Weather and season
It was one of the longest and coldest winters for many a year. Snow arrived on the 17th December and was still present – above about 1200ft – at the end of March.
JANUARY: There was a little snow on New Year’s Day but 3 inchesfell on the 2nd. Low temperatures, often sub-zero until mid-month, meant no thawing. A little more snow fell on the 13th but a steady but slow thaw began on the following day. Frosts began again on the 29th plus there was a fall of snow in the early hours on the 31st. The national mean temperature for the month was about 3ºC below the 1971-2000 average. It was the coldest January over theUK since 1987 and equal eighth coldest in a series from 1914. Rainfall was well below normal. It was the eighth sunniest January in a series from 1929.