Sheffield weather: UK records warmest ever New Year's Eve as record-breaking mild spell continues
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Temperatures reached 15.4C at Sutton Bonnington, in Nottinghamshire, today, Friday, December 31, according to the Met Office, which said several sites in eastern and northern England had broken the previous New Year’s Eve record and there was the potential for that mark to be further bettered during the day.
The previous record was 14.8C, recorded at Colwyn Bay in North Wales in 2011.
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Hide AdThe Met Office said the extremely mild spell was expected to continue into the first few days of 2022, with the New Year’s Day record of 15.6C, recorded in Bude, Cornwall, in 1916, under threat.
The mild conditions are driven by a flow of warm, moist air from the Canary Islands, further south in the Atlantic, which has also brought cloud and outbreaks of rain to the UK.
Steve Ramsdale, a Met Office chief forecaster, said: “The current weather pattern is bringing extremely mild conditions to the UK – perhaps reaching around 16.0 °C in some parts. We also expect some very mild overnight temperatures as well with minimum temperature records being broken in places.”
In Sheffield, Weston Park Weather Station recorded a maximum temperature of 14.5C in the 24 hours to 9am on December 31, and with similar conditions forecast over the next 24 hours it could join the list of places to beat the old UK record.
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Hide AdTemperatures in the city are forecast to fall gradually over coming days, with a high of 13C predicted on Saturday, January 1, 10C on Sunday and just 5C next Tuesday, with a low of -1C that day.
The Met Office said the blast of colder air from Tuesday could deliver wintry showers and frosts but this would be a temporary cold spell before weather conditions from the Atlantic return, resulting in strong winds and rain.
Despite the mild temperatures, Britain is set to record its dullest December since 1956, with less than 27 hours of sunlight across the country on average – 38 per cent less than usual.
Britain’s dullest December was in 1956, when 19.5 hours of sunlight was the national average, while the brightest was in 2001 with 64 hours.