Grey skies and ‘gloom’ deliver UK’s third dullest October on record

Persistent grey skies and low cloud meant last month was the one of the UK’s dullest Octobers on record, new figures show.

The country saw an average of just 63.3 hours of sunshine, the lowest total for October in nearly 60 years, according to provisional data from the Met Office.

It is also the third lowest figure since comparable records began in 1910, with only 1960 (60.8 hours) and 1968 (56.8 hours) experiencing less sunshine during the month.

Unsettled autumnal weather, including the first named storm of the season and a week of “anticyclonic gloom”, helped to shut out the sun, the Met Office said.

For some parts of the UK the sunshine was in even shorter supply, with Wales and Northern Ireland both seeing their second dullest October on record, behind 1968 and 1921 respectively.

Rainfall was very slightly below expected levels, with the UK receiving 99% of the long-term average for the month (121.2mm).

Levels varied across the country, however, with Northamptonshire receiving only 60% of its typical amount of rain while County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland saw more than one and a half times its average.

Dr Emily Carlisle of the Met Office said: “October 2025 has been the dullest October in almost 60 years for the UK.

“A week of persistent ‘anticyclonic gloom’, combined with unsettled autumnal weather and a named storm, made it only the second month this year, after February, to see below-average sunshine for the UK.

“Temperatures were above average for October, although not record-breaking, and rainfall for the UK falls just below average, although with much regional variation.”

Storm Amy hit the UK on October 3, the first Met Office-named storm of the season, bringing 50-75mm rain and gale-force winds to many northern areas.

Northern Ireland experienced its strongest October gust on record, with 92mph measured in Magilligan in County Londonderry.

Further heavy rain and strong winds arrived later in the month along the south coast thanks to Storm Benjamin, which was named by Meteo France.

The mean average temperature for the month was 10.4C, high enough for 2025 to rank 24th in the warmest Octobers since records began in 1884.