Winner Alan Rowley spent $31,500 on a state of the art weather station. PHOTO: Nottingham Post

What do winners buy? According to the UK National Lottery:

"Many winners take their time deciding what to buy - with property and cars topping the list of purchases, but some opt for something a bit more unique."

Well, how about a weather station?

For 62-year-old Alan Rowley, who scooped up £1.9 million (US$3m), that's exactly what he did, according to the Nottingham Post.

As well as a new house and car predicted by the Lottery, Mr Rowley splashed £20,000 on a weather station, which feeds data directly to his computer.

When Mr Rowley, a former business owner, struck gold, one of his grandest purchases was his state-of-the-art meteorology center that he keeps in his back garden in Selston, UK.

He said: "The weather has always been linked to cricket and I wanted to record the weather so I could have an idea of what the conditions would be like at the weekend.

"I always had a passing interest in the weather like most people have, I just had the idea of being able to record it so I can plan ahead."