Warm, but some Thundery Downpours 

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during July 2019 in Shoreham was 23.5 Celsius (74F), and that was over 3 degrees Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 14.6 Celsius (59F), and that was less than 1 Celsius (1F)  above the July normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 33.3 Celsius (92F) on the 23rd, but the 25th was almost as hot with 33.0 Celsius (91F). These were some of the highest temperatures known to have been recorded in the area and comparable with the high temperatures observed in the Summer of 1976, and the August heatwave of 1990. There were no other days when temperatures exceeded 30 celsius (86F), but there were 4 other days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). The warmest of these days was the  24th with a reading of 26.5 Celsius (80F). On most days (23), maximum temperatures were between 20 and 25 Celsius (68-77F), but there were 2 rather cool days. On the 7th, the temperature struggled to reach 19.0 Celsius (66F), but the 19th was cooler with a high of 18.9 Celsius (66F).

There were a few warm nights during July, especially during the second half of the month.  The warmest night was the 24th with a minimum of 19.0 Celsius (66F), but a low of 18.8 Celsius (66F) occurred on the 26th, and 18.2 Celsius (65F) was noted on the 30th. There were 11 other nights with minima higher than 15 Celsius (59F). There were no particularly cool nights, although minimum temperatures were below 13 Celsius (55F) on 10 nights. This included 5 nights with minima below 12 Celsius (54F). The lowest temperature was 11.2 Celsius (52F), this occurring on 3 nights, the 15th, 17th and 19th. 

The sea temperature gradually rose from 18 Celsius (64F) at the beginning of June to 19 or 20 Celsius (66-68F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were neither air nor grass frosts during  July.  The lowest grass minimum temperature was 7.8 Celsius (46F) recorded on both the 15th and 19th.    

Rain

There were  47.0  millimetres (1.85 ins.) of rain during July and that was close to the monthly average. There were 9 days of measurable rain, and that was about 3 days below normal for July. The first half of the month was very dry, with the 6th the only day with measurable rainfall between the 1st and 16th, and even then, just 1.8 millimetres (0.07 ins.) were recorded. Thereafter, the month was somewhat more unsettled. The 17th and 18th each produced less than 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain, but on the 19th there were 32.2 millimetres  (1.27 ins.) making it the wettest July day for 12 years.  Dry weather followed for 3 days, but changeable weather towards the end of the month led to 5 out of the last 9 days recording measurable rain. The wettest day was the 26th with 5.8 millimetres (0.2 ins.), with each of the other 4 days having less than 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.).

Hail

No hail was observed in Shoreham during July.

Thunder

There were 4 days with thunder during July. The first thunder was in association with the heavy rain late on the evening of the 19th. Thunderstorms late on the evening of the 23rd rumbled on into the early hours of the 24th, with frequent lightning, especially to the south, although thunder was generally distant. Thunder and lightning occurred intermittently overnight on the 26th.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during July.   

Wind

Southwesterly winds were dominant during July, although winds blew from other directions too., with east or southeasterly breezes associated with some of the warmer days. Generally winds were quite light, although moderate or fresh sea breezes occurred on several afternoons. The main exception to the light winds occurred late on the 29th and 30th , when southwesterly winds were strong enough to break branches off trees and substantially reduce the yield from fruit trees. At Shoreham Airport southwesterly gusts touched 30 knots (34 mph) on the afternoon of the 20th, but on the 30th southwest winds gusted to 41 knots (47 mph) in the afternoon, with 32 knots, (36 mph), from the same direction, on the 31st.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during July. 

