Joy and fun in September sun

Amid reports of 120mph winds in Yorkshire and storms in Scotland, these pupils from St Nicholas C of E School in Marton enjoyed some outdoor playtime as the Met Office revealed last month was the third driest in Lancashire since 1910.

In Blackpool, Squires Gate weather station reported rainfall of 2.5mm for September – compared with a historic average of 83mm. It means much of the region had just three per cent of its normal rainfall.

Hoteliers said the im-pact had been felt across the resort, with an influx of visitors.

Richard Gregory, owner of the Corona in Clifton Drive, South Shore, said the month had been his best in 13 years.

He added: “It has been one of the best summers yet for us, right through from June to September.

“We’ve noticed a boost in September, even with children going back to school.

“People still visited and the weather has played a part.”

Mark Norris, of the Seabreeze Guest House in Gynn Avenue, North Shore, said: “Good weather will always bring tourists in. It always has a positive effect.

“If it is nice and warm and sunny tourists come, but if it is cold and wet then they will be put off.”

Using Met Office figures from September 1 to 28, it revealed the UK received 19.4 mm of rain, which was just 20 per cent of the normal amount of rainfall expected for the month.

Before this, the driest September on record was 1959 with 23.8 mm.

In terms of Lancashire, the previous driest Septembers on record were in 1910 and 1959, when both saw 13.8mm of rainfall.

Mark Wilson, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the unusual weather patterns were due to a number of factors.

He added: “In Lancashire we had 15.2mm of rain which is just 15 per cent of what we would normally expect.

“At Squires Gate it was 2.5mm. If you compare this with October weather, we have already had more rain in Blackpool – 27mm – in the first six days of the month than the whole of September.

“The dry and warm conditions in September have been caused by high pressure dominating our weather for much of the month.

“This tends to block more unsettled weather heading in off the Atlan-tic Ocean, hich left the UK with fine, dry and fairly sunny weather during much of September.”

This September follows on from one of the wettest Augusts on record and this is shown by water levels around the UK.

Despite last month’s unseasonal dry weather, the long-term forecast for the Fylde coast is more in keeping with autumn, with nine of the next 10 days expected

to be wet.