. However, there were marked regional differences -notably in October, which was one of the sunniest on record over East Anglia but one of the dullest over western Scotland and Northern Ireland. November was much sunnier than normal across the Western Isles and northern Scotland where, provisionally, it was the sunniest in the series.