High pressure brings chilly, mostly dry start to November after wet October

High pressure is set to bring mostly dry, chilly weather to the UK during the first week of November, with overnight frost and fog most likely in northern areas. The settled spell follows an October that was wetter, warmer and sunnier than average, according to provisional Met Office figures reported by BBC Weather.

The UK had 13% more rain than usual for October, with rainfall above average in all four nations. Northern Scotland was particularly wet, recording 31% more rain than its long-term average. The final third of the month was the wettest, as Storms Austen and Boelo crossed the country.

Despite the rain, October was the fifth sunniest on record, with records dating back to 1910. Mean temperatures were 0.9C above average, making it the ninth consecutive month with above-average UK temperatures.

Chilly, mostly dry days ahead

The jet stream has shifted north, allowing high pressure to build and keeping major rain-bearing systems away for now. Through the week, many northern and western areas are expected to stay dry, with sunny spells between patches of cloud. Scattered showers are forecast, most often in East Anglia and south-east England, where brisk easterly winds may bring gusts of 30–40mph around some coasts and the Channel Islands.

Daytime temperatures are forecast to reach 11–13C on Tuesday, but it will feel colder in exposed places. Overnight temperatures are expected to fall to 3–7C, with some rural parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England possibly dropping below freezing. Fog may form in northern areas, while the breeze is expected to limit it further south.

A weak area of low pressure could bring patchy rain across the UK over the weekend. Longer-range forecasts suggest Atlantic weather systems may return after a possible drier spell, bringing wetter and windier conditions, but BBC Weather says there is no definite sign of storms.