Britain’s ‘anticyclonic gloom’ weather will continue into this weekend after parts of the country were revealed to have seen just 18 minutes of sunshine in 11 days.
Much of England and Wales has had mist, fog and low cloud every day since October 28, with the Met Office branding conditions ‘dull, dreary, dismal and disappointing’.
As the nights continue to draw in, the weather is being dominated by high pressure which has been blocking fronts bringing rain and resulting in an extended dry spell.
While such a situation in the summer leads to warm and sunny days, in autumn and winter it can result in ‘anticyclonic gloom’ or ‘dunkelflaute’ – a German word with no direct translation, but which roughly means ‘dark doldrums’ or ‘dark wind lull’.
Much of England and Wales has now had no meaningful rainfall apart from some drizzle since October 28, although Scotland last saw downpours over the weekend.
And the last day with widespread sunshine across the UK was October 27, although a few weather stations recorded several hours of brightness on Halloween.
The dullest place in Britain in recent weeks has been the Hampshire village of Odiham with only 18 minutes of sunshine since October 28. Altrincham in Greater Manchester has had 24 minutes over that period, while Belfast has had one hour.
Misty weather at Minster-on-Sea in Kent yesterday as the dreary conditions continue
Another dreary and dull day in London yesterday, at the Italian Gardens in Hyde Park
A gloomy day in Buckinghamshire yesterday, with the Langley Hotel in Iver pictured above
Conditions will stay gloomy for most areas today during another dry but cloudy day, with hill fog in places – while the West is likely to be breezy with patchy drizzle.
Temperatures will be much cooler today compared to yesterday, with many areas including parts of South East England unlikely to get above 9C (48F).
The warmest spots are expected to be South West England and northern Scotland, with 14C (57F) a likely high.
Northern Scotland could also see some sunshine today and tomorrow, although it will remain grey for the rest of the UK with some possible light rain or drizzle.
Highs of just 11C (52F) are expected for most of the country tomorrow, but the South West could again reach 14C (57F).
A band of light rain will then move south-eastwards across the UK on Sunday, which by Monday could finally introduce some sunnier albeit chilly weather.
BBC weather presenter Elizabeth Rizzini told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The gloom is set to continue. No big changes weather-wise until we get to Sunday I’m afraid.
‘And we’ve been crunching some the numbers – Odiham in southern England has only seen 18 minutes of sunshine since October 28.’
Such gloomy conditions were memorably once referred to by travel writer Bill Bryson as ‘like living inside Tupperware’. He also wrote: ‘Sometimes it rained, but mostly it was just dull, a land without shadows.’
The Met Office confirmed earlier this week that Britain was under ‘anticyclonic gloom’, with the high pressure trapping an area of moisture near the earth’s surface.
Low cloud, mist and fog are then formed by this moisture, which cannot lift and clear because the sunshine and the winds are light – giving the dull conditions.
Because the high pressure is staying put, the low cloud rethickens overnight as temperatures fall and moisture condenses – which can also lead to poorer air quality in cities as pollutants build.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: ‘Dull, dreary, dismal, disappointing. This week’s weather was definitely brought to you by the letter D.
‘It’s all because of a really large area of high pressure. Cloud gets trapped on the high pressure sometimes and that makes for the fairly gloomy skies that most of us have seen.
He continued: ‘High pressure sitting to the east is allowed the winds to be wafting the air up from the South, and we’ve just kept the cloudy conditions day after day.
‘That high pressure is also keeping the weather fronts at bay, stopping things changing.’
But he added that one front was ‘creeping in for the weekend’ which will bring some thicker cloud and light rain or drizzle over Northern Ireland and parts of Wales and South West England, although ‘elsewhere, it’s more of the same really for Saturday – a lot of cloud’.
Northern Scotland could see some blue skies this weekend, but it will otherwise be ‘fairly glum’ and temperatures may not get into double digits in eastern areas.
Mr Deakin continued: ‘We will start to see more of a change by Sunday. The high pressure is pushing further away to the east and what we really need is a proper area of low pressure to mix things up. And that’s what we’re seeing.
‘It’s not really heading towards the UK, it’s drifting up towards Iceland, but the isobars are squeezing together and this weather front’s got more about it.
Another misty day in London on Wednesday as a woman walks alongside the River Thames
Gloomy weather in London last Friday, as a view of the Canaray Wharf skyline can be seen
‘It will push away the cloud and bring a bit more in the way of rain.’
He said it would be a damp start to Sunday in western Scotland, with some rain and drizzle across Northern Ireland – but it ‘kind of fizzles out as it sinks its way southwards and it will introduce much brighter skies, some sunshine for Northern Ireland and much of Scotland for the afternoon’.
Mr Deakin added: ‘There will be a few showers in the northwest and actually getting quite gusty across northern Scotland, particularly on Sunday night.
‘Elsewhere, the winds stay fairly light, but just a gentle pick up in the breeze may allow a few more holes in the cloud over parts of East Wales, maybe parts of northern England before a zone of wetter weather pushes into northern England and North Wales late in the day.
‘Again, much of the South and East of England just dreary, a bit of drizzle, but most places dry and cloudy.
The last day with widespread sunshine across the UK was October 27, when these women are pictured in the water at Cayton Bay in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
‘Temperatures though will be a little higher – milder air is going to move in, so more likely to see temperatures in the teens on Sunday, particularly if we do see some sunny spells.
‘Behind that weather front it’s a cold front, so the air will be a little cooler, but we will have some sunshine to compensate. And most of us should see something a little sunnier by the time we get to Monday.’
In a social media post on Monday, the Met Office said: ‘This week’s weather phrase: Anticyclonic Gloom.
‘This can occur when high pressure traps a layer of moisture near to the earth’s surface, bringing a prolonged period of dull and cloudy weather, with mist and fog also possible. How would you describe today’s weather?’
One user replied: ‘I mean the lack of wind and rain is great but the heavy gloomy sky, my God is so depressing. It’s been the same for a full week and your forecast is the same all this week too. Just awful, claustrophobic almost.’
Another said: ‘Felt that claustrophobia for a few days. Never realised not being able to see the sky for so long would have that effect.’
The conditions have also seen wind speeds plummet, with wind farms only meeting 3 to 4 per cent of the UK’s electricity demand during the morning and evening peaks on Tuesday.
Gas-fired plants were instead fired up to meet around 60 per cent of demand, reported the Daily Telegraph.
However conditions have been very different in northern Scotland where it has been extremely mild with the warmest weather of any part of the UK.
The Met Office said this was caused by the ‘Foehn Effect’, where the air is forced to rise over the mountains, causing cooling and drying as it descends and warms over the other side.
With the help of a southerly air flow, Kinlochewe in the Highlands hit 18.9C (66.0F) yesterday – nearly 10C above the November average.
The lowest maximum temperature yesterday was at Brizlee Wood near Alnwick in Northumberland which only made it up to 8.7C (47.7F).