[4] During the last week, though, when the winds veered to the northwest, colder weather arrived with frosts and snow showers to exposed areas.
[4] Milder air tried to push in from the Atlantic Ocean with a system and a heavy snowfall resulted across the UK, with depths of snow of 8 to 15 centimetres (3.1 to 5.9 in) being widely reported.
The Atlantic air finally broke through, and a thaw resulted in flooding in a number of areas, as temperatures rose double figures in the south, Kew recording 11 °C (51.8 °F).
The northwesterlies returned on the 21st with a low over the near continent and its active cold front moving across southeast England bringing thunderstorms, snow, and hail.
[8] January 1895 had heavy snowfall produce above-average water-equivalent precipitation – England and Wales averaged 100.9 millimetres or 3.97 inches, which is more than in any colder month since the EWP series began – except in the west of Scotland, which was in a rain shadow from the prevailing northeasterly winds and received only a quarter of normal rainfall.
Despite the heavy snowfall, sunshine duration was above normal throughout except for the east coast and adjacent slopes,[9] with the west and southwest having up to twice their long-term average insolation.
[7] A very cold easterly flow controlled the weather over the UK and most of Europe, and severe frosts with minima of −13 °C or 8.6 °F occurred at Loughborough and −15 °C or 5.0 °F was recorded at Chester.
Small polar lows affected the west with snowfalls, Douglas on the Isle of Man recorded 8 inches (0.20 m) of snow.