Seasons at the allotment: January 2022

January 2022 was a calm, dry, and mild month. That was until the last weekend, when two named storms rattled through.

Storm Malik arrived on the 28th bringing winds of 90mph.

Storm Corrie quickly followed on the 30th, again gusts peaked at over 90mph.

But despite the dramatic end, January was dominated by high pressure and unusually sunny conditions.

In fact, for parts of the region it was the SUNNIEST JANUARY on record. For the UK as a whole it will go down as the third sunniest start to the year.

We had a few downpours but January had less than half the average rainfall for the month for the UK.

An average of 61.3mm of rain fell, which is well below the average of 121.5mm.

January will also be remembered for being milder than average. The month started with the warmest New Year’s Day on record for the UK, with 16.3°C recorded at St James’ Park in London.

It was an especially mild January for Scotland, an average of 4.7°C makes it the country’s sixth warmest January on record, 1.8°C above the long-term average.