Statistics for July 2019

Rather warm and Wet 

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during June 2019 in Shoreham was 20.4 Celsius (68F), and that was over 2 degrees Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 12.4 Celsius (54F), and that was  very close to the June normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 30.3 Celsius (86F) on the 29th, but there were 2 other days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). On the 25th a high of 26.6 Celsius (80F) occurred, with 26.8 Celsius (81F) recorded on the 28th. There were a further 10 days with maxima above 20 Celsius (68F), but only 2 of these warmer days occurred before mid month. by way of contrast, there were 10 consecutive days exceeding 20 Celsius (68F) between the 21st and the end of the month. There were very few cool days during June.  In fact, only 4 days had maxima below 17 Celsius (63F). All of these cooler days occurred between the 8th and 13th. Only 1 day had a high below 15 Celsius (59F), and that was on the 10th when a maximum of 12.3 Celsius (54F) occurred. This appears to be the coolest June day in the area for 23 years.

There were a few warm nights during June, especially during the last week of the month.  The warmest night was the 24th with a minimum of 18.6 Celsius (66F). This was a particularly interesting night. At 2100 hours on the 23rd the temperature was 20.8 Celsius (69F). The temperature then slowly rose, peaking at 22.3 Celsius (72F) at 2300 hours. After a brief dip to 20.4 Celsius (68F) after midnight, another rise occurred with a maximum of 21.8 Celsius (71F) at 0240 hours.  The temperature stayed above 21 Celsius (70F) until 0410,  but the east to northeasterly ‘foehn’ breeze that had helped to sustain the high values slowly abated and was eventually displaced by a light southwest wind blowing from a cooler source.  There were 3 other nights with minima above 15 Celsius (59F) with the first of these occurring on the second night of the month. Generally, the nights were cooler during the first half of June,  but the 4 coolest nights, each with minimum temperatures below 10 Celsius (50F), were divided evenly between the 2 halves of June. The coolest night was the 9th with 8.4 Celsius (47F), followed by the 22nd with 8.8 Celsius (48F). 

The sea temperature gradually rose from 15 Celsius (59F) at the beginning of June to 18 Celsius (64F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were no air nor grass frosts during  June.  The lowest grass minimum temperature was 3.9 Celsius (39F) on the 9th.    

Rain

There were  55.4  millimetres (2.2 ins.) of rain during June and that was  around 20% above the monthly average. There were 14 days  of measurable rain, and that was about 2 days above normal for June. The first day of the month was dry and rain on the 2nd was negligible. However, rain fell for much of the day on the 4th and amounted to 6 millimetres (0.2 ins.). Although the 5th and 8th were largely dry, the changeable weather continued, with 8.6 millimetres (0.3 ins.) falling on the 7th, followed by a thoroughly cool and wet day on  the 10th when 12.4 (0.5 ins.) were measured, the wettest day of the month.  The unsettled weather continued,  but rainfall totals were lower, and between the 13th and 23rd only 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) of rain fell. Rain, heavy at times, occurred on the evening of the 24th, lasting into the early hours of the 25th. A total of 10 millimetres (0.4 ins.) were measured, but this proved to be the last significant rain  of the month.

Hail

No hail was observed in Shoreham during June.

Thunder

There were thunderstorms  around,  and just before, mid morning on the 18th, with further storms in the evening. The late storms produced much lightning to the east and southeast  but  very little thunder and only light rain.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during June.   

Wind

Southwesterly winds blew slightly less often than during an average June,  nevertheless, they were dominant on around half the days. There were a few days with east or northeasterly winds,  these mainly occurring on the warmer days towards the end of the month. Apart from on  the 8th, a notably breezy day, winds were mainly light or moderate, although on a few days there were some brisk afternoon sea breezes. At Shoreham Airport, gusts exceeded 30 knots (34 mph) during much of the 8th,  and reached 39 knots (45 mph) around dawn and again early in the afternoon. Southwesterly gusts of 31 knots (35 mph) occurred in the afternoon and early evening of the 13th. These were the last noteworthy gusts of the month.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during June. 

