PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM

MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - JANUARY 2005

REVIEW OF THE MONTH

Headline: Unsettled spells with high winds with a rare gale on the morning
of the 8th. Very mild and drier than normal.

With the exception of a drier and brighter interlude on the 2nd and 3rd,
January started on a very unsettled theme. It was particularly windy with
gusts on the 1st reaching 39mph with resulting power cuts affecting 1000
people in the south-east of the county. Winds exceeded 30mph practically
every day until the 12th. The morning of the 8th was especially windy with
winds reaching gale force across the county. There was some structural
damage and falling trees blocked roads and took out power cables to a 1000
homes in the Brackley area. In addition to the high winds, bands of rain
swept through the county. Totals though were slight compared Cumbria and
North Wales where the prolonged wet weather resulted in some severe
flooding.
The wind, being predominantly south-westerly, did ensure a very mild period.
There were no air frosts overnight and daytime temperatures were
consistently between 10 and 12C, peaking at 13.5C on the 7th.

High pressure built up from the south from the 13th and this brought with it
a much calmer spell of weather. Some days had some good sunny spells,
although there were some cloudier days with spells of light rain at times.
The price for the sunshine was paid in the form of overnight frosts though,
particularly on the ground on the 14th and 15th. The wind, although light,
was maintained from the south or south-west so that daytime temperatures,
apart from on days following a sharp overnight frost, stayed fairly
respectable at about 8 or 9C.

Atlantic weather systems made a return visit from the 17th as high pressure
retreated eastwards. A frontal system which worked through on the 18th
brought 5.6mm of rain turning to sleet later. The wind also picked up
veering from the north-west reaching gusts of 46mph on the 18th and 51mph on
the 20th.

High pressure became established to the west of Ireland from the 23rd and
became fairly stationary setting up a blocking situation which persisted
until the end of the month and into the first few days of February. The high
maintained a cold northerly flow across the county which brought with it
brief spells of very light snow enough to cause some slight and patchy
accumulation on the 24th. As the month came to a close, milder air was drawn
around the high from the south-west such that whilst the wind direction over
the county remained north-westerly there were no night-time air frosts and
daytime maxima by the 31st had topped 10C.

Overall, this was the warmest January in Northampton since 1995.

MONTHLY STATISTICS

Air Temperatures
The Highest Maximum: 13.5C on 7th
The Lowest Maximum: 3.3C on 22nd
The Highest Minimum: 6.7C on 4th
The Lowest Minimum: -2.4C on 22nd
The Mean Maximum: 8.8C
The Mean Minimum: 2.4C
The Overall Mean: 5.6C
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 1.2C

Relative Humidity:
Highest Relative Humidity (at obs): 100.0% on 14th & 22nd
Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs): 65.0% on 2nd
Mean Relative Humidity (at obs): 90.6%

Dew Point:
The Highest Dew Point (at obs): 10.4C on 10th
The Lowest Dew Point (at obs): -1.6C on 2nd
The Mean Dew Point (at obs): 3.6C

Rainfall:
Total: 23.6mm
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 45.1%
Duration: 28.2hrs
Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs): 5.6mm on 18th
Rain Days (/=0.2mm): 14
Wet Days (/=1.0mm): 8

Sunshine:
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 58.8hrs
Sunniest day: 6.8hrs on 23rd
Days without sunshine: 12
Cloud cover (mean at obs): 5.6oktas (70.0%)

Pressure (reduced to sea level):
The Highest Pressu 1035.6mb on 26th
The Lowest Pressu 995.2mb on 18th
Mean Pressure (recorded at obs): 1021.1mb

Winds
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 197.4miles
Mean daily wind speed: 10.7mph
Highest mean daily windm speed: 22.4mph on 6th
Run of wind (to date): 6120.8miles
Highest Maximum Gust: 57mph on 7th (Gale)
Other days with gusts of 50mph and over: 51mph on 20th
Highest wind strength (at obs): 23.1mph on 4th
Mean wind strength (at obs): 12.7mph

Winds from the Following Directions:

N 4 NE 0 E 0 SE 0 S 13 SW 2 W 5 NW 6 Calm 1

Ground Temperatures:
Lowest Grass Minimum: -7.3C on 22nd
Mean Grass Minimum: -2.3C
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -4.2C on 22nd
Mean Concrete Minimum: -0.4C
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: -1.6C on 14th, 22nd & 23rd
Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 1.3C

Soil/Earth Temperatures:
Surface mean: 4.3C
5cm mean: 4.0C
10cm mean: 4.3C
20cm mean: 4.7C
30cm mean: 5.0C
40cm mean: 5.0C
50cm mean: 5.4C
100cm mean: 6.0C

Days with:
Thunder: 0
Hail less than 0.5mm: 0
Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0
Snow or snow & rain: 3
Snow lying: 1
Fog 0
Gales: 1 on 7th
Ground Frost: 25
Air Frost: 5
Duration of Air Frost: 17.0hrs

Evaporation (tank): 26.2mm

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

NOTABLE WEATHER EVENTS REPORTED FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY

1 January
More than 1000 people are left in the dark as high winds cause a power cut
in the south-east of the county.* Electricity is lost in 940 homes in
Hackleton, Piddington and Horton from 17:30 hrs. A spokesman for East
Midlands Electricity said the weather may have caused trees to hit power
cables disrupting the line.

7 -8 January
Gale force winds batter Northamptonshire, blowing down trees and masonry and
causing a major blackout in the south of the county. More than 1000 homes in
Brackley are left without power for several hours after falling debris
brings down electricity cables in the area. A total of 90 000 homes across
the East Midlands are affected by power cuts. Fallen trees also block
several of the county's smaller lanes as winds reached 57mph at Pitsford
Hall and in excess of 60mph in other areas*. Drivers on the M1 in the north
of county face a 50mph speed limit because of the risk of the winds and
delays owing to an accident near junction 16.

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