WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1979
WARMEST JANUARY SINCE 1966
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JANUARY 1979 WAS THE WARMEST JANUARY SINCE 1966 BUT IT HAD LESS THAN AVERAGE HOURS OF SUNSHINE - 34.7 HOURS BELOW NORMAL AT 122.5 HOURS.
THE MONTH'S MEAN TEMPERATURE OF 17.6 DEGREES CELSIUS MEAN MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 20.2 DEGREES AND MEAN MINIMUM OF 15.5 DEGREES ALL RANKED FIFTH HIGHEST ON RECORD FOR JANUARY.
MOST OF THE MONTH'S RAINFALL OCCURRED IN TWO SHORT SPELLS BUT TOTAL RAINFALL AT 45.1 MM WAS 16.6 MM ABOVE AVERAGE.
APART FROM A FEW PATCHES OF LIGHT RAIN OVERNIGHT ON JANUARY 7 AND AT FIRST ON JANUARY 8, THE FIRST 11 DAYS OF THE MONTH WERE MAINLY FINE AND MILD. ON THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 10 TEMPERATURES ROSE TO A MAXIMUM OF 23.7 DEGREES CELSIUS THE HIGHEST RECORDED FOR THE MONTH.
CONDITIONS BECAME CLOUDLY WITH SOME LIGHT RAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 12. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT FALL IN TEMPERATURE DURING THE NEXT TWO DAYS BUT FRESH TO STRONG EASTERLIES WERE EXPERIENCED OVERNIGHT ON JANUARY 13.
MUCH COOLER WEATHER WITH PATCHES OF RAIN WAS EXPERIENCED
ON JANUARY 15-16 AFTER THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT ON
THE EVENING OF JANUARY 14. WINDS FRESHENED FROM THE NORTH AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE AND REMAINED FRESH TO STRONG UNTIL THE EARLY MORNING OF JANUARY 16.
THE WEATHER IMPROVED ON JANUARY 17 BUT REMAINED GENERALLY CLOUDY UNTIL THE START OF A SHORT SPELL OF FINE AND SUNNY WEATHER ON JANUARY 23. CONDITIONS GRADUALLY BECAME MILDER
FROM JANUARY 17 ONWARDS AND IT WAS QUITE WARM DURING THE AFTERNOONS OF JANUARY 26-29.
THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT LATE ON JANUARY 29 ENDED THE FINE AND SUNNY SPELL. IT BECAME OVERCAST WITH RAIN WHICH PERSISTED UNTIL THE MORNING OF JANUARY 31. STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS SET IN DURING THE EVENING OF JANUARY 30 AND PERSISTED UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH.
TEMPERATURES DROPPED SHARPLY AND THE MONTH'S MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 6.8 DEGREES CELSIUS WAS RECORDED ON THE LAST HOUR OF THE MONTH,
THE CORRESPONDING TEMPERATURE RECORDED AT TATE'S CAIRN WAS 0.3 DEGREE CELSIUS, TAI MO SHAN RECORDED A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -0.1 DEGREE CELSIUS ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 31 AND -2.4 DEGREES THE FOLLOWING MORNING. GROUND FROST WAS OBSERVED THERE.
/DURING THE MONTH