January has proved an odd month being colder, sunnier and wetter than average.

On top of that, it has also seen the island battered by Storm Eowyn with wind speeds reaching 107mph on the top of Snaefell.

It was a mixed picture to say the least with plenty of snow on higher ground early in the month with subzero temperatures and then the arrival of Storm Eowyn which hit the island on January 24.

Meteorologist Gary Salisbury said: ‘After a very mild Christmas period, there was a complete change in the new year, with a polar airmass bringing much colder conditions, and indeed a decent amount of snow for some higher parts of the Island.

‘The mean temperature over the month came to 6C, which is 0.4C below the 30-year (1991-2020) average, thanks to that first week or so of cold.

‘The lowest air temperature recorded at Ronaldsway was -2.1C on the morning of January 10.

‘After that the milder air returned, and the highest temperature of the month was 11.7C on January 14.

‘Total rainfall was 103.1mm, which is about 25% up on the 30-year average. The wettest day was January 5 with 27.4mm in the gauge at Ronaldsway; that precipitation falling as snow above a few hundred feet, with a good covering on higher ground, with drifting and blizzard conditions.

‘Sunshine came to 67.3 hours, which is about 10 hours above average. The best day was January 29 with 7.6 hours.’

‘Storm Eowyn caused widespread disruption on January 24. A rare ‘red’ warning was issued, and the situation became serious with the amount of roads blocked and damage to power lines, etc.

‘On the Beaufort Scale, winds reached Violent Storm Force 11, with gusts to 70 knots (81mph) recorded at Ronaldsway. That apart, wind speeds on the whole were a couple of knots lower than average with a mean speed across the month of 13 knots.’