The drought was broken on Friday (27th July) with the first measurable rain for 39 days. As the proverb states, ‘it never rains but it pours‘ and on Sunday (29th) over 17 millimetres of rain fell, making it the wettest day of the year so far.
Weather in Shoreham – May 2018
Very Warm and Dry
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during May 2018 in Shoreham was 20.1 Celsius (68F), and that was around 4 degrees Celsius (7F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 9,8 Celsius (50F), and that was also about 0.5 degrees Celsius (<1F) above the May normal. Overall, it appears to be the warmest May in the area for 20 years.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 27.6 Celsius (82F) on the 28th, but there were 3 other days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F), namely the 7th, 26th and 27th with highs of 26.9 Celsius (81F), 26.8 Celsius (81F) and 25.1 Celsius (77F) respectively. In what was a truly summer month, the temperature exceeded 20 Celsius (68F) on a further 13 days. There were several cool days, but these occurred early in the month. Of the 8 days with maxima below 17 Celsius (63F), none were recorded after the 19th. There were just 2 days when the temperature failed to reach 15 Celsius (59F). On the 1st, a high of 13.3 Celsius (56F) was measured, with 13.6 Celsius (57F) logged on the 12th.
Many nights had clear skies and light winds, and this led to some quite chilly temperatures around dawn. However, there were several warm nights, especially during the last week of May. On the 27th a minimum of 16.9 Celsius (63F) occurred, followed by 15.1 Celsius (59F) on the 29th. Overall, there were 14 nights with minimum temperatures above 10 Celsius (50F), with 9 of these milder nights occurring after the 21st. The coolest nights were at the beginning of May, and again just after mid month. There were 8 nights when the temperature dipped below 7 Celsius (45F), but only 2 of these cooler nights had minima below 5 Celsius (41F). The first night of the month had a low of 2.9 Celsius (37F), and the 18th had a minimum of 4.6 Celsius (40F).
The sea temperature, around 11 Celsius (52F) at the beginning of the month, steadily rose to 13 Celsius (55F) by the beginning of the second week, with a slower rise to 15 or 16 Celsius (60F) by the end of the month.
Frost
There were no air frosts during May, but a ground frost occurred on the first morning of the month, with the grass temperature falling to minus 1.1 Celsius (30F).
Rain
There were 30.2 millimetres (1.2 ins.) of rain during May and that was only slightly more than 50% of the monthly average. It was the driest May in the area for 7 years. Rain fell on 11 days, about 1 day below what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more) amounted to 8 days. Rain was measured on the first 2 days* of May, but only totalled 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.). A dry spell of weather then ensued until the 23rd, interrupted only twice by measurable rainfall. On the 9th, less than 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain fell, and on the 12th over 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) of rain was recorded. The last 9 days of May were more changeable, and during this period the 27th was the only dry day. Most daily totals were small, but over 4 millimetres (0.15 ins.) were recorded on the 24th, and 8.4 millimetres (0.33 ins.) on the 30th, the wettest day of the month.
*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC
Snow
No sleet or snow fell in Shoreham during May.
Hail
There was no hail observed in this part of Shoreham during May.
Thunder
There were 3 days with thunderstorms during May. Distant thunder was heard early in the evening on the 21st, with distant lightning and thunder, both to the east and west, on the evening of the 26th. The final thunderstorms were closer, and rumbled away from early to mid afternoon.
Wind
The winds during May were mainly from between southwest and northwest during the first 3 weeks, followed by breezes from between northeast and southeast during the remainder of the month. Winds were generally gentle or moderate by day, falling light on many nights. There were exceptions, and at Shoreham Airport southwesterly gusts reached 32 knots (37 mph) on the afternoon of the 2nd, and late morning on the 16th there was a gust of 30 knots (34 mph) from the north,
Fog
Mist and hill fog occurred on both the 20th and 30th, and misty low cloud descended to give fog for a while on the evening of the 31st.
