PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM

MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - JANUARY 2002



Headline: A very cold start then turning unseasonably mild towards the end 
of the month. Frequent foggy mornings under persistent high pressure for 
the first half, becoming unsettled and stormy towards the end.

January opened with anticyclonic conditions dominating the scene. The 
first few days were mostly dry, cold and sunny with the snow having fallen 
at the end of December remaining on the ground until the 4th. The daytime 
maximum failed to get above 1.8C on the 2nd and overnight frosts were 
severe (-7.0C on the 4th). The 2nd dawned with freezing fog and the 
extensive deposition of rime produced a very wintry scene over much of the 
county.

Between the 5th and the 8th milder weather prevailed, although high 
pressure was still influential bringing light winds. It was mostly cloudy 
through this period with little sunshine and fairly persistent morning fog. In 
fact, foggy mornings continued consistently right up until the 13th 
producing the longest record of fog on consecutive mornings ever recorded 
at Pitsford Hall. There was some rain, but it was mostly light and patchy. 
The arrival of a trough on the 9th and 10th brought more substantial rain 
across the county, but amounts remained modest.

The anticyclonic period finally came to an end on the 13th as a series of 
Atlantic lows tracked across the county bringing outbreaks of rain. Cool at 
first, it did become progressively milder during the third week. Winds also 
picked up. There were some good sunny intervals in other areas, but it 
remained pretty cloudy across the county up until 19th. 

Further unsettled but mild weather continued only to be interupted by a 
brief chilly spell on the 24th as winds veered more northerly from a general 
south or south-westerly direction which had been the norm since the 12th. 
This cold incursion was a herald to very stormy conditions between the 
25th and 28th. The 26th was particularly wet with 8.5mm recorded at 
Pitsford Hall. Winds reached gusts typically in excess of 35mph with 
46mph recorded as a peak gust during a particularly windy day on the 
28th. Despite the wind and rain, it remained unseasonably mild.

This mild theme continued until the very end of January. Further vigorous 
fronts brought more rain and on the evening of the 31st winds quickly 
strengthened again gusting to 40mph.



Climatological & Agromet Statistics - January 2002


Air Temperatures				
The Highest Maximum: 13.1C on 27th
The Lowest Maximum: 1.8C on 2nd
The Highest Minimum: 9.5C on 21st
The Lowest Minimum: -7.0C on 4th

The Mean Maximum: 8.4C
The Mean Minimum: 2.0C
The Overall Mean: 5.2C
Difference from the Monthly Mean: +1.0C
				
Relative Humidity:				
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th & 13th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 75.9% on 28th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 93.2%
    
Dew Point:				
The Highest Dew Point (at 0900): 9.6C on 21st
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -6.5C on 4th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 3.5C
				
Rainfall:				
Total: 40.6mm
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 77.6%
Duration: 33.4hrs
Highest 24-hour fall (from 0900): 8.5mm on 26th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 18
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 12
Lowest pH: 6.25 on 27th
			
Sunshine:				
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 48.7hrs
Sunniest day: 6.1hrs on 19th
Sunless days: 13
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 6.7 oktas (83.8%)
				
Pressure (reduced to sea level):				
The Highest Pressure: 1037.9mb on 1st
The Lowest Pressure: 978.3mb on 24th (0000hrs)
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1018.2mb
		
Winds:				
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 141.9 miles
Mean daily wind speed: 7.7mph
Highest 24-hour Wind Speed: 14.6mph on 21st
Run of wind (to date): 4398.9 miles
Highest Maximum Gust: 46mph on 28th
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 28.8mph on 28th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.9mph
		
Winds from the Following Directions:				
N 1 NE 0, E 1, SE 2, S 19, SW 0, W 0, NW 1, Calm 7
	
Days with:				
Thunder: 0
Hail less than 0.5mm: 0
Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 0
Snow lying: 4: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
Fog: 10
Air Frost: 6
Duration of Air Frost: 77 hrs
Ground Frost: 16


Evaporation: 

Total evaporation (tank): 14.78mm	

					
Ground Temperatures:			 	
Lowest Grass Minimum: -9.9C on 4th
Mean Grass Minimum: -0.1C
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -9.1C on 4th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 0.4C
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: -5.7C on 4th
Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 1.2C
				
Soil/Earth Temperatures:		 		
Surface mean: 4.0C
5cm mean: 3.7C
10cm mean: 4.1C  
20cm mean: 4.4C  
30cm mean: 4.3C
40cm mean: 4.3C
50cm mean: 4.6C
100cm mean:  5.0C
	
Climatological observations made at 0900 UTC.  Averages refer to the 
period 1971-2000.

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Pitsford Hall weather station  			Tel. 01604 880306
Pitsford					Fax. 01604 882212
Northampton		    E-mail office@northantsweather.org.uk
NN6 9AX			       http://www.northantsweather.org.uk

Location: 52º 18' N 0º 53' W                  Altitude: 115m AMSL

Local Forecast and Readings: (07967) 438314

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