View from the Rear Window - November 2023 ~ Crafty Cabbage

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" - Albert Camus

To be honest, I have forgotten what November was like this year. Neither hot nor cold nor wet nor dry, November just slipped out of my memory and forgot to leave its calling card.

According to the Met Office, however, November was stormy and unsettled at first before turning quietly autumnal and then a cold snap at the end of the month. So there was some weather about!

At the start of November (Photo 1), the garden was in full leaf with just hints of autumn colours. The red-leaved acer is the star of the show, as it is pretty much every autumn ...

Photo 1: Looking down the garden at the beginning of November 2023

By mid-month, the leaves were starting to fall and the arrival of Storm Debi on November 13th accelerated the process (Photo 2).

Photo 2: Looking down the garden in the middle of November 2023

By the end of the month, the deciduous trees had lost most of their leaves (Photo 3) ...

Photo 3: Looking down the garden at the end of November 2023

A time-lapse slideshow of November's daily photographs can be viewed in Video 1.

Video 1: Daily Garden Photos (November 2023)

Summary of Weather Parameters for November 2023

A bit of every type of weather in November with the main weather parameters collated in Table 1.

Table 1: Weather Stats for November 2023

November 2023
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	8 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	15 oC	18th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	-3 oC	25th
Number of Air Frost Days	5
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	0
Monthly Precipitation	51.4 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	9.2 mm	1st - 2nd
Number of Dry Days	13
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	51
Average Wind Speed	3 km/h
Highest Wind Speed	48 km/h	13th
Maximum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1032.9 hPa	21st
Minimum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	960.9 hPa	2nd
Average Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1005.2 hPa
Heating Degree Days	315.7
Cooling Degree Days	0.0

November's daily temperature, rain and sunshine values are presented in Figures 1 & 2. For most of November, temperatures were neither warm nor cool until the cold snap at the end of the month (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Daily Min/Max Temperatures for November 2023

Most of the rain fell in the first half of the month (Figure 2), as did most of the sunshine!

Figure 2: Daily Rainfall and Sunshine data for November 2023

This year's November temperature, rain, sun and wind are compared with their equivalents in 2020, 2021 & 2022 in Figures 3 & 4.

Although the mean (average) temperature for November 2023 was similar to the previous three years (Figure 3) it felt cooler (though not cold) overall perhaps because of the lower maximum and minimum temperatures.

Figure 3: November Temperature Data for the 2020 - 2023 Period

Figure 4: November Rain/Wind/Sun Data for the 2020 - 2023 Period

The UK's Met Office report for November 2023 can be found here along with their monthly maps for mean temperature anomalies, and relative (%) rainfall and sunshine duration. All three maps have a distinctly 'average' look to them. Temperatures (Figure 5) and rainfall (Figure 6) were there or thereabouts the 1991-2020 average. Sunshine hours (Figure 7) were slightly above the long-term average (1991-2020) as was most of England.

Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (November 2023)

Figure 6: UK Rainfall (% relative to 1991-2020 mean) - November 2023

Figure 7: UK Sunshine (% relative to 1991-2020 mean) - November 2023

Jobs in the Garden

Harvesting cauliflower, red cabbage, beetroot, parsnip, carrot, Swiss chard, spinach beet, celeriac, celery, medlars and Jalapeno chillies
Still eating stored potatoes, onions, garlic and tomatoes
Composting

Flora & Fauna (seen in the Garden)