Updated: 2026-07-31
The point of measurement closest to Birmingham is the Met Office station at Coton-in-the-Elms in Derbyshire, situated at 85 m above sea level, approximately 32.6 km from the city centre. These are its historical records. The climate you experience in Birmingham itself may differ from this station due to local factors such as differences in altitude, urban heat effects, or proximity to valleys and water bodies. This is the best available reference, not an exact measurement of Birmingham's weather.
That winter morning in 2002, the mercury at Coton-in-the-Elms fell to -9.2°C. To put that in perspective, it is a stark reminder of how cold an English January can get when high pressure settles and skies clear overnight. The air cools radiatively, and with snow on the ground, temperatures can plummet well below the seasonal averages. This record has stood for over two decades now, surviving several significant cold spells since.
The Met Office's MIDAS archive holds daily minimum temperatures (tmin) for the station with indicator code 00542. The record shown here comes from a complete scan of every January day between 1991 and 2025 for that station. The query simply orders all January daily minimums from lowest to highest and takes the first one: that gave -9.2°C on 2 January 2002. This is the coldest January minimum in the entire measurement period at this location.
While -9.2°C is an exceptionally cold day for central England, it is far from the extremes experienced in northern Scotland. For context, here is a ranking of the lowest January minimums ever recorded at a selection of UK Met Office stations (note these are all-time records, not limited to the 1991-2025 period):
| Station | County / Region | Record Min (°C) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braemar | Aberdeenshire | -27.2°C | 1982-01-10 |
| Grantown-on-Spey | Moray in Highland region | -26.8°C | 1982-01-08 |
| Bowhill | Selkirkshire | -26.6°C | 1982-01-11 |
| West Linton | Peebleshire | -26.2°C | 1982-01-11 |
| Glentress | Peebleshire | -25.6°C | 1982-01-11 |
The January 1982 cold wave was extraordinary, with several Scottish stations dipping below -25°C. By comparison, the -9.2°C at Coton-in-the-Elms on 2 January 2002 is considerably milder, reflecting the typical east-west and north-south temperature gradients across Britain. In mid-January 1982, for instance, while Braemar was at -27.2°C, Coton-in-the-Elms did not record such extreme cold.
The data series for Coton-in-the-Elms covers the period from 1 March 1991 through 31 December 2025. Within that span, January holds the coldest minimum of the year, as you would expect. The record of -9.2°C on 2 January 2002 stands as the reference point for anyone in the Birmingham region asking "how cold can it get here in January?"
Since 2002, no January has produced a colder night at this station. The closest contenders would have come during notable cold snaps, but the data confirms that the 2002 event remains the benchmark. If you are planning an outdoor event in January or simply curious about climate extremes, this is the number to remember: -9.2°C, measured at the nearest official station to Birmingham.
For Birmingham, the Coton-in-the-Elms record is the most reliable indicator we have of the regional cold extreme. The city itself is a large urban area, and the urban heat island effect often keeps central Birmingham a few degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas on clear winter nights. So while the station may register -9.2°C, the city centre might not quite reach that value on the same morning. Nevertheless, this is the official, audited data available, and it provides the best answer to the question of January's cold record in the Birmingham region.
Weather records like this one are not just trivia; they inform building standards, emergency planning, and agricultural practices. Knowing that temperatures can reach -9.2°C helps engineers design infrastructure that can cope, and helps farmers protect vulnerable livestock or crops.
Source: Met Office MIDAS archive (Open Government Licence v3.0). Station: Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire. Period: 1991-2025.
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