Not only is the rainfall total of 172.2mm to date the highest for any January month, beating the previous record of 147.3mm, but it is now the second wettest month ever recorded. The record for the wettest month was recorded in November 2002 with a total of 203.5mm.
Wettest January on record
With a total of 148.8mm of precipitation so far this month it is the wettest January since records began in 1984 and there are still 14 days left in the month.
The previous high precipitation record, of 147.3mm, was set in January 2008. In contrast the record low, of 9.4mm, was set in 1997.
Warmest start to January since 2007
The first two weeks have been very mild with minimal air frosts. It is the 7th warmest start to January since 1984 being almost 2C above the long-term average with a mean of 5.8C.The coldest start to January was in 2010 with a mean of -1.9C and the record for the warmest start was 7.6C in 2007.
Rainfall in the first two weeks, totalling 138.7mm, make it the 4th wettest January when we are only halfway through the month. Another 10mm of precipitation would break the record.
Monthly Summary for December 2013 and Year 2013
December
This proved to be a record-breaking month. It was the wettest month since my records began in 1984 with 157mm (173% or +66mm), which was 2mm more than the previous record set in December 2012. The highest daily rainfall for December, and also for any other month, occurred on the 23rd with a total of 46.4mm. It was a mild month as the mean temperature was 2.1C above the long-term average. Finally, a record gust of wind for December, of 52mph, was noted on the 23rd.
Year 2013
Due to four very cold months at the beginning of the year it is no surprise that the mean temperature for the year was 0.3C below the long-term average. Also linked to this period, not surprisingly, was a high incidence of air frosts numbering 74 in total, when the average is 61, and the second highest I have recorded. Very similar to 2012 was the very wet month of December, after a dry summer (77%), which resulted in an annual total rainfall of 881mm that is 105% or +38mm of the long-term average.
Records tumble
The total rainfall for the 24 hour period, starting 0800 on the 23rd, was 46.4mm, the greatest precipitation I have ever recorded braking the previous record of 45.4mm set in May 2007. It was also the lowest barometric pressure for December that I have noted giving a reading of 972.5mb early on the 24th. The continuos high winds, with frequent gusts over 40 mph, were also noteworthy with a maximum gust of 52mph at 2313 on the 23rd.
