The first month of 2018 was warmer and wetter than average, with higher than normal winds. After two months of below average temperatures, the New Year started off well. After three drier than average months, the trend was reversed with a much wetter start to 2018.
The warmest temperature of January was 13.1°C recorded at 14:03 on the 28th, with the coldest being -2.1°C recorded at 08:00 on the 8th. The average temperature for the month was 4.4°C, 0.6°C above the mean. The average daily maximum temperature was 7.0°C, 0.7°C above the mean, while the average daily minimum was 2.0°C, 0.6°C above the mean. The warmest day was the 28th with an average temperature of 9.9°C. The coldest day was the 8th with an average temperature of 0.5°C. There were 5 frost days in the month.
Between 08:00 and 08:50 on the 24th, the temperature fell from 12.3°C to 8.0°C, a fall of 4.3°C in 50 minutes. At 08:00, the temperature was 12.3°C, but by 11:05, the temperature had fallen to 6.7°C. This was caused by a cold front passing over the area. This front brought a spell of torrential rain and high winds. At 07:33, a wind gust of 33 mph was recorded. At 08:02, a rain rate of 185.8 millimetres per hour was recorded.
The highest dew point was 10.9°C recorded at 14:50 on the 28th, with the monthly average dew point being 2.8°C, 0.5°C above the mean. The lowest dew point was -3.7°C at 08:00 on the 8th. The high wind chill was 11.4°C recorded at 14:50 on the 28th, with the low wind chill being -4.8°C at 04:39 on the 17th. The average wind chill in the month was 2.5°C. There were 15.93 hours of sunshine in January.
Rainfall in the month totalled 59.4 millimetres, 16.4 millimetres above the January average. Rainfall was recorded on 22 days, with the wettest day being the 5th when 8.4 millimetres was recorded. Snowfall was recorded on two days and totalled 21 millimetres, 20 of which fell on the 21st. The highest rain rate was 185.8 millimetres per hour recorded at 08:02 on the 24th, as a cold front passed over.. The rainfall total is 140% of what is normally expected by the end of January.
The highest barometric pressure was 1030.8 millibars at 11:34 on the 7th. The lowest barometric pressure was 980.9 millibars at 02:52 on the 3rd. The average pressure in the month was 1007.7 millibars. The highest humidity was 100% and the month average humidity was 90%. The lowest humidity was 69% at 13:16 on the 31st.
The highest wind gust in the month was 43 mph recorded at 05:39 on the 18th, the strongest gust since 50 mph was recorded on February 23rd 2017. The average gust speed in the month was 8.2 mph, mean 7.7 mph. The average wind speed was 5.6 mph, mean 5.1 mph. The maximum wind speed was 27 mph at 05:05 on the 18th, 2.6 mph above the mean. The total wind run was 4109.8 miles, well above the January average of 3755.0 miles, with the predominate direction being 199°.
The maximum high solar radiation recorded at 14:00 on the 28th was 504 w/m², the highest since 512 w/m² was recorded on November 5th 2017. The average solar radiation for the month was 25 w/m². The highest U.V. Index was 0.7 set at 13:00 on the 28th.
