Records topple as Britain shivers in the snow
Saturday 1st January 2011, 11:30AM GMT.
The past month was Britain’s coldest December for 120 years, meteorologists have revealed.
It was also the chilliest individual calendar month since February 1986, according to weather historian Philip Eden, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 21.1C (minus 6F) in the Scottish Highlands.
A series of heavy snowfalls caused massive disruption to road, rail and air travel as the nation shivered in freezing conditions.
The benchmark Central England Temperature plunged to an average of minus 0.6C (31F) over the month, the lowest figure for December since 1890, according to MeteoGroup UK, the weather forecasting division of the Press Association.
There were 10 nights in December 2010 when the temperature fell below minus 18C (minus 0.4F) somewhere in the UK.
Altnaharra in Scotland experienced the coldest conditions, with the mercury plummeting to minus 21.1C on December 1.
By contrast, St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly basked in the relative warmth of a high of 11.5C (53F) on December 28.
Much of Britain may have been freezing and snowbound in December, but it was drier and sunnier than usual.
Rainfall averaged 39.5mm over England and Wales (39 per cent of the mean for 1971-2000), the lowest total for December since 1971, 48mm over Scotland (47 per cent) and 59mm over Northern Ireland (60 per cent).
Northern Ireland enjoyed 80 hours of sunshine over the month (227 per cent of the mean for 1971-2000), Scotland 59 hours (178 per cent) and England and Wales averaged 56 hours (117 per cent).
Most Commented
- Clampdown on Shrewsbury chuggers
- Bishop's gay marriage views do nothing to support bible teachings
- Letter: Alcohol price plans annoy me
- Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
- Letter: Angered by close encounter of the furred kind
- Letter: No sense in overseas job adverts
- The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff doesn't raise a smile
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
