A Frostless January?

[mettalfabrik]

not uncommon really ,its simple, island+gulfstream=mild winters

go across the atlantic on the same latitude where there a,int no gulfstream and see the differance

[osmposm]

not uncommon really ,its simple, island+gulfstream=mild winters

Um, sorry, Blackdown....notwithstanding our warm ocean setting, a frost-free January is uncommon, even in the milder winters of late. As the figures I gave above show, in close-to-London Epping only one of the last 30 winters (with a possible second in the offing) recorded no air frost at all in January. I'd be surprised if Ilminster has managed many more.

Edit: just checked the Hampstead (London proper, but quite high) figures: since 1955 only one Jan with no air frost - 1990, as Epping. (Figures by courtesy of http://www.weather-uk.com)

Edited January 28, 2008 by osmposm

[casparjack]

Last Jan (2007) I had three air frosts and eight ground frosts, min air temp -1.8c on the 25th.

This year I have only recorded two, lowest being -0.5c on the 3rd, with six ground frosts.

Mean temp last Jan was 6.7c, currently for this year as of this morning running at 6.4c.

Not very exciting is it?

[Tucco]

No air frosts in Ferryhill yet either. The closest we have come is +0.1 degC on 3rd and +0.2 degC on 22nd. There was only one air frost recorded last January here, that was -0.1 degC on 23rd, so very marginal.

Wow surprised you didn't get a frost on 22nd -4.3 here, and I'm on exposed hill location.

Mark

Teesdale,Co Durham

[Great Plum]

I have recored 3 frosts in Reigate for January - (I use a technical method - if the car windscreen needs scraping, it's a frost...)

[DR Hosking]

Had 4 air frosts and 6 ground frosts here so doing ok considering how mild the month has been, I do live in a frost hollow though.

[TonyH]

Just 4 air frosts and lowest was only -2c.

[Don]

Only had a couple of slight frosts this month.

[Upgrade]

There's a dandelion growing in a space on my north facing patio, here in the north of England, at 900', with a flower bud. The depth of winter and the weeds are in bud: worrying about a lack of frost of the least of it, but then again, there might just be a correlation between the two.

well we havent had many frosts here - more than 2006/7 winter but still only 5 air frosts, 3 white ground frosts , all before new year.

as i expected, the daffodils are now coming out here after the weekend's and todays, sunshine, and the grass is growing. i had two exellent long walks at the weekend in London, probably covered about 20 miles, the soil and parks smell "alive" for the first time since late november and spring is here. kind of worrying but kind of nice too.

[reef]

And there we have it, the first frostless January on record for this location. Just when you thought this January couldnt be any worse than last year's and it still pulls out all the stops and manages it! To be completely frostless in 'midwinter' at 55N is absolutely remarkable, especially when you consider that the nights are 16 hours long.

The average minimum temperature finished at 4.7C (+3.2C) with a minimum temperature for the month of 0.3C (3rd). To put it into perspective, the average minimum temperature here for April is 4.4C, a month where the length of night is only 9 hours by the end.

The mean temperature of the month was 6.7C (+2.5C), just a tenth of a degree lower than 2007. What an absolute stinker yet again!

[sundog]

I had one air frost on the 3rd of Jan when the temp got down to -1.4c and that was with snowcover. Thats been my coldest temp so far this winter! pathetic

[autumnallyear]

Yep. Feb is here and January passes without a single air frost. Lowest daily max of 7.5. Many clear, still nights but without frost! Lowest temp of the year -1.5 (bone chilling!), not a flake of snow, not even sleet. Feb starts with an 'Arctic blast' and temperatures struggling to reach....erm average for the time of year. No such thing as Modern Winters eh?

Year on year pretty much the same so better get used to it. Winter is dead, roll on summer

[Bobby]

Yep. Feb is here and January passes without a single air frost. Lowest daily max of 7.5. Many clear, still nights but without frost! Lowest temp of the year -1.5 (bone chilling!), not a flake of snow, not even sleet. Feb starts with an 'Arctic blast' and temperatures struggling to reach....erm average for the time of year. No such thing as Modern Winters eh?

Year on year pretty much the same so better get used to it. Winter is dead, roll on summer

Quoted for truth. For the south this winter has been pretty shocking even by recent standards...

[Terminal Moraine]

Yep. Feb is here and January passes without a single air frost. Lowest daily max of 7.5. Many clear, still nights but without frost! Lowest temp of the year -1.5 (bone chilling!), not a flake of snow, not even sleet. Feb starts with an 'Arctic blast' and temperatures struggling to reach....erm average for the time of year. No such thing as Modern Winters eh?

Year on year pretty much the same so better get used to it. Winter is dead, roll on summer

Unless I'm missing something, if you've had a min' of -1.5c then you've had an air frost. If the air temperature falls to

-0.1c or lower it's an air frost irrespective of whether there's any visible signs of it.

[Uncle_Barty]

Confirmed - No air frost in Bournemouth for Jan 08.

First Jan without an air frost in my records going back to 1996.

I suspect we might get one tomorrow morning, only chance for a while, methinks.

[autumnallyear]

Unless I'm missing something, if you've had a min' of -1.5c then you've had an air frost. If the air temperature falls to

-0.1c or lower it's an air frost irrespective of whether there's any visible signs of it.

Starangely i realise a temp lower than 0 gives an air frost. Ok smarty when i said year, what i meant was lowest temperature winter 07-08 as you well know

[osmposm]

Um, sorry, Blackdown....notwithstanding our warm ocean setting, a frost-free January is uncommon, even in the milder winters of late. As the figures I gave above show, in close-to-London Epping only one of the last 30 winters (with a possible second in the offing) recorded no air frost at all in January. I'd be surprised if Ilminster has managed many more.

Edit: just checked the Hampstead (London proper, but quite high) figures: since 1955 only one Jan with no air frost - 1990, as Epping. ( Figures courtesy of http://www.weather-uk.com )

Just to confirm, http://www.eppingweather.co.uk recorded no air frost at all in January for only the second time in 30 years.

Hampstead recorded one.....just. It sank to a...um...bitter -0.3C on the third.

February obviously a little more seasonal - 6 so far this month at Epping, and even here in central-ish London last night was the third.

[reef]

Just to confirm, http://www.eppingweather.co.uk recorded no air frost at all in January for only the second time in 30 years.

Hampstead recorded one.....just. It sank to a...um...bitter -0.3C on the third.

February obviously a little more seasonal - 6 so far this month at Epping, and even here in central-ish London last night was the third.

Indeed, we just recorded our 6th air frost here last night and the long-term average in February is also 6. So a better month. Still only 8 all winter though, which is remarkably poor.

[Snowyowl9]

Last January I had 4 air frosts and one at 0.4c

This Jan 2 air frosts and 7 below 2c with 3 at 0c

It seems the least Jan recorded below 0c here was 1990 with just one at -1c being the Jan highest min here. :o

Plenty of zero`s though like 7 with this one of those nights,and 5 at 2c.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119900127.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00219900127.gif