Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Like December very cold with frequent snow showers during the first fortnight. Coldest January in Northampton since 1987.

With high pressure positioned south of Iceland, the UK and Northamptonshire started the month cold but mostly sunny under the influence of winds from a generally northerly direction. It remained mostly dry, just a few light showers late in the day on the 2nd. Mornings were frosty and the 4th was a particularly cold day with daytime temperatures struggling to reach 0.7C from a hard frost the previous night of -5.4C. A cold front heading southwards on the 5th brought the first of several days of snowfall across the county. Some significant snowfalls were recorded in some parts of the country, although across Northamptonshire accumulations were highly variable with the worst areas affected being in the south of the county.

High pressure to the west gained more of a control over the UK over the next few days, although low pressure persisted over the North Sea driving frontal systems down the eastern side of the UK. These brought further snow showers to eastern coastal counties, this snow extending inland as far as Northamptonshire. Snow showers continued for several days, although the depth of lying snow recorded at 0900 hrs at Pitsford never exceeded 2.0cm. However, the 13th saw a fairly persistent fall of snow which recorded 5.0cm at Pitsford the following morning. The county remained bitterly cold during this period with daytime temperatures reaching just 1 or 2C. Some severe frosts were recorded initially, including a low of -6.6C overnight on the 7th into the 8th. However, later in the period overnight temperatures became less cold, hovering at or close to freezing, due largely to the blanket of cloud which became fairly persistent from the 10th.

A noticeable change was ushered in on the 15th as the wind direction switched to a milder southerly. Accompanying the milder air was a spell of heavy rain on the 15th, this continuing through to the 16th. Daytime temperatures made a significant recovery rising from 2.5C on the 14th to 8.0C by the 17th. Overnight lows, however, remained depressed. The wind also gathered strength gusting to 30mph on the 15th, but then easing over the next few days eventually dropping sufficiently by the 18th to encourage fairly widespread fog. The days that followed remained generally dry, but overcast with early morning mist slow to clear. Frontal systems continued to work eastward across the country, but it was only the system that arrived on the 21st that brought a significant amount of rain to the region. The 22nd was a particularly wet day with 9.9mm of rain falling over the course of 8.3hrs.

From the 23rd onwards conditions became more settled across the county. Some sunshine broke through following a grey and misty start on the 24th, and although the 25th stayed overcast, some further sunshine was recorded on the 26th. With a change in wind direction to a north-easterly temperatures from the 25th began to fall away with a return to night-time frosts. A brief incursion by Atlantic frontal systems brought milder daytime temperatures on the 27th and 28th and outbreaks of rain. However, by the 31st the cold northerly airstream was back and frontal systems working southwards brought the month to a close with further snow showers.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 8.2 C on 22nd
The Lowest Maximum: 0.6 C on 5th
The Highest Minimum: 4.5 C on 19th
The Lowest Minimum: -6.6 C on 7th
The Mean Maximum: 3.7 C  
The Mean Minimum: -0.6 C  
The Overall Mean: 1.6 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -2.4 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 174.0 W/m^2 on 9th
Mean (at 0900): 37.0 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0 % on 6th, 11th & 12th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 83.1 % on 30th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 95.0 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 6.1 C on 22nd
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -5.6 C on 7th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 0.2 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 41.3 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 74.8 %  
Duration: 53.3 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 9.9 mm on 22nd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 13   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 12   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 40.5 hrs  
Sunniest day: 6.4 hrs on 30th
No. of days without sunshine: 15   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 72.6 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.8 oktas 72.5 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1041.7 mb on 26th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 991.2 mb on 29th
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1016.1 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 106.7 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.8 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 3308.9 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 34 mph on 27th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 18.4 mph on 16th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.1 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 5 NE 4 E 3 SE 5 S 5 SW 2 W 2 NW 5 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -6.9 C on 4th
Mean Concrete Minimum: -1.5 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 15.9 ml  
Pan Not available
    
Days with:    
Thunder: 0   
Hail <5mm: 0   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 8   
Snow lying: 12   
Fog: 2   
Air Frost: 16   
Duration of Air Frost: 226hrs
Gales: 0  

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

The weather station publishes a full Monthly Weather Report (ISSN 1741-4733) which is distributed to libraries across Northamptonshire. This report comprises a full UK weather diary, reports of extreme weather events across the county, statistics from Pitsford Hall's affiliated stations across the county as well as news from the weather station itself. Individuals may download this report for £2 or take out an annual subscription for the paper-based report for £25. Click here for further details.