Statistics for May 2018
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham Airport | 26.1 | 1.9 | 29 | 7 | 9 |
| Thorney Island | 26.4 | 2.5 | 40 | 10 | 10 |
| Gatwick Airport | 27.0 | 0.7 | 60 | 16 | 11 |
| Herstmonceux | 26.5 | 2.6 | 39 | 9 | 11 |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 27.3 | 0.0 | 40 | 10 | 9 |
| Middle Wallop | 27.1 | 0.4 | 42 | 10 | 9 |
| Dieppe | 28.5 | 3.4 | 20 | 6 | 15* |
* Several days of ‘wet’ sea fog
Red Lion Inn
The Longshore
The Amsterdam Inn
Weather in Shoreham – April 2018
Mild and Wet
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during April 2018 in Shoreham was 14.2 Celsius (58F), and that was around 2 degrees Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 7.9 Celsius (46F), and that was also about 2 degrees Celsius (3.5F) above the April normal.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 22.6 Celsius (73F) on the 18th, and that was the warmest April day in the area for 7 years. The 18th was the first day of an unusually warm spell that lasted for 4 days. On each day the temperature rose above 21 Celsius (70F), and included a high of 22.3 Celsius (72F) on the 20th. There were no other days with maxima above 21 Celsius (70F), with the next highest temperature a mere 17.3 Celsius (63F) on the 10th. On most days (17) the temperature rose to between 12 and 16 Celsius (54-61F), but there were a few chilly days at either end of the month. The 1st, 2nd, 29th and 30th each had maxima below 10 Celsius (50F), but the 30th was the only day with a high below 9 Celsius (48F). On this miserable day the top temperature was only 8.2 Celsius (47F).
There were several mild nights during April, and on 4 occasions the temperature stayed above 10 Celsius (50F). Only 2 of these milder nights had lows above 11 Celsius (52F), with the highest being 12.1 Celsius (54F) on the 19th. On most nights (17) the temperature fell to between 7 and 10 Celsius (45-50F), but there were a few rather chilly nights. On 3 widely spaced occasions, the 1st, 14th and 30th, the minima were below 5 Celsius (41F), with the lowest temperature of 4.1 Celsius (39F) recorded on the 1st.
The sea temperature, around 7 Celsius (45F) at the beginning of the month, steadily rose to between 10 and 11 Celsius (50-52F) by the end of April.
Frost
There were neither air nor grass frosts during April. The lowest grass minimum temperature was 1.7 Celsius (35F) on the morning of the 1st.
Rain
There were 69.8 millimetres (2.7 ins.) of rain during April and that was almost 50% above the monthly average. Rain fell on 16 days, about 4 days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more) amounted to 12 days. The month began very wet, with the first 2 days accounting for almost 40% of the April total. The 1st was the wettest day of the month with 14.8 millimetres (0.6 ins.) of rain, followed by the 2nd with 12.8 millimetres (0.5 ins.). Although the 5th and 6th were dry days, the unsettled weather continued until the 10th, with daily rainfall totals including 6 millimetres (0.25 ins.) on the 9th and 4.6 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 10th. Between the 11th and 23rd it was mainly dry with the only 2 rain days* producing a meagre total of 1.4 millimetres (0.06 ins.). The last week of April became changeable again, with the 28th the only dry day. The 30th was a particularly wet day, but with the heaviest rain falling before 10 o`clock in the morning. most of the total was attributed to the 29th, so the figures were 11.8 millimetres (0.5 ins.) on the 29th and 4.6 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 30th.
*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC
Snow
No sleet or snow fell in Shoreham during April.
Hail
There was no hail observed in Shoreham during April.
Thunder
There was a thunderstorm late on the evening of the 21st . Although the lightning was quite spectacular for a while, the main activity was to the west and very little rain accompanied the storm.
Wind
The winds during April were variable with no particular direction dominant. If anything, the first 3 weeks of the month had winds generally from the southwest, southeast and occasionally the northeast, whereas the last 10 days of April often had breezes from the west or northwest. The strongest winds were mostly towards the end of the month, and at Shoreham Airport, southwesterly gusts of 33 knots (38 mph) occurred on the afternoon of the 26th, and 31 knots (35 mph) from the northwest on the afternoon of the 30th.