Statistics for june 2019

Very Mild and  Dry

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during April 2019 in Shoreham was 15.2 Celsius (59F), and that was around 3 degree Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 6.7 Celsius (44F), and that was  under  1  degree Celsius (1.5F) above the March normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 25.2 Celsius (77F) on the 20th, and that appears to be one of the warmest April days in Shoreham for more than 50 years. Remarkably, there were 5 other days when the temperature rose above 20 Celsius (68F), including  highs of 24.3 Celsius (76F) on both the 19th and 21st. All these 6 very warm days were clustered between the 18th and 23rd. On most other days during the second half of the month, maximum temperatures were close to 15 Celsius (59F), but the first half of April was generally much cooler. There were 12 days when the temperature failed to rise above 14 Celsius (57F), with all of these cooler days occurring before mid month. On 6 days, maxima were below 11 Celsius (52F), and this included 2 days, the 2nd and 3rd, with highs below 10 Celsius (50F). The coolest day was the 3rd with a top temperature of 9.2 Celsius (49F).

There were no particularly mild nights during April, but on 6 occasions, all between the 18th and 24th, the temperature remained above 10 Celsius (50F). The mildest night was the 23rd with a minimum of 11.0 Celsius (52F), but the 20th was not far behind with 10.9 Celsius (52F). The coolest nights were also in the first half of the month, and the 7 nights with minima below 5 Celsius (41F)  all occurred before the 16th. Only 3 nights had temperatures below 3 Celsius (36F). On the 11th a low of 0.8 Celsius (33F) was recorded. On the 3rd it dipped to 0.6 Celsius (33F), but the coldest night of the month was the 14th with 0.2 Celsius (32F). 

The sea temperature gradually rose from 10 Celsius (50F) at the beginning of April to 12 Celsius (54F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were no air frosts during  April but 7 grass frosts occurred.  Only 1 grass frost occurred after mid month, the 30th, when a grass temperature of minus 0.6 Celsius (31F) was recorded. Most grass frosts were slight, with only 2 nights recording grass minimum temperatures below minus 2 Celsius (28F). On the 14th, minus 2.2 Celsius (28F) was measured, and on the 3rd a grass low of minus 3.3 Celsius (26F) occurred.    

Rain

There were  16.6  millimetres (0.65 ins.) of rain during April and that was only around a third of the monthly average. There were 9 days  of measurable rain, and that was about 3 days below normal for April. After a dry, almost cloudless, day on the 1st, the weather turned cool and showery. On the 2nd 6 millimetres (0.24 ins.) of rain fell, with another 3.8 millimetres (0.15 ins.) on  the 3rd. Rain  and drizzle gave 3 millimetres (0.1 in.)  on the 9th, otherwise, between the 4th and 22nd only 0.4 millimetres (0.02 ins.) of rain fell. The end of the month became unsettled again, but of the 4 ‘rain days’ between the 23rd and 26th, the 24th was the wettest with just 1.8 millimetres (0.07 ins.) and no measurable rain fell after the 26th.

Hail

There was small hail observed late in  the afternoon on the 2nd, and larger soft hail occurred around lunchtime and in the evening on the 3rd.

Thunder

There was thunder mid afternoon on the 2nd.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during April.   

Wind

April was a ‘northeasterly’ month with winds from that direction outnumbering the usual southwesterlies by a ration of 3 to 1. The bulk of the northeasterlies occurred during the second and third weeks,  although there was no prolonged run of southwesterlies at any time during the month. Although the northeast breezes were quite brisk at times, overall it was a less windy April than usual. There was one particularly windy day, however, and that was the 27th when westerly winds were strong for most of the day. At Shoreham Airport,  southerly gusts reached 32 knots (37 mph) on the afternoon of the 4th, but the next period of breezy weather didn’t occur until late on the 26th. A gust of 34 knots (41 mph) from the southwest occurred late in evening, followed by 41 knots (47 mph) in the early hours of the 27th.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during April, 

Statistics for April 2019

Very Mild and Wet, then Dry

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during March 2019 in Shoreham was 12.5 Celsius (55F), and that was almost 3 degree Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 6.1 Celsius (43F), and that was  close to 1.5  degree Celsius (2.5F) above the March normal. Overall. it appears to have been the mildest March in the area for at least 50 years.   

