The rain came as a bit of a shock.

From 4am to 7.30am yesterday morning, more than 16mm fell on Colchester.

In fact, it wasn’t so much rain, more of a deluge. It saturated most of north Essex; Colchester, though, got the lion’s share. More rain fell on the town in those three-and-a-half hours than in the previous five weeks.

“North Essex gets about 550mm a year, which makes it one of the driest place in the UK,” explained the Gazette’s weatherman, Terry Mayes.

“North Wales gets the most – 2,500mm. That’s more than 100 inches.”

But yesterday’s downpour over Colchester left north Wales in the shade.

“We just happened to be under one of the pulses of heavy rain,” said Mr Mayes.

“During the next few days there will still be rainbelts coming in over Essex, but the rain will not be anywhere near as heavy.”

So, a miserable early morning for anyone on their way into work. Pitch black, torrential rain, sudden gusts – from a weather point-of-view, this surely was the bleakest morning of the year.

Which sort of fits in with what psychologists have dubbed “blue Monday” – the date when post-Christmas gloom is at its worst.

Apparently, this, the gloomiest of days, falls on the Monday of the last full week in January. The rest of the month isn’t supposed to be much better either – certainly not weather-wise.

“But it won’t be getting any colder – and there won’t be snow,” declared Mr Mayes.

“Not here, anyway. There is cold air coming down from Greenland, but that will only get as far as Derbyshire. So, from Derbyshire northwards there will be snow. In Essex, though, the prospects are very slim indeed. It just won’t be cold enough.”

But it was very cold at the tail end of December. This “cold snap” began on Boxing Day and lasted until January 10.

“The temperatures in Colchester since then have been about 1C during the night, so no frosts,” he said.

“January should have between ten and 12 frosts. So far, we have had ten frosts – eight occured before January 11 – and the night temperature dropped to -5C on January 7.”

It felt colder, however.

There was a mean wind which bit hard; you ventured out only if you had to.

“But it hasn’t been colder than it should,” pointed out Mr Mayes.

“This month has appeared very cold because we have been used to warmer Januaries.

“We have been mollycoddled these past ten years. The January we are experiencing is how it should be.”

Cold winter, hot summer? He won’t go that far, although temperatures in July could hit 30C (86F).

After the disastrous summers of 2007 and 2008, that would be as big a shock as yesterday’s downpour.

WHAT IS BLUE MONDAY?

  • Blue Monday took hold five years ago
  • It was calculated by Cliff Arnall, at the time a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University, to be the most depressing day of the year
  • The main six factors used to calculate the date are: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and ability to pay), time since Christmas, failing to keep New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action – but not doing anything
  • The date typically falls on the Monday of the last full week of January. The date was stated to be January, 24, 2005; January 23, 2006; January 22, 2007; January 21, 2008; January 19, 2009
  • Many people have always felt mid-January to be the worst time of the year, usually because it is too early to look forward to anything. Spring is not just around the corner, and the summer holidays are still a memory from the previous year.

They find they eat and sleep slightly more in winter and dislike the dark mornings and short days.

This is commonly referred to as “winter blues”.

For some symptoms are severe enough to disrupt their lives and to cause considerable distress. These people are suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

HOW SAD AFFECTS PEOPLE

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) stems from the lack of bright light in winter.

Researchers have proved that bright light makes a difference to the brain chemistry, but why some people suffer and others do not is unclear.

Symptoms tend to start from about September each year and last until April, but are at their worst in the darkest months. Symptoms include:

  • Sleep problems
  • Overeating – carbohydrate craving
  • Depression, despair, misery, guilt, anxiety
  • Family/social problems
  • Lethargy
  • Physical symptoms – often joint pain or stomach problems, lowered resistance to infection
  • Behavioural problems.

About two per cent of people in northern Europe suffer badly, with ten per cent putting up with milder symptoms.

Across the world, the incidence increases with distance from the equator, except where there is snow on the ground, when it becomes less common. More women than men have Sad. Children and adolescents are also vulnerable.

As the cause is lack of bright light, the best treatment is being in bright light. Going to a brightly-lit climate for a holiday – ski-ing or somewhere hot – will relieve symptoms.

Failing that, have bright lights in the home