An historical perspective of the climate statistics

for Coventry during January 2012

Temperature

Although promising to become one of the warmest January months on
record in the early weeks of the New Year, it cooled more recently,
with an eventual mean monthly temperature of 5.5ºC, the mildest
January in Coventry only since 2008 (6.5ºC).

Looking back through the archives, we find that only five January
months have been milder than January 2012 in Coventry in the past 22
years (1993, 1998, 2005, 2007 and 2008).

What is more, only 17 January months have been warmer than January
2012 since temperature records were first kept in Coventry in 1892.

With only seven air frosts during January 2012, this has been our most
frost-free January in Coventry since January 2008 (4).

This has been the 5th month in succession with above average
temperatures in Coventry, and the ninth month with a positive anomaly
in the past 12 months,


Rainfall

Although this January has been drier (39.2mm) than January 2011
(41.8mm) in Coventry since 2006 (71.omm), it was wetter than January
2010 (30.9mm) – three consecutive drier January months than normal.

Only 11 January months have been drier than this year in Coventry in
the past 44 years (1970, 1973, 1976, 1987, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2005,
2006 and 2010.)

It has become the 20th out of the past 22 months in Coventry t0
register a rainfall total below the 1981-2010 30 year average for the
city. In this period, there has been a 26% rainfall deficit in the
city.

There was just one day during the month with snowfall, just an odd
snow flurry on the 31st; this is the lowest number of January snow
days in Coventry since 2002 (0).

Sunshine

The monthly sunshine total (81.1hr) was 29% higher than Coventry’s 30-
year average (1981-2010).

Only six January months have recorded more sunshine than January 2012
since sunshine records were first kept in Coventry in 1894 (1952,
1984, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2010).

Steve Jackson
Bablake Weather Station
Coventry UK
www.bablakeweather.co.uk