Two thousand and eight will go down as only the fifth year since World War Two in which snow fell in the Isle of Man before November.

Statistics from the Meteorological Office at Ronaldsway show October 2008 was the fifth consecutive month when rainfall was a dominant feature, and it was cold as well.

The average daytime maximum temperature was 10.5 Celsius with a high of 16.5 on the seventh, while thermometers dipped to 1.7C on the 28th, the lowest October temperature for 15 years.

Nearly 140 millimetres of rain was measured during the month, about 55mm above the long term mean.

The wettest day was the seventh when 31 millimetres were recorded at Ronaldsway. However, despite the rain, the northerly winds brought clear air, and sunshine was 15% up on average with nine and a half hours being recorded on the eighth.

It was a windy month with speeds of up to 65 miles per hour recorded on the 25th and a brief thunderstorm in the south of the Island on the 27th.

The previous year when snow fell before November was 1993.