It's been so mild

[suzieseaside]

..........  that on Sunday the temperature was 30C warmer than on the same day 5 years ago when it was very cold

http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/20/its-30c-warmer-today-than-it-was-five-years-ago-5576310/

It suits me, there are bound to be savings on heating bills. I haven't put any heating on yet since spring, apart from one day a few weekends ago when I turned on a fan heater for an hour or so when I was sat still at the puter.

I guess we are heading for the warmest December on record.

[cee-dee]

Hmmmmmmm, how about this?:-

December 1910. A very mild and wet first half. There were four days of continuous rain in parts of the south early in the month, over 6 inches of rain fell between the 4th and the 10th in parts of Devon. One and a half inches of rain fell at Nottingham on the 1st. There was a violent westerly gale in southern England on the 16th. The equal record highest maximum for Christmas Eve was set this month, with 15.6C at locations in North Wales.

[cee-dee]

So 5 years ago it was cold in December but the next year it was......:-

December 2011. A very westerly month with frequent gales (the second most westerly December on record). Overall it was warmer than average, making it the mildest December since 2006, although it was warmest in southern England and coolest in Northern Ireland. The highest temperature of the month was 15.5C at Fyvie (Aberdeenshire) on the 26th, and the lowest -9.4C at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross) early on the 18th. It didn't reach above -3.0C at Aviemore on the 16th. It was slightly wetter than average in England and Wales, with 112mm of rain (115%). Although it was sunnier than the long-term average (55 hours, 105 hours) it was the least sunny December for some years. A phenomenal gale causes widespread disruption on Thursday 8th, especialy to central and southern Scotland. Bridges shut. A gust of 165 mph is recorded on Cairngorm. It's a green and mild Christmas, with 15.1C recorded at Aberdeen, not far from the previous record of 15.6C in 1896 and 1920. Northern Ireland had its warmest Christmas Day on record: 14.3C at Murlough, County Down. It's also a very windy day, especially across the north, with gusts of 101 mph at Sella Ness in Shetland and a severe gale in Orkney and Shetland. There was another severe gale in central Scotland on the 28th.

I think some of the recorders don't keep track of their own "records"?

[suzieseaside]

The slider you can move to compare the temperatures across the country between the years doesn't appear to work using the link in my OP.

I don't know why. May be because a missing # in the link.  Try this instead:

http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/20/its-30c-warmer-today-than-it-was-five-years-ago-5576310/#

--------------------------

CD - We won't know until December is over, but according to XC weather on my mobile it's still predicted to be in double figures for the next week (down south that is).

[023mjc]

Double figures works for me.

[jd.linklater]

We have certainly had some unusually warm weather in general here in Glos. judging by plant activity. A lot of deciduous trees hung onto their leaves much longer than usual, we have a willow tree and a couple of hawthorns that are still half full. We have wallflowers beginning to bloom and lots of Spring bulbs like snowdrops and crocuses popping up, our neighbour already has a good show of daffodils. A lot of Summer flowering perennials that were cut back in October have found a new lease of life and some have got new flower buds.

On the other hand a common theme this year in the Southern half of the country has been exceptionally strong and persistent cold winds. During the Summer months there were probably three weekends at most when the wind dropped enough to feel comfortable outside in shirtsleeves. That's very unusual here, the South Cotswolds are generally quite a sheltered spot.

[upthecreekyetagain]

The problem we've had is the rain - we're on clay and it's just a quagmire - so much so that a Fire Brigade Mercedes Unimog all terrain emergency rescue vehicle got stuck in our field - granted it had lost its four wheel drive.

The horses have churned up the ground, so much so that large areas will have to be reseeded in the Spring.

All in all I'd much prefer a really cold and icy winter rather than this wet and warm one - not to mention the extra wasps, mozzies, rats and other pests we'll have next year if there isn't a really cold snap soon.

[artful_dodgings]

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@upthecreekyetagain wrote:

All in all I'd much prefer a really cold and icy winter rather than this wet and warm one - not to mention the extra wasps, mozzies, rats and other pests we'll have next year if there isn't a really cold snap soon.

---

How odd, I find myself agreeing totally with Creeky. Frosty weather is indeed needed to cleanse the earth, and annihilate all the germs and nasties. I remember a time during the Winters when you couldn't dig your heels into the ground because it was so rock hard. Doesn't happen nowadays. If you tried that in the present climate, your foot would disappear up the ankle in sodden and soggy mush.