Dry and Rather Cold

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during January 2019 in Shoreham was 7.3 Celsius (45F), and that was around 0.5 degree Celsius (1F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 2.0 Celsius (36F), and that was  more than 1  degree Celsius (2F) below the January normal.   

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 12.4 Celsius (54F) on the 13th, and there were only 3 other days when the temperature rose above 10 Celsius (50F).  The 1st had a high of 11.6 Celsius (53F), it reached 10.7 Celsius (51F) on the 7th, and a maximum of 11.3 Celsius (52F) was recorded on the 25th. There were a further 7 days with maxima between 9 and 10 Celsius (48-50F), but on many days (18) the top temperature was between 4 and 8 Celsius (39-46F). These included 5  days with maxima between 4 and 5 Celsius (39-41F). However, there was only 1 day when the temperature failed to reach 4 Celsius (39F). On the 23rd the temperature only reached 3.0 Celsius (37F), the coldest day of the month.

There were very few mild nights during January.  In fact, only 3 had minimum temperatures above 6 Celsius (43F). The 13th had a low of 8.9 Celsius (48F) , with 7.8 Celsius (46F) recorded on the 16th and 6.3 Celsius (43F)  measured on the 26th. On several nights (8), especially early in the month, minimum temperatures were between 4 and 6 Celsius (39-43F), but towards the end of January nights were generally colder. On the 21st, a low of minus 3 Celsius (27F) occurred, with minus 3.3 Celsius (26F) on the 24th. However, the last night of the month (30th/31st) was the coldest. The temperature fell to minus 5.4 Celsius (22F), the lowest January temperature in the area for 9 years. 

The sea temperature slowly decreased from 9 Celsius (48F) at the beginning of the month to nearer  7 Celsius (45F) by the end of January.

Frost

There were 6 air frosts during January, about average for the time of year. The first air frost of the ‘Winter’ occurred on the 18th. It was slight, though, with a minimum temperature of minus 1.1 Celsius (30F). Further air frost occurred on both the 21st and 24th, with the last nights of the month accounting for the remaining 3 air frosts. Remarkably, there were 20 grass frosts, with a fairly even distribution through the month. Although 9 grass frosts occurred before mid month, only 2 had minimum temperatures below minus 3 Celsius (27F). On the 15th, the low was minus 5 Celsius (23F). After mid month, there were 11 grass frosts with only 2 having minima above minus 3 Celsius (27F)! On 5 occasions grass minima were below minus 5 Celsius (23F), with minus 7.8 Celsius (18F) recorded on both the 21st and 24th, with minus 8.3 Celsius (17F) measured on the morning of the 31st.   

Rain

There were 35.6  millimetres (1.4 ins.) of rain during January and that was less than half the monthly average. There were 12 days of measurable rain, and that was around 5 days below  normal for January. No measurable rain fell during the first 14 days of January, and although only 0.6 millimetres (0.02 ins.) was logged on the 15th, it brought to an end a dry spell that had lasted 22 days, a very unusual occurrence during winter months. During the remainder of January there only 3 more completely dry days. However, only 7 of the 12 ‘rain days’ had falls above 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.), with only 2 of these having totals above 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.)  On the 21st, a fall of 5.2 millimetres (0.2 ins.) occurred, but by far the wettest day of the month was the 29th with a total for the day of 14.0 millimetres (0.55 ins.).

Hail

There was no hail observed in this part of Shoreham during January.

Thunder

There was no thunder heard in this part of Shoreham during January.

Snow

There were 2 days with snow or sleet falling  in Shoreham during January. On the 29th heavy rain turned to sleet and wet snow for a while in the evening. However, settling was limited to a few slushy patches. On the 31st, snow, moderate at times, fell during the evening, and although there was a high water content, it managed to deposit 3 centimetres on the ground by the turn of the month.   

Wind

It was a very unusual month in that northwesterly winds were dominant on 18 days, and the prevailing southwest wind was pushed aside on all bar 4 days.  As a consequence, winds were generally lighter than in a normal January. Even so, there were some breezy days, and at Shoreham  Airport, gusts from the west-northwest reached 32 knots (36 mph) on the afternoon of the 13th,  and 33 knots (38 mph) from the southwest in the early hours of the 22nd.  On the evening of the 26th, winds were again blowing from the southwest and a gust of 35 knots (40 mph) was recorded.  The 27th was a particularly windy day with many northwesterly gusts over 35 knots (40 mph), and a gust of 41 knots (47 mph) occurring mid morning.     

Fog

Low cloud and mist thickened at times into fog on the morning of the 25th.

Statistics for January 2019