January the driest month in almost a century

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 4:21am

For the first time since 1915, Heathcote had no rain at all during January.

By Monique Preston

Heathcote has suffered through its driest January in almost 100 years.

No rain fell in the town at all in January this year — the first time this has happened since 1915.

It is a long way from the monthly average of 34.2mm of rain and is certainly much drier than wettest year on record, where 176.2mm fell for the month in 2011.

Some cooler days in the second half of the month, kept the monthly average maximum temperature to 31.6°C.

This is despite four days recording temperatures of 40°C or higher, including the hottest day of the month when the mercury shot to 41.1°C on January 7.

Nineteen days throughout the month were 30°C or hotter, while the coldest day came on January 13 when the temperature only reached 21.6°C.

The average January temperature this year was slightly above the average of 29.1°C of the past 18 years.

The hottest night was on January 18 when the temperature only dropped to 20°C, while the coldest night came on January 30 when the mercury plummeted to only 5°C.

This year’s January average minimum temperature of 12.5°C was slightly below the January average of 13°C over the past 18 years.