MILD, WET, OCTOBER, SECOND DULLEST OCTOBER ON RECORD
Armagh Observatory, 7th November 2025: Armagh Observatory reports that October 2025 was warmer and wetter than average, and the dullest October at Armagh for 79 years.
Total precipitation was 108.5 mm (4.27 inches) including 6 trace values, therefore 108.2 mm if trace values are ignored. This is nearly 35% more than the 183-year long-term (1838-2020) October average at Armagh (80.4mm) and 34% greater than the most recent (1991-2020) 30-year average (81.0 mm). Considering that September 2025 was also wetter than average, these months may be regarded as ending the remarkable 16-month sequence of largely drier-than-average months beginning in May 2024. During that period at Armagh, whereas July 2025 recorded average precipitation only the relatively dry months April and June 2025 were wetter than average. This October was also the wettest month at Armagh since the record-breaking October 2023 (195.35 mm including 9 trace values).
The UK and Ireland were affected by two named storms this month, namely Storm Amy and Storm Benjamin. Amy, the first named storm of the 2025/2026 season, brought heavy rain and strong winds up to gale force to many northern and western areas of the British Isles, including Armagh, on the 3rd and 4th of October 2025. The second storm, Benjamin, which had been named by the French meteorological administration Meteo France, was felt on the 22nd and 23rd of October mainly over continental Europe and parts of southern and eastern England.
The wettest days at Armagh this month were the 2nd and 3rd, both associated with the arrival and passage of Storm Amy. Armagh Observatory recorded 21.3 mm of precipitation on the 2nd and 14.6 mm on the 3rd, totalling 35.9 mm of rainfall over the two meteorological days. The third wettest day this month at Armagh was 13.1 mm on the 18th.
Two rainbows were seen this month, both in the morning around the time of observations (09:00 GMT). The first of these was on the 25th and the second on the 27th. The observer also recorded the sustained harrying of a herring gull by a jackdaw (a much smaller bird) on the morning of the 11th, and two geese flying in a north-easterly direction on the morning of the 24th.
The monthly average temperature was 11.2 C (52.2 degrees Fahrenheit), approximately 1.72 C warmer than the 225-year long-term (1796-2020) average October temperature at Armagh (9.48 C) and 0.83 C warmer than the most recent (1991-2020) 30-year average (10.37 C). Despite this October therefore being warmer than average, it is interesting to note that each of the last four Octobers at Armagh, all warmer than average, were each cooler than the one before.
The warmest day was the 1st with a maximum temperature of 19.3 C. This was followed by 19.0 C on the 3rd and 17.5 C on the 6th. The coolest days, that is, those with the lowest maximum air temperatures, were 10.4C on the 23rd followed by 10.8 C on the 16th and 25th.
The highest minimum air temperature, usually the warmest night, was 13.7 C. This occurred at or immediately after the time of observations on 30 September but following meteorological conventions was attributed to the first meteorologial day of the month. This was followed by 13.6 C on the 2nd and 12.9 C on the 7th. The lowest minimum air
temperature, or coolest night, was 3.2 C on the 30th, followed by 4.1 C on the 26th and then by 5.1 C on the evening of the 23rd but attributed
to the 24th,and 5.1 C again on the 25th.
There were two ground frosts this October, namely -7.3 C on the 26th and -0.8 C on the 30th. The third lowest grass-minimum temperature was 0.1C on the 22nd.
This year we performed a live science show in collaboration with the Royal Institution for Halloween. The rainfall on Halloween Day added a lot to the spooky effect! (Credit: AOP)
Halloween (31st October) at Armagh was a mild, rather damp day, with drizzle in the morning, a few sunny spells in the afternoon supplying a total of 3.3 hours of strong sunshine, later followed by rain leading to a total precipitation of 11.3 mm.
October 2025 was remarkable for its frequency of cloudy skies and the lack of strong sunshine. 23 days were totally overcast when the observations were made at 09:00 GMT, and during the whole month there were just 47.3 hours of strong sunshine. This is slightly more than half the average October sunshine at Armagh, approximately 54% of the
140-year (1881-2020) long-term average (87.5 hours) and 51% of the most recent (1991-2020) 30-year average (92.0 hours).
This was also the second dullest October on record at Armagh, that is, in a daily sunshine series starting in 1880. The five dullest Octobers at Armagh are now October 1946 (41.9 hours of strong sunshine), October 2025 (47.3 hours), October 1916 (52.5 hours), October 1907 (58.9 hours), and October 2017 (58.8 hours). October 2025 was therefore the dullest at Armagh for 79 years. There were 13 dull days, that is, days with less than 30 minutes of strong sunshine, compared with a long-term average at Armagh of 9.9 days, and nine with no strong sunshine at all, compared with the long-term average of 6.7. The sunniest day was an unremarkable 5.9 hours on the 4th, followed by 5.8 hours on the 28th,
and 4.6 hours on the 25th.
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These data refer to observations at Armagh Observatory, which has been recording the weather at Armagh since 1795.