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 17.4 Celsius (63F) on the 30th, and there were 3 other days with the temperature rising above 15 Celsius (59F). The month was persistently mild with only 6 days having maxima below 11 Celsius (52F) and just 1 of these days had a high below 10 Celsius (50F). That day was the 12th when 9.8 Celsius (50F) was recorded.

There were no particularly mild nights during March, but the temperature on the 3rd only fell to 10.1 Celsius (50F) and there were a further 4 nights when the temperature stayed above 9 Celsius (48F). The mildest nights generally occurred during the first half of March with  only 4 of the 12 nights with minima below 5 Celsius (41F) occurring before mid month. However, the 4 coldest nights, with minima below 3 Celsius (37F),  were equally divided into the 2 halves of March.  The lowest temperatures were 1.9 Celsius (36F) on the 5th and 1.4 Celsius (34F) on the 26th. 

The sea temperature slowly rose from 8 Celsius (46F) at the beginning of March to 10 Celsius (50F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were no air frosts during  March but 8 grass frosts occurred.  Only 2 grass frosts occurred before mid month, but 3 consecutive grass frosts were recorded between the 24th and 26th. The frosts were slight with only 4 nights having ground temperatures below minus 2 Celsius (28F).  The lowest value was minus 2.8 Celsius (27F) occurring on both the 5th and 26th.    

Rain

There were  44.0  millimetres (1.7 ins.) of rain during March and that was very close to the monthly average. There were 15 days of measurable rain, and that was around 1 day above normal for March. There were no completely dry days between the 1st and 19th, although only a trace of rain was measured on the 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th.  The heaviest rain occurred early in the month with 6.2 millimetres (0.25 ins.) recorded on the 2nd, and a further 7.2 millimetres (0.3 ins.) fell on the 3rd. Over 4 millimetres (0.2 ins.) occurred on the 5th but then rainfall became more sporadic. On the 9th there were 7.0 millimetres (0.3 ins.) of rain with 6.2 millimetres (0.25 ins.) on the 12th. The last measurable rain of the month was on the 18th when 4.4 millimetres (0.17 ins.) fell.

Hail

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

Thunder

There was thunder and lightning to the southeast at ten minutes past midnight on the 4th.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow obsereved in Shoreham during March.   

Wind

Pressure was higher than normal again during March, but the first half of the month was often windy. On most days the wind was predominantly from the southwest, with only a few breezes from a northeast or southeasterly quadrant. At Shoreham Airport southwesterly gusts exceeded 30 knots (34 mph) for much of the day on the 3rd, peaking at 38 knots (43 mph) in the early evening.  Late on the afternoon of the 4th, west to northwesterly gusts peaked at 41 knots (47 mph). The 7th was windy all day and southwesterly gusts reached 39 knots (44 mph) in the afternoon. The following day was windy in the evening with a gust of 36 knots (41 mph) recorded just before midnight. risk westerly winds gave a gust of 34 knots (39 mph) on the afternoon of the 9th, but then the 10th was very windy with 52 knots (59 mph)  from the west measured late in the morning.  The 12th was windy again with 42 knots (48 mph)  from the southwest early in the afternoon.  The 13th and 14th stayed windy with 42 knots (48 mph) occurring again on the morning of the 14th. There was no let up on the 15th and 16th with regular gusts above 30 knots (34 mph) and a gust of 44 knots (50 mph) on the evening of the 16th. This brought an end to the windy weather and there were no further gust above 30 knots (34 mph) during the remainder of the month.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during March.

Statistics for March 2019

Mild and Dry

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during February 2019 in Shoreham was 9.9 Celsius (50F), and that was around 2.5 degree Celsius (4.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 4.0 Celsius (39F), and that was  close to 1  degree Celsius (2F) above the February normal. It was the mildest February for 5 years.   

