A Typical Winter Month
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during January 2024 in Shoreham was 7.8 Celsius (46F), and that was close to the long-term average. The average minimum temperature was 3.2 Celsius (38F), and that was also close to the January normal.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 12.3 Celsius (54F) on the 2nd, but 12.1 Celsius (54F) was recorded on the 3rd, and there were 11 other days when the temperature rose above 10 Celsius (50F). Each of the first 4 days of the month, and 9 of the last 11 days of January, had maxima above 10 Celsius (50F), with the latter mild spell peaking on the 24th when 11.7 Celsius (53F) was recorded. A marked lowering of temperatures occurred at the end of the first week of January, and from the 7th to the 20th inclusive, maxima were below 7 Celsius (45F). On 7 of these colder days the temperature failed to rise above 4.1 Celsius (39F), including 4 consecutive days beginning on the 15th. There was no extreme cold, with the lowest maxima recorded being 2.1 Celsius (36F) on the 13th, and 3.2 and 3.3 Celsius (38F) on the 18th and 8th respectively.
The only mild night of note during January was on the 2nd when a minimum of 10.7 Celsius (51F) occurred. However, the minimum on the 3rd was 9.3 Celsius (49F), and a further 4 nights had lows above 8 Celsius (46F), including a minimum of 8.9 Celsius (48F) on the 22nd. There were 16 nights with minima below 5 Celsius (41F), including 14 consecutive nights beginning on the 7th. The other 2 nights were the 23rd and 27th, when lows of 2.7 Celsius (37F) and 0.3 Celsius (32F) were recorded. Between the 7th and 20th, there was only 1 night with a minimum temperature above 2 Celsius (36F), namely the 12th when 4.8 Celsius (41F) occurred. The lowest temperatures were minus 5.8 Celsius (22F) on the 19th, minus 4.9 Celsius (23F) on 16th, and minus 3,8 Celsius (25F) on both the 10th and 18th.
The sea temperature was around 10 Celsius (50F) at first, but fell to 7 or 8 Celsius (45-46F) during the second week and remained at that level during the remainder of the month.
Frost
There were 7 air frosts during January, and that was 2 above average. All the air frosts occurred between the 10th and 20th, including 5 of the 6 nights beginning on the 15th. The exception was the 17th, when a low of 1.7 Celsius (35F) occurred. All air frosts were ‘moderate’ in intensity, with each frosty night having a minimum temperature of minus 2 Celsius (28F), or lower. There were grass frosts on 15 nights, and that was also 2 above average. Most of the grass frosts occurred between the 7th and 20th, including 5 consecutive nights beginning on the 7th, and 6 consecutive nights beginning on the 15th. The other nights with grass frosts were the 4th, 23rd, 27th and 28th. The lowest grass temperatures were minus 8.3 Celsius (17F) on the 19th, minus 6.7 Celsius (20F) on both the 18th and 20th, and minus 6.1 Celsius (21F) on both the 11th and 15th.
Rain
Rainfall in January amounted to 82.8 millimetres (3.26 ins.), which was slightly above the monthly average. Measurable rain fell on 13 days, which was 4 days below the average, and wet days (when 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.), or more, of rain falls) numbered 9, which was also 4 days below the average. The first day of the month was the wettest, with 23.4 millimetres (0.92 ins.) of rain measured, but in a very wet start to the new year, a further 8.8 millimetres (0.35 ins.) fell on the 2nd, with 6.4 millimetres (0.25 ins.) on the 3rd, and another 22.8 millimetres (0.9 ins.) on the 4th. In fact, the 62.4 millimetres (2.46 ins.) that fell during the first 4 days of January, represented 75% of the monthly total. No measurable rain occurred between the 6th and 19th, except for 2.6 millimetres (0.1 ins.) on the 8th. Further rain occurred at times between the 20th and 25th, but the only daily fall above 3 millimetres (0.12 ins.) was on the 21st, when 9.4 millimetres (0.37 ins.) of rain were recorded. No measurable rain fell on the last 5 days of the month.
Hail
Snow pellets (soft hail) fell for a while late on the morning of the 8th.
Thunder
No thunder was heard in this part of Shoreham.
Snow
Drizzle was followed by snow grains, then snow pellets and snow on the morning of the 8th. During the afternoon of the 8th there were snow showers, with one heavy shower mid afternoon which produced 1 to 2 centimetres (<1in.) of lying snow. This snow lay on the grass and garden for the following 3 days.
Wind
Winds with a westerly component were dominant, but only just, with north to northeasterly winds blowing at times during the second week, east to southeasterly breezes in the last week, and with variable winds around mid-month. The lightest winds occurred around mid month, with windy conditions during the first week and again around the fourth week. At Shoreham Airport, the year began windy with a westerly gust of 32 knots (37 mph) at midnight, and gusts from the southwest of 33 knots (38 mph) late in the evening on the 1st, rising to 35 knots (40 mph) at midnight on the 2nd. The afternoon and early evening on the 2nd were very windy, with southwesterly gusts reaching 49 Knots (56 mph) in mid afternoon. An active Atlantic frontal system on the evening of the 4th produced southerly gusts of 31 knots (35 mph). The following northwesterly winds in the early hours of the 5th reached 38 knots (43 mph). A quieter spell of weather ended on the 20th, and the 21st was a particularly windy day,, culminating in southwesterly gusts of 41 knots (47 mph) in the evening. Further gusts from the southwest reached 43 knots (49 mph) in the early hours of the 22nd. After a brief lull, southwesterly winds increased again on the afternoon of the 23rd with 36 knot (41 mph) gusts in the late afternoon, and a 35 knot (40 mph) gust at midnight on the 24th. Northwesterly winds gusted to 33 knots (38 mph) before dawn on the 26th, but this was the last gust above 30 knots (34 mph) during the month.
Fog
Some early fog occurred on the 25th, before lifting into low cloud that shrouded the Downs at times. On the 29th there was sea fog during the morning, and visibility was as low as 50 to 100 metres for a while.
Statistics for January 2024
| Reporting Site | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham A/P | 12.7 | -7.1 | 96 | 35 | 13 |
| Thorney Island | 13.2 | -5.9 | 106 | 28 | 12 |
| Gatwick A/P | 12.8 | -7.9 | 110 | 29 | 13 |
| Herstmonceux | 12.8 | -5.9 | 110 | 46 | 11 |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 13.4 | -8.8 | 129 | 40 | 11 |
| Middle Wallop | 13.1 | -6.1 | 113 | 33 | 10 |
| Dieppe | 13.8 | -6.5 | 43 | 17 | 12 |
- Rainfall totals unreliable for all stations