Summary
Generally it was a dry month across England and Wales but there was a period of wet and windy weather for Wales and western counties between the 9th and 16th.
Diary of Highlights
1st to 6th
The first few days of January were changeable with some light rain at times, but and on the whole it was rather cloudy. It was mild over southwest England with Teignmouth (Devon) recording 13.9 °C on the 3rd. Frost was a problem overnight where the cloud broke and Coltishall (Norfolk) reported a night minimum temperature of -3 °C on the 3rd/4th.
5th to 8th
A ridge of high pressure built across England and Wales from Scandinavia, keeping many places dry but still on the cloudy side. During the 8th an occluded front pushed into southern counties of England bringing some heavy bursts of rain in places.
9th to 16th
It became much more unsettled over Wales and western counties of England during this period as a series depressions ran in off the Atlantic. Capel Curig (Gwynedd) recorded 62.3 mm of rain in 24 hours on the 10th, while Shap Fell (Cumbria) recorded 34.4 mm the following day. On the 14th some heavy bursts of rain moved northwards across Devon and Cornwall with Cardinham (Cornwall) receiving 20.4 mm of rain. The very cold air over the near Continent blocked the progress of the rain eastwards, so eastern counties of England saw very little rainfall.
17th to 19th
Some of the higher temperatures of the month were recorded during this period as strong and mild south-westerly winds flooding in from the Atlantic. Temperatures reached 13.7 °C at Bognor Regis (West Sussex) on the 18th and 13.9 °C at Great Malvern (Worcestershire) on the 19th. Capel Curig (Gwynedd) reported a gust of 61 knots on the 20th.
20th to 31st
High pressure dominated this period with very little rainfall being recorded, although during the afternoon of the 27th, an area of sleet and snow pushed into East Anglia and Kent and spread westwards into the West Country overnight. Slight accumulations were reported in places. It also saw a cold spell of weather with maximum temperatures of 2.2 °C at Credenhill (Herefordshire) on the 22nd and 1.2 °C at Woburn (Bedfordshire) on the 24th. The nights were also cold with some very sharp frosts: -8.7 °C at Redhill (Surrey) on the 25th and -7.5 °C at Shap Fell (Cumbria) on the 29th.
Statistical details
| England and Wales Mean Temperature Series (series began in 1914). |
The initial value for the month was 4.0 °C |
0.6 °C above the 1961-1990 average, which is in the above average category. |
| England and Wales Rainfall Series (series began in 1914). |
The initial total for the month was 33.2 mm |
37 % of the 1961-1990 average, which is in well below average category. Driest since 1997. |
| England and Wales Sunshine Series (series began in 1929). |
The initial total for the month was 53.8 hours |
110 % of the 1961-1990 average, which is in the above average category. |
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