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 15.2 Celsius (59F) on the 26th, with the 25th only 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) less mild. Although much lower than the record-breaking temperatures that occurred in the London area, they were, nevertheless, exceptional for the south coast, and probably haven’t occurred in the area for at least 50 years. The temperature also rose above 12 Celsius (54F) on both the 24th and 27th. There were a further 9 days when the temperature exceeded 10 Celsius (50F),  but with only 4 of these milder days occurring before mid month. During the period between the 6th and the end of the month, only the 10th, with a high of 8.3 Celsius (47F), had a maximum temperature below 9 Celsius (48F). The first 5 days of February, however, were somewhat colder. The 3rd had a high of 6.6 Celsius (44F), but the 1st and 2nd had highs of 4.1 Celsius (39F) and 4.8 Celsius (41F) respectively.

There were no particularly mild nights during February, but on 5 occasions the temperature stayed above 7 Celsius (45F), including 4 consecutive nights commencing on the 6th. On many nights (14) the temperature fell to between 1 and 5 Celsius (34-41F), with only 3 nights having minima below 1 Celsius (34F). The coldest night was the 2nd/3rd with a minimum temperature of minus 2.7 Celsius (27F). 

The sea temperature was 7 Celsius (45F) at the beginning of February, but for most of the month it was close to 8 Celsius (46F).

Frost

There was just 1 air frost during February, and that’s 5 below average. However, there were 16 grass frosts. with the average grass temperature of minus 0.1 Celsius (32F). There was grass frost on the first 3 nights of the month, and on the 3rd a grass minimum of minus 7.8 Celsius (18F) occurred. A frost-free week followed before grass frosts returned on the 11th. A week of grass frosts included minima of minus 3.9 Celsius (25F) on both the 14th and 15th. The 18th was frost-free but the 19th also had a low of minus 3.9 Celsius (25F). A short spell without frost ended on the 24th and the last 5 nights of the month had grass frosts, with the 25th having a grass low of minus 5 Celsius (23F).   

Rain

There were  46.8  millimetres (1.8 ins.) of rain during February and that was only just over half the monthly average. There were 18 days of measurable rain, and that was around 2 days above normal for February. Apart from the 2nd, rainfall was measured on each of the first 10 days of February. Totals included 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 3rd, almost 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on both the 4th and 5th, 6 millimetres (0.25 ins.) on the 6th, and 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) on the 9th, the wettest day of the month. No rain fell between the 11th and 16th, however, the nights were very moist and unusually, a combination of frost and dew produced a total ‘rainfall’ of 1.2 millimetres (0.05 ins.). Only 5 more days of measurable rain occurred after the 16th, and the total was a mere 5.8 millimetres (0.25 ins.) with 4.4 millimetres (0.17 ins.) attributable to the last day of the month.

Hail

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

Thunder

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

Snow

There were 2 days with snow or sleet falling  in Shoreham during February. There was snow in  the early hours of the 1st and by morning there were 2 centimetres (1 in.) of lying snow. This thawed during the day, but rain turned to sleet during the evening and lasted until the early hours of the 2nd.   

Wind

Pressure was higher than normal during February, but anticyclones were either over, or to the southeast of,  the country, and that resulted in winds either light and variable in direction, or blowing from the southwest . The strongest winds mainly occurred during the first half of the month, and at Shoreham Airport gusts reached 34 knots (38 mph) early on the 4th, with 42 knots (48 mph) occurring early on the 7th.  On the 8th, gusts of 40 to 45 knots (46-51 mph) were observed in the afternoon and early evening, with 41 knots (47 mph) occurring on the following morning.  There was a gust of 37 knots (42 mph) late on the afternoon of the 10th., and this proved to be the last significant gust of the month.     

Fog

There was fog observed on the mornings of both the 6th and 22nd.