Fog
Patchy fog occurred for a while in central Shoreham on the morning of the 14th.
Statistics for April 2018
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham Airport | 21.4 | 2.1 | * | * | * |
| Thorney Island | 22.8 | 4.4 | 65 | 17 | 16 |
| Gatwick Airport | 27.6 | 2.8 | 81 | 19 | 16 |
| Herstmonceux | 25.2 | 1.8 | 77 | 35 | 16 |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 24.1 | 2.0 | 69 | 24 | 19 |
| Middle Wallop | 26.1 | 2.3 | 82 | 14 | 15 |
| Dieppe | 26.3 | 5.2 | 97 | 46 | 18 |
* data missing
Low February temperature in Shoreham
The maximum temperature in Shoreham today (27th) was only minus 0.2 Celsius. This was the first time the temperature has failed to rise above freezing point in February for 24 years. The appropriately named ‘Beast from the East’ also brought a few centimetres of powdery snow to brighten the landscape.
An unusually deserted Shoreham footbridge this morning.
Yes! The trains were running.
Buckingham Park – There was even a snowboarder!
50th Anniversary of the South Coast Blizzard
Today (8th December) marks the 50th anniversary of the amazing blizzard that affected the south coast of Sussex in December 1967.
In an otherwise unremarkable winter, December began with mild misty weather with temperatures rising to between 10 and 12 Celsius. the 4th was a shade cooler but it was sunny all day. The 6th became colder in the afternoon after a mild morning, and in the evening there was a sleet shower. The 7th was a crisp winter’s day with plenty of sunshine but the temperature only rose to 3 Celsius. A sharp frost occurred after sunset as the wind died down, and the evening weather forecast mentioned the risk of a little snow for southern England.
The next morning dawned bright and frosty, but clouds quickly thickened and the frost melted as the temperature rose above freezing. Around 9 o’clock a few drops of rain fell, but as the intensity increased the rain turned to heavy snow. The snow then fell for the rest of the day before finally petering out around 6’o clock. The snow was accompanied by a biting easterly wind and the heavy snow was whipped into huge drifts. There was even a rumble of thunder in the middle of the day. By the end of the storm, the snow was lying to a depth of 20 to 35 centimetres across Shoreham, with drifts of 1 to 2 metres.
Skies cleared overnight and temperatures plummeted to minus 8. Not surprisingly, there was total chaos. London trains terminated at Haywards Heath with virtually no transport running south of the Downs from Worthing to Brighton with the coastal road east of Brighton also badly affected. It took several days for normality to resume, with rain on the 12th helping to quicken the thaw.
The cause of the snow was a Polar Low , an area of intense convection that can form in very cold arctic air-streams. It was noticed north of Scotland on the previous day, but it weakened as it headed south across the cold land overnight, evidenced by places north of Steyning only having 2 to 5 centimetres of snow. However, as the vortex hit the relatively warm English Channel it exploded into life, deepening rapidly and slowing down, The result was the worst blizzard for a generation, but now largely forgotten.
Another Polar Low crossed into the Channel west of Sussex a little over a week later, but since then this phenomenon has been very rare indeed. However, it is a feature that can occur in very cold north or northwesterly air-flows, and since the latter part of this Autumn there have been more northwesterly winds than normal. We await with interest!
First widespread air frost
Although there have been several grass frosts during November, last night produced the first widespread air frost of the Autumn. Air temperatures were typically minus 1 Celsius in central Shoreham and minus 2 Celsius in the more rural parts. There will be a milder interlude at the beginning of next week, but further frosty nights are likely to occur before the end of the month.
First frost
The first frost of the autumn occurred last night. For many it was just a grass frost, with the air temperature staying above freezing whilst the grass temperature dipped a couple of degrees below zero. However, at Shoreham Airport the minimum was minus 1 Celsius, suggestive of a plant damaging air frost for a few outlying gardens.