Hottest New Year's Eve ever as region sees out 2021 with record temperatures

  • Watch our report from Hannah Pettifer


The region had the warmest New Year's Eve on record.

South westerly winds blowing in from the Atlantic are behind the unseasonably warm spell.

Both Santon Downham in Suffolk and Cambridge hit more than 15 degrees C - the average maximum temperature for this time of year is usually around 7 degrees C.

December is shaping up to be one of the dreariest on record - officially the dullest since 1956. The UK has seen less that 27 hours of sunshine over the past 30 days.

Warmest UK December temperatures Credit: PA Graphics/Press Association Images

The Met Office said there had been just 26.6 hours of sunshine over 30 days - 38% less than the national average for this time of year. in 1956 19.5 hours of sunlight was thenational average, while the brightest was in 2001 with 64 hours recorded onaverage across the UK.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the dull weather was linked to milder temperatures across winter generally, which are likely to be caused by global warming.

"One of the reasons we're getting the dull weather is the fact that it's been so mild. We're drawing in south-westerly wind from the Atlantic and it's also drawing in a lot of moisture. It keeps us warm but it also produces a lot of cloud," he said.

Mr Snell added: "The globe is warming up so we would expect our winters to be milder than they were."

One of the most obvious signs of the mild weather were the daffodils planted for the annual Thriplow daffodil weekend in Cambridgeshire which have already started to bloom.

The blooms have started to appear two weeks earlier than usual and, organisers of the festival like to think, a sign of a more positive year to come.

Paul Earnshaw, one of the organisers of the Thriplow Daffodil Weekend said:

"22 has got to be better than 21 hasn't it and the daffodils are such a hopeful thing to have coming out, they make spring happen, gives you hope."

The warmer temperatures are expected to continue over