January 2009. Following the cold snap which
started on Boxing Day temperatures remained extremley cold
for most of the month. Thermometers only started to increase
from about the 11th of the month. The mean maximum for
January was 5.1°C which was a degree lower than the
30 year average. The warmest day temperature was recorded
on the 16th when thermometers peaked to 10°C. On the
other end of the scale to coldest recorded minimum was
-8.1°C six days earlier. There was 19 day where the
ground temperatures remained below zero and 14 days with
air frosts. High pressure dominated a large proportion
of the month leaving many days and nights with clear skies,
resulting in night frosts and 110 percent more recorded
daily sunshine. Fifty-nine hours of sunshine was recorded
which was quite good considering there were 11 days of
no sunshine at all, this being in the latter two weeks
of the month. During the last two weeks we went in to
a period of unsettled weather with rainfall figures increasing
to total 74mm for the month. The most rain fallen for a
twenty-four hour period was on 17th and 22nd with 12.1mm. There
were four days of snow, although other areas around the
south west had more snow, Lyneham escaped with small flurries
and a dusting. Thanks to the very cold spell at the beginning
of the month this was the coldest January since either
2001 or 1997 over most of the UK, although in northern
Scotland it was marginally warmer than that of 2008. Rainfall
was rather below normal in most eastern districts, but
above in western and southern Britain. Over the country
as a whole it was the sunniest January for six years.
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