Statistics for February 2019

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

Another mild and changeable month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during December 2018 in Shoreham was 10.2 Celsius (50F), and that was around 2 degree Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 6.4 Celsius (44F), and that was  about 2.5  degrees Celsius (4F) above the December normal.   

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 13.5 Celsius (56F) on the 3rd, but the 2nd was also very mild with a high of 13.2 Celsius (56F).  There were 5 further days with highs above 12 Celsius (54F), and in total there were 17 days during December when the temperature exceeded 10 Celsius (50F).  The first 10 days of the month only had 1 day when the temperature failed to reach 10 Celsius (50F). The following 10 days only  had 2 occasions with maxima above 10 Celsius (50F). Less mild days also occurred between the 24th and 28th. However, in total, only 4 days had maxima below 8 Celsius (46F). The consecutive days, 12th, 13th and 14th had highs of 7.9 Celsius (46F), 5.7 Celsius (42F) and 3.9 Celsius (39F) respectively; and the 27th had a maximum of 6.7 Celsius (44F).

There were many mild nights during December, especially during the first week. On 4 occasions, all of these during the first week, the temperature remained above 10 Celsius (50F). On 3 of these mild nights the temperature stayed above 11 Celsius (52F), and included a low of 12.1 Celsius (54F) on the 2nd. Although there were only another 5 nights with lows above 8 Celsius (46F), there were further 10 nights with minima between 5 and 8 Celsius (41-46F). No particularly cold nights occurred during December, but on 6 occasions minima were lower than 3 Celsius (37F). However, the temperature only dipped below 1 Celsius (34F) twice. On the 28th there was a low of 0.9 Celsius (34F), but the coldest night of the month was the 14th with a minimum of 0.1 Celsius (32F). 

The sea temperature slowly decreased from 11 Celsius (52F) at the beginning of the month to 9 Celsius (48F) by the end of December.

Frost

There were no air frosts during December, but 7 grass frosts occurred. There were 2 grass frosts during the first week, a further 4 between the 11th and 17th, but only 1 after the 17th. The grass temperature only fell below minus 2 Celsius (28F) twice. On the 14th there was a minimum of minus 3.3 Celsius (26F), with minus 2.2 Celsius (28F) recorded on the 16th.   

Rain

There were 84.2  millimetres (3.3 ins.) of rain during December and that was slightly above the monthly average. There were 16 days of measurable rain, and that was normal for December. The first week was very changeable, with measurable rain on each of the first 8 days of December. Daily totals included 6.8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 1st and 5.2 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 6th. No measurable rain fell between the 9th and 14th, but spells of heavy on the 15th gave 21.4 millimetres (0.8 ins.), making it the wettest day of the month. It stayed very unsettled until the 23rd, with heavy showers, or longer spells of rain, giving further high daily totals. On the 18th, there were 13.6 millimetres (0.5 ins.) recorded, with 7.2 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 19th, and 6.2 millimetres (0.25 ins.) on the following day. By way of a contrast, no measurable rain fell on the last  8 days of December.

Hail

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

Thunder

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

Snow

There was no snow or sleet in Shoreham during December.

Wind

Apart from some rather chilly winds from between southeast and northeast at the end of the second week, and for a while around Christmas, the winds were predominately from between southwest and northwest. Pressure was well above the December average, even so, there were spells with strong winds, especially at the beginning of the second week, and again around the end of the third week.  At Shoreham Airport, southwesterly gusts reached 30 knots  (34 mph) on the afternoons of both the 2nd and 3rd, with 36 knots (41 mph) recorded on the morning of the 7th. It stayed windy, and 38 knots (43 mph) occurred on the afternoon of the 8th.  Gusts exceeded 30 knots (34 mph) again on the morning of the 13th and on the evening of the 15th. The 18th and 20th were both windy, and in the early hours of the 20th there was a gust  of 38 knots (43 mph). For the remainder of December winds were generally much lighter.    

Fog

No fog was observed in this part of Shoreham, although it was very misty early on the 30th.

Statistics for December 2018