5th January 1895

Jersey registers its lowest ever temperature

Jersey is famed for being the sunniest part of the British Isles or Crown Dependencies, but it wouldn’t have felt much like that on 5 January 1895. On that day, the island recorded its lowest ever temperature, when the mercury dropped to -10.3° Celsius (-13.5° Fahrenheit).

This is considerably lower than the norm. The average high for January, as recorded at Jersey Airport, is 9° Celsius, and the average low is 5° Celsius, with an average of 58.2mm of rainfall. However, February is, on average, colder, with the median minimum temperature touching 4° Celsius. That’s cold, but positively tropical compared to -10.3°.

Jersey gets around 10% of its rainfall in January and 11% in October. Its driest month is June when it experiences just 4% of its annual rainfall, which contrasts with the 13% it receives in its wettest month, November.

Jersey is warmer, on average, than many other locations at a similar latitude as a result of being surrounded by water, which cools more slowly than the air above it, helping to reduce the chill as summer makes way for autumn and winter. The sea also moderates summer temperatures, which are frequently lower than in many mainland locations significantly further north.