Eventually 2022 provided us with a colder than average month - an uneventful start to the month then saw a prolonged cold spell through to the 17th during which there were some particularly cold nights that saw the lowest temperature for 12 years recorded. And that cold wasn't just confined to night-times, three of the days during the period remaining below freezing.

  At the peak of the cold three consecutive nights fell below -8°c and which was part of nine consecutive nights falling below -5°c. However, snowfall was insignificant, but at least enough to ensure that 2022 did not finish without any 'days of laying snow'.

  The first half of the month was also very dry, but come the 18th it was all change and the month became increasingly unsettled, mild and much wetter, especially during the final week. This mildness and rain wasn't enough to outweigh the earlier cold and dryness, the month finishing much colder than average and also drier.

  At the start of the month high pressure (HP) over the USSR ridged down over the UK and with a slack S'ly flow it was broadly dry and cloudy with temperatures at their seasonal average (max' of 6.8°c) - it then changed and after the mildness of the autumn and indeed the year just gone, quite dramatically.

  From the 4th, with a large area of HP over Greenland and another over Norway, with the UK sat in between the two, initially there was an E'ly flow and it now started to turn colder. During the 5th a cold front to the north of the UK moved south and behind it introduced a N'ly flow, now it became very cold.

  Every night of the period 6-18th (13 days) would experience an air frost and day-time maxima would significantly struggle to rise much above freezing, three days failed to even manage this. The nights were cold though, temperatures if not already below freezing come sunset would quickly fall away and within that run of air frosts, every night of the 8-16th (9 days) fell below -5°c. The peak of that cold was the 14-16th with every night below -8°c, with the -9.6°c (14.7°f) the coldest night for twelve years.

  In this period the highest maximum was 3.9°c, right at the start on the 6th, but each of the 8th, 11th and 14th remained below freezing all day, the day-time maximum of -2.0°c on the 11th being notable - but this along with the low minimum of -9.6°c were still not low enough to enter my 'Top Ten' of lowest mins/maxes!

  Both the 8th and 11th were foggy days and that just emphasized the cold.

  Whilst it was very cold, it was also very dry, the first fifteen days of the month only notched up 2.4 mm of rain (and 0.2 mm of that was frost). At times though, it was also very sunny with a number of cloudless days (8th started that way before the fog, 12th and 14-15th). Up to this point snowfall had been limited to just a few flakes, but a fairly heavy shower during tea-time on the 16th and more overnight into the 17th gave a 2 cm cover that would see the two days of 17-18th being classed as the only 'days of laying snow' in 2022.

  Whilst there was a cool start to the 18th and a little snow left-over, now would mark the change to something milder and wetter - now our weather would come courtesy of a succession of low pressure (LP) systems from the Atlantic.

  The 18th, after a little sleet as the milder air pushed north from the SW into the cooler air, was a drizzly day with temperatures ultimately rising to 12.0°c and with a month's high of 12.8°c (55°f) following on the 19th. The 18th would see rainfall of 13.7 mm and the 19th would also become quite stormy, having an intense downfall of rain between 14-15h which culminated in a wind gust of 60 Mph.

  Now rain would fall on every day through to the month's end with some quite grey and murky days. Each of the 23rd-25th, 27-28th and 31st all topped 10 mm, Christmas Day being the month's wettest day with 19.2 mm which saw intermittent, moderate, rainfall throughout the day. With a maximum of 5.5°c Boxing Day would be the coolest day of with a slight ridge of HP overnight into the 27th allowing for a slight air frost , but the day would become one of those wet, grey and murky days.

  With an active Jet Stream pushing through a quick succession of Atlantic frontal systems, it now also became windy; never stormy, but strong enough to give a few nights disturbed sleep.

  Frost was no longer an issue and day-time maxima were comfortably above the seasonal average from the 27th.

  MSLP of 1010.0 Mb was -2.1 MB below the local average for the month and overall a mean minimum of -0.54°c and a mean maximum of 5.39°c saw the temperature 1.57°c below the thirteen year average for this site.

