September has officially been logged as the driest in the UK since records began.
And Huddersfield has almost mirrored the trend, with only a quarter of the normal monthly rainfall making it the driest since 1986 and the second driest ever.
It has also been one of the warmest Septembers on record in the town, with average temperatures of almost 13.78°C, about 2 degrees above the normal.
The UK as a whole has received 19.4mm (0.8in) of rain, just 20% of the normal amount of rainfall which would be expected for the month. Before this one, the driest September on record was 1959 with 23.8mm (0.9in).
In Huddersfield, Salendine Nook weather expert Paul Stevens has logged just 17mm of rain, compared to the normal monthly average of 67mm.
The lack of rainfall has had a marked effect on the region’s water supplies.
Reservoirs like Scammonden and Blackmoorfoot are well down, but Yorkshire Water are happy with the average of 59.2% across the region.
A spokesman said: “Our reservoir levels in Huddersfield are currently healthy for this time of year and are in fact about 7% higher than the same week in 2013, despite the dry weather experienced during September.
“This is partly thanks to the wet start to the year and also the extra rainfall experienced in August.”
The company is able to shift water supplies across the region through a network of pumps, pipelines and boreholes.
Mr Stevens said: “It has been a month of records.
“I have been looking back and I can find only one September in my records where we had less rain, back in 1986.
“It has also turned out to be a very warm month and continued to the end. On Sunday, for example, we saw temperatures reach 21°C, which is 70° F. By the end of the week, as we enter October, the temperatures will drop noticeably but it has been a great month.
“The daily average has been just short of 14°. It was exceptionally dry and warm”
Across the country, Northern Ireland had only 6.5mm (0.3in) of rain, just 7% of the average. The previous record was set in 1986, with 9.7mm (0.4in).
This September follows on from the eighth wettest August on record and comes in a generally very wet year - this January to August is the wettest such period in the records, mainly as a result of the very wet start to the year and the wettest winter on record.
This means water levels remain sufficient. Trevor Bishop, Environment Agency deputy director of water resources, said: “Following the wettest January to August on record, water resources in England are around normal for the time of year.
“We also look ahead by modelling how rivers and groundwater may respond to different future rainfall patterns. The results show a broadly positive picture and even if rainfall is below average this autumn the country will not go into drought.”
