CHRISTMAS Day was one of the mildest in 20 years.
The temperature in Huddersfield hit a high of 11.6°C (52°F) – making it the second warmest since 1991, with only 2006 warmer.
Paul Stevens, Salendine Nook meteorologist and florist, said that the temperature was staggeringly different to the same time last year, when Huddersfield struggled to get 1.3°C on Christmas Day.
Paul said: “It was one of the warmest Christmas Days on record, as the forecast a week ago predicted.
“Even in Scotland they almost reached a record high, with Aberdeenshire recording a temperature of 14.5°C.
“We would expect it to be 6° or 7° normally in Huddersfield, but it’s double the temperature.
“It’s all due to the conditions, the south westerly winds coming in from the Atlantic. The only Chrismassy-type weather we’ve seen has been the sleet on the Pennines.
“But this is going to continue until January, and although there may be some more strong winds and occasional storms, the temperature will be above minimum.”
Paul said this year has been a big turnaround from previous Christmas Days, when snow blanketed much of the town.
In 2009 Christmas Day was -2.3°C, last year it was 1.3°C, so 11.6°C in 2011 is on a par with some European countries, with Barcelona just hitting 12.7°C.
But December’s mild weather brought with it a lot of rain.
Paul says that so far this month there has been 108mm of rainfall.
“We’d normally see about 65mm of rain, so its getting on for double the rainfall too,” he added.
“I expect this will continue into the middle of January and then we’ll see how the forecasting models change.”