  It was the coldest December since 2010 and since the record began in 2009, eleven have been warmer and two have been colder - the highest maximum temperature recorded during the month being 12.8°c (19th), the lowest minimum -9.6°c (15th).

  Rainfall of 134.7 mm (Maulds Meaburn North 142.1 mm -- Castlehowe Scar 167.8 mm) was 84.4% of average for 2007-21, making it the wettest December since 2020. In a record that commenced in 2007, nine have been drier and six have been wetter.

  During the month the following 'days of' were recorded: Snowfall on 7 Days -- Snow Laying on 2 days -- Fog on 1 day -- three 'Ice Days' - the wind speed averaged 4.65 mph, with a maximum gust of 60 mph (19th).

  We had 14 Air Frosts in the month (year 52)          --          Grass Frosts totalled 21 (year 118).

  The 1 foot soil temp ranged from a low of 2.0°c on the 19th        to      a high of 7.1°c on the 3rd     --      with a monthly mean of 4.6°c

  The 1 meter soil temp ranged from a low of 6.1°c on the 21st      to      a high of 9.5°c on the 1st     --     with a monthly mean of 7.5°c

   This makes the year of 2022 0.8°c warmer than the average for 2009-21 and with 95.3% of average rainfall for 2008-21

  At the Met' Office site at Shap a mean minimum of -1.5°c and a mean maximum of 5.0°c saw the monthly mean temperature 1.45°c below average. It was the coldest December since 2010. In a record back to 1992, 25 have been warmer and three colder (no data in two years).

  Rainfall of 206.6 mm represents 84.3% of its average. It was the wettest December since 2020 and in a record that commenced in 1989, 18 have been drier and 15 have been wetter.

  At Appleby in Westmorland rainfall of 101.9 mm represents 105.2% of its average (1856-2021) and made it the wettest since 2020 - in a record that commenced in 1856, 104 have been drier and 62 have been wetter.

  Cumbria Rainfall - A very dry first half saw some locations with less than 5 mm, but the second half was the complete opposite with some very wet days. In that second half Brathay recorded 277.2 mm from the 23rd through to the month's end.

  At Seathwaite the first day of the month to record an inch of rain was the 18th and then with another seven following on.

  Very broadly percentage falls trended just below average, however, there were a few pockets with above average falls, these being:    Brampton and Geltsdale - Thursby and Abbeytown - Kirkby Thore and Appleby - Thirlmere, Brothers Water and Burnbanks - but a little more notable was Ambleside, Brathay and Coniston.

  That latter 'pocket' is even more notable as whilst it may be a damp spot, I don't ever recall Brathay ever finishing as the wettest location and this is in terms of both its total and percentage falls!

  Brathay finished with 387.4 mm (145.4%) a percentage total markedly above anything else and which was assisted by two days in the month exceeding 50 mm.

  Coniston wouldn't miss out though as a fall of 67.5 mm on the 19th became the greatest 24Hr fall of the month. Curiously it just beat a fall of 62.9 mm at Coniston Copper Mines, but which came the following day!

  Another notable 24hr fall came at Castle Carrock on the 21st with 60.25 mm

  The driest location this month was Cumwhinton (SE of Carlisle) with just 74.0 mm - however, this month the 'wettest place was the driest'! Ennerdale Black Sail maybe the wettest place in Cumbria, but this month it only managed 65% of its LTA.

  Figures from the Environment Agency's rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1991-2020)   'Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)':

  Kirkby Thore 107.8 mm -- (91.8 mm)

  Haresceugh Castle (Kirkoswald) 107.18 mm -- (108.6 mm)

  Brothers Water 372.61 mm -- (354.3 mm)

  Orton (Shallowford) 180.8 mm -- (194.3 mm [average for 1967-2021]) - making it the wettest since 2020 and since 1967 when the record commenced, 30 have been drier and 25 have been wetter.

  Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale) 380.0 mm -- (391.0 mm [average for 1845-2021]) - making it the driest since 2018 and since 1845 when the record commenced, 89 have been drier and 88 have been wetter.