October of 1896 was cold with a CET of 6.9 and is the 5th coldest October for the CET on record. There were severe gales, snowfalls and frosts.

Here are reports from this month

6th/7th: Helensburgh (Dumbartonshire) Hills covered with snow
7th: Drumnadrochit, snow on hills as low as 1000ft
8th: Cork, the most disastrous storm for many years. On the 7th, 1.33 inches of rain fell and strong SW winds with high tides heaped up on the sea on the shores, causing floods in the street.
Southport, strong SW gale occasioning a high and rather destructive tide.
The esplanade at Cricceth much damaged, very serious damaged by both wind and water occurred along the whole of the Welsh coast.
10th: Coventry, snow.
Withington, severe thunderstorm with hail of unusual size.
Bolton: thunder and lightning.
Coldstream: Rained heavily all day ont he 10th, turning to snow during the night.l
Cockermouth: 5 inches of snow at night, breaking many trees.
Rhiwbryfdir: heavy fall of snow.
Edinburgh: snow at night.
Drumnadrochit: Slight snow on low ground.
Portlaw: Snow for 3 hours, remarkably early for south of Ireland.
Ballingarry: About 2 inches of snow.
11th: Lightning and snow on Dartmoor.
Chelford: Snow hard all morning
Bolton: Snow nearly 3 inches deep
Southport: Over 3 hours of heavy snow, the earliest date in the 26 years' record.
Sowerby Bridge: Snow all day.
Cork: First snow.
Nenagh: Ground covered with snow, the earliest remembered.
Castle Coote: Three inches of snow.
Belfast: First snow.
14th: Bury St Edmunds, several buildings struck by lightning and much glass broken by hail.
18th: Beverley, snow.
Cork: Snow
19th: Chelford, snow
24th: Seathwaite, snow at night.
Hawkshead: Five inches of snow.
Douglas: Hail, snow and lightning.
Glasgow: Sleet and snow.
Stronvar: Sleet and snow showers, snow one inches deep.
25th: Haslemere, thunder, snow and hail.
Drumnadrochit: Three inches of snow fell between 12.30 and 3.30pm.
Athlone: Moderate fall of snow.

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Ross-on-Wye: The mean temp. of the last 14 days was just 39.3F
Addington: Autumn tints very beautiful.
Weymouth: On 16 days, the min. was below 40F and on 14 days below 50F.
Launceston: snow on 11th
Stroud: snowstorm on 25th
Church Stretton: snow on the 10th and 24th, mean temp of 43.5F
Leicester: mean temp of 44.1F
Manchester: The coldest October since obersevations began in 1868. Hail storm and thunder and lightning on 10th, snow and sleet on the 11th. Mean temp of 43.5F
Seathwaite: Snow on 11th, 1.5 inches deep at 9am; on 22nd 1 iches deep and on 25th, 2 inches deep.
Haverfordwest: On the 8th, a tempest arose from SSE with heavy rain and this together with a very high spring tide, caused waters to rise to such a height that houses were flooded and on the exposed pebble beach at Newgate the ocean broke in. A heavy fall of snow on 11th.
Aberystwyth: Snow on the 25th.
Cargen: mean temp of 43.4F
Darryanne Abbey: The very high tide and strong gale on the night of the 7th-8th broke over the embankment.
Waterford: Snow from 7am to 11am on 11th.
Dublin: Mean temp of 45.0F (-4.7F), hail on 4 days, sleet on 3 days.

The previous winter early in 1895 was hellish too, and is still talked about here (and has folk songs about it) as week after week huge snowdrifts accumulated over the moors.
You can imagine what they were thinking but I guess 96/97  can't have been so bad later on.