Slightly cooler (-0.4°C) than average, wetter (124.1%), but with hours of sunshine (148.0%) well above normal.

Shetland as a whole was also sunny. Lerwick, with 57.7 hours (186.1%) sunshine during the month, recorded its sunniest November on record. Like Fair Isle, rainfall was also above average (112.1%) but, unlike here, at Lerwick the monthly mean temperature was slightly above average (+0.3° Celsius).

With pressure low over the North Sea and fresh N to NE’ly winds across Scotland, the month began cold with mean daily temperatures some 3° Celsius below normal. During the first few days further lows, tracking east across the south of the British Isles, maintained the cold N to NE’ly airflow.

Early on the 5^th, as winds eased, temperatures fell quickly to the month’s lowest of 0.6° Celsius in the air and –1.3° Celsius on the grass. Later in the day a low then ran east across Northern Scotland followed, early on the 6^th, by a weak ridge of high pressure. A small low, moving quickly north-east, brought a very wet end to the day with 21.6 mm measured by 09 hours the following morning.

By the 7^th a deepening Atlantic low – the remnants of ex-hurricane ‘Mitch’ – was tracking north-east towards the British Isles. It then turned northwards, moving to a position off Western Scotland on the 8^th, with heavy rain and SE’ly winds increasing gale to severe gale force across Shetland. Winds then veered SW’ly and eased temporarily early on the 9^th, allowing the temperature to rise to the month’s maximum of 11.0° Celsius. Winds soon increased, reaching storm force over exposed parts of Shetland and gusting to 66 kt on Fair Isle, as the depression continued north past Shetland and on across the Faeroes. The 10^th was a blustery day with strong to gale force SW to W’ly winds across the North.

High pressure, building to the south of the UK, developed a ridge northwards on the 11^th. This moved quickly east as the next Atlantic low headed quickly north-east across Scotland. The 13^th and 14^th saw a complex area of low pressure across the UK but, as this moved away across the North Sea, N’ly winds brought a spell of cold showery weather for the next few days.

High pressure then developed south across Iceland towards Scotland, with winds gradually falling light across the area for the next few days. As high pressure drifted away towards Norway on the 19^th, Atlantic weather systems with strengthening SE’ly winds edged towards Scotland. High pressure hanging on over Scandinavia delayed eastwards progress of the fronts until a deepening Atlantic low, moving north towards Iceland, finally drove the fronts east across Shetland on the 20^th.