OCTOBER 1995
1995 Day 1974-94 1995 Day 1974-94
Mean Maximum Temperature 11.9 10.3 Highest Max temp 15.5 9 14.4
Mean Minimum Temperature 8.7 7.6 Lowest Min temp 3.6 29 -0.9
Mean Sea Temperature 11.3 10.8 Lowest grass minimum -2.8 29 -4.2
30 cm Earth temperature 10.0 9.5 Days with ground frost 1 2.8
100cm Earth temperature 10.3 9.7 Days with air frost 0 0.0
Total Rainfall (mm) 96.8 106.1 Days with snow/sleet 2 1.7
Wettest Day (mm) 13.0 25 19.0 Days with snow cover at 09hr 0 0.0
Rain Days (> 0.1mm) 23 23.4 Days with hail 3 5.3
Wet Days (> 0.9mm) 20 17.8 Days with fog during 24hrs 8 3.9
Total sunshine, hrs 92.3 72.3 Days with fog at 09hrs 4 1.0
Sunniest day, hrs 8.7 3 8.1 Days with NIL sun 7 7.8
Mean wind speed, kts 19.0 17.7 Days with gale 13 6.4
Maximum gust, kts 76 25 67.6 Days with thunder 0 0.5
Mean Sea Level pressure 1006.3 1008.0 Days with aurora 5 3.7
Wind Direction (%) at 09.00 UTC
North 0.0 8.2 S. West 16.1 14.0
N. East 0.0 4.0 West 16.1 18.7
East 3.2 8.5 N. West 6.5 8.9
S. East 16.1 16.0
South 41.9 18.9 CALM 0.0 2.7
October 1995
With southerly winds predominating - from between SE and SW on 23 days at 0900 GMT - it was Fair Isle's warmest October on record (since 1974). Mean daily temperatures were 1.4° Celsius above average and the 9th, with a maximum of 15.5° Celsius, was the warmest October day ever recorded. There were only two short-lived periods that approached the classification of wintry spells - on the 22nd and also on the 27-28th when showers of small hail and sleet occurred. Lightning was observed late on the 26th. As a result of a predominantly moist, southerly air-flow, fog, mist and low cloud were more frequent than normal. Despite this it was - surprisingly - also a sunny month with below average rainfall. It was also a windy month with gales recorded on 13 days - almost equalling the highest October record of 14 gale days in 1976. On two days winds exceeded severe gale F9, with storm F10 SSW winds - gusting to 76 kt - on the 25th. Winds gusted to over 50 kt on 7 days.
Aurora was observed on the nights of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 18th and 20th. The display on the 18th was particularly impressive. A moderate aurora arch was first seen at 2100 UTC. Later in the evening this developed into a bright, broad curtain of aurora. By midnight this extend like a drape from a point just above the western horizon, in an 'S' shape - passing almost overhead - and across to the north-east horizon. A 'tinge' of red was visible to the west, but otherwise the aurora was without obvious colour.
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