Many in Trinidad woke up to a chill this morning and the Met Service has now confirmed a temperature of just 18.3 degrees Celsius at Piarco during the pre-dawn hours.
The TTMS says this is the lowest temperature recorded at Piarco for January during the last decade, since 2012.
The temperature was due to colder air from the north encroaching onto T&T, with pre-existing very dry conditions and almost cloud-free skies for most of the night.
The first half of January had cool temperatures in the mid to lower 20s, eventually dropping to low 20s during the second half of the month and culminating this last week with morning temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius.
The TTMS says there is a high probability that cool nights will continue into the first week of February as well, possibly dropping lower than 18.3 degrees Celsius.
Persons who are susceptible to low temperatures and experience respiratory ailments are urged to be proactive and wear warm and/or extra clothing, especially during the coming week.
Generally, the coldest night in any given year in T&T depends on individual weather systems, present at the particular time.
However, the TTMS says this is always based on a seasonal cycle, where on average for much of T&T, the coldest nights occur during December to February, with January tending to be on average, cooler than the other months.
On occasions, the month of March has also produced sub-20 minimum temperatures.
It is for these and other reasons that the TTMS’ 2023 Dry Season Rainfall and Temperature Outlook indicated, “Few nights during January and February are likely to be relatively cold with minimum temperatures falling below 20.0 C”.
The lowest minimum temperature on record at Piarco, is 16.1 degrees Celsius, which was recorded on the nights of January 21st and 30th in 1964.
