January 1980

[damianslaw]

At 2.3 degrees, January 1980 was appreciably below average. Its a month never really mentioned. I don't believe there was any significant cold or snow just a lot of cold anticyclonic weather.

Anyone share any memories of the month, perspectives. 

[Summer8906]

I was around then but have surprisingly few memories of it.

It was cold but as you say lacked snow. It's likely it made no impression on me because I hadn't really experienced any mild Januaries by that point, so to me it just seemed like a very ordinary month - not cold but normal. (I had been alive for many of the mild winters earlier in the 70s but not old enough to have any memories, so my experience was basically 1979 and, with vague memories, 1978).

I remember New Year's Day being cold, frosty and sunny then rain a couple of days later, followed by the second week being cloudy. I can't remember the temp though apparently it was fairly cold.

I remember a rainy Monday (possibly the 14th?) and a cold and frosty Saturday later on around the 19th or 26th.

Apparently the frosty anticyclonic weather was persistent but then it became unsettled at the end.

Perhaps not too dissimilar to the current month but it stayed settled longer, also I think there were considerably more frosty nights.

Heathrow 6.0 / -0.1 so a mean min of below 0, supporting the idea that it was very frosty.

Since Heathrow started in 1948 it appears that only 1959, 1963, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010 have been colder at Heathrow. So the 8th coldest January since 1948, though 10th by mean max (1955 and 1966 having colder maxima but less cold minima).

Coming immediately after 1979 and being much less snowy than the former must have contributed it to going under the radar.

Edited January 23 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow]

Potential wintry showers on New Year's Day?

Then cold anticyclonic weather with uppers generally around 0 to -5.

A failed attempt at retrogression which lead to another frosty high.

This weather front coming into cold air may have given some transient snow perhaps? Looks very stormy for a time after that.

Another attempt at a very cold pattern that failed even worse. Very wet end, but looks cold and snowy across Scotland.

This cold hung on across Scotland into early February and I know I read about snow there on the 3rd, but then February 1980 turned into a very mild month.

MO report for the month. For the south-east it seems like a nice seasonable January and very sunny. Striking that the highest temperature in the NE region all month was 9.8C.

Edited January 23 by LetItSnow

[Summer8906]

@LetItSnow looks like the sunny Saturday I remember would have been the 26th, not the 19th. The rainy Monday, however, could have been either the 14th or the 21st on those charts.

The rain was obviously the 3rd.

Edited January 24 by Summer8906

[Weather-history]

14th January 1980

               

 

 

          

[damianslaw]

Thanks for the recollections and articles. As I thought a quiet month with a lot of light frost and days in the low single digit max range, with no notable cold. 

[Weather-history]