Weather recorder Alan Messem reports on September's rainfall in Bury St Edmunds

Published: 05:00, 10 October 2021

The dreary and dry end to August continued for the first two dull September days with N’ly winds, then we all relished the start of the settled spell on the morning of the 3rd with winds turning more to the south.

It got warmer every day up to the 8th with temperatures getting more than 3C warmer than at any time in the whole of a draughty August. Then the dry start to autumn that followed was quite unique – see table below.

The first welcome September rainfall of only 1.6mm was clearly heard from a short heavy shower well before dawn on the 9th – enough to make it the wettest 24hrs for over four weeks.

The 10th had 13mm from a thundery afternoon shower and 10mm on the 14th and, with temperatures getting up to 24C, another afternoon thunderstorm on September’s wettest day.

The next six days were warm and dry but the last five days were cooler with rain every day and not a glimpse of sunshine on the 30th and air pressure falling fast.

Out of the 59mm, 52mm of it fell from the four wettest days in a sunny month and one of the warmest on record.

Ickworth Church under some tall cumulus cloud on the warm afternoon of Thursday, September 16

AT A GLANCE

- Month’s Total Rainfall – 59.1mm

- 8mm more than the 1961-1990 Regional Average

- 11 days with significant rainfall of 0.2mm or more

- 8 days with more than 1mm – same as average.

- Wettest 24hrs of 19.2mm from 0900hrs on Sunday the 19th

- Two thundery days

-- Alan Messem F.R.Met.S

Recording Bury St Edmunds’ rainfall on the River Linnet

Location – 1 mile west of town centre

Height above MSL – 46 metres

Grid Reference – TL 836638