OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Record Breaking Cold Temperature Observed at Piarco

The year 2021 kicked-off with a record-breaking cold night in Trinidad and Tobago when the minimum temperature cooled to 19.0°C at Parco during the pre-dawn hours, today, January 5, 2021. This was due to colder air from the north encroaching onto Trinidad and Tobago, in conditions where the winds were mostly calm, with pre-existing very dry conditions and almost cloud-free skies for most of the night. This is the lowest temperature recorded at Piarco for January or any other month during the last decade, since 2011.

The last time January had a minimum temperature of 19.0°C was January of 2010, but it is not uncommon for January to produce minimum temperatures below 20°C, given that 50 of the 62 Januaries, from 1960 to 2021 have produced sub-20 minimum temperatures. The lowest minimum temperature on record at Piarco, is 16.1°C, which occurred on the nights of January 21 and 30, 1964, followed by 16.4°C on the night of January 28, 1976. In fact, 14 out of the last 25 Januaries, since 1997, have produced minimum temperatures between 19.0°C and 19.8°C, while January of 2020 produced minimum temperatures of 19.5 °C and 19.7 °C on two nights, January of 2019 produced a minimum of 19.2°C, and January of 2017 produced a minimum of 19.3°C.

Generally, the coldest night in any given year in Trinidad and Tobago depends on individual weather systems, present at the particular time. However, this is always based on a seasonal cycle; where on average for much of Trinidad and Tobago, the coldest nights occur during December to February, with January tending to be on average, cooler than the other months. It is for these and other reasons that the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service 2021 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".