View from the Rear Window - October 2024 ~ Crafty Cabbage

October - when the Roman Calendar only had 10 months in a year, this was the eighth month.

This month's daily photo was taken on the 24th of the month. The vegetation is still predominantly green but the autumn colours are beginning to show.

Photo 1: Rear Garden on 24th October 2025

All of October's daily photos can be viewed in the video below ...

Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden - October 2024

The Herefordshire weather (in October 2024) was mild, if somewhat dull, with a few periods of heavy rain. The first storm of the year, Storm Ashley, was on the 20th of the month - it largely bypassed Herefordshire but we did record the highest wind speed of the month on that day (see Table). The minimum monthly temperature on the 11th October was just below 0 ℃ and was recorded as an air frost day; the only one of the month.

October 2024
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	12 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	20 oC	7th, 22nd, 28th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	0 oC	11th
Number of Air Frost Days	1
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	0
Monthly Precipitation	81.6 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	27.8 mm	15th - 16th
Number of Dry Days	15
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	78
Highest Wind Speed	39 km/h	20th
Heating Degree Days	208.8
Cooling Degree Days	0.1

Daily minimum and maximum temperatures are shown in Figure 1. Daytime temperatures were generally 15 ℃ or higher for most of the month (80%) while nighttime temperatures seldom dropped below 5 ℃ (20%).

Figure 1: Min/Max Daily Temperatures - October 2024

Sunshine was a rare commodity in October with rain (both light and heavy) and/or leaden skies a constant theme. High rainfall in the middle of October (15th - 16th) resulted in some flooding in Herefordshire though we were not greatly affected in Hereford itself.

Figure 2: Rainfall & Sunshine for October 2024

Weather trends for October in Hereford are presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5. Note: changes in climate are not discernible over time periods of 5 years; time series of 20-30 years are preferable. Nevertheless, we know from the temperature records of the nearby Ross-on-Wye weather station that autumn is warming faster than the other seasons in Herefordshire. The same trend is difficult to see in the temperature data from my weather station; although the data certainly doesn't contradict the suggestion that Octobers are getting warmer (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Temperature Data for October 2020 - 2024

With plenty of rain (Figure 4), warm daytime temperatures and minimal frosts (Figure 3), October has become an integral part of the growing season for flowers, vegetables and fruit.

Figure 4: Rain, Wind & Sunshine Trends for October (2020 - 2024)

The following three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's monthly report for October 2024. Temperatures for Herefordshire were above the 1991-2020 average apart from a small area in the northwest of the county (Figure 5).

Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies for October 2024

As Figure 6 shows, Herefordshire had above average rainfall in the west of the county but only average rainfall in the east. The difference was largely down to the heavy rain in the middle of the month (15th - 16th) - see Figure 2.

Figure 6: UK Rainfall (relative) for October 2024

Met Office weather data confirms sunshine levels were average in Herefordshire (Figure 7) in agreement with the local data from my weather station (Figure 4).

Figure 7: UK Sunshine hours (relative) for October 2024

Jobs in the Garden

Harvesting aubergines, sweet peppers, chard, beetroot, potatoes, celery, celeriac, courgettes, winter squash, tomatoes, raspberries, apples
Sowing green manure
Hot Composting

Flora & Fauna (seen in the garden)