The Met Office said mild Atlantic breezes going into the new year will mean many places will enjoy temperatures in double figures
Photo: RII SCHROER
People celebrating the New Year will enjoy higher temperatures than Morocco and Madrid as Britain’s second warmest winter on record ends on a high.
Britons getting ready to ring in 2012 can expect highs of up to 59F (15C) after a year of unusually mild weather.
Forecasters said the past 12 months have been the second warmest for the UK after 2006, in which the average temperature reached 49.5F (9.73C). The average for 2011 was just a shade lower at 49.3F (9.62C).
It comes after the warmest April and spring on record, the second warmest autumn and the warmest October day.
The exceptional year of weather followed the worst winter for a century at the end of 2010, which brought the country to a standstill after heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures.
As well as record highs during 2011, the UK was also battered by hurricane-force winds of up to 165mph, which forced schools to close and caused chaos across the transport network.
Despite the milder conditions over Christmas, average temperatures for this December were likely to be close to average.
John Prior, national climate manager at the Met Office, said: “While it may have felt mild for many so far this December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect.
“It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm.”
Nine of the top 10 warmest years have been since 1997 and the top seven warmest years happened in the last decade.
The warmest temperature recorded this year was 91.5F (33.1C) on June 27 at Gravesend in Kent, and was the warmest temperature recorded in the UK for five years.
The Met Office said mild Atlantic breezes going into the new year will mean many places will see temperatures 6-8C warmer than Friday.
Showers were forecast for the west of the country with cloudy conditions elsewhere to maintain the warm weather.
It is likely to mean Britain will be warmer than Marrakesh and Paris, where temperatures were expected to be around 55.4F (13C), and Madrid, which was only likely to manage 44.6F (7C).
“Saturday looks exceptionally mild and it’s safe to say this will be potentially one of the warmest New Year’s Eves on record,” Met Office forecaster Charlie Powell said.
“There will be nationwide double figures and 14C in a few places in the south, although 15C might be pushing it.
“It will be mainly cloudy and breezy, with winds not as strong as earlier this week. The evening will stay mild, with some rain most likely in the west – but nothing too heavy.
“New Year’s Day will mild again at 8C-12C, with some bright, sunny spells suitable for a walk, and cloud and scattered showers at other times.”
Jonathan Powell, Positive Weather Solutions senior forecaster, said: “A mild spring and scorching parts of autumn made up for a lacklustre summer – so a mild end to the year really is the icing on the cake.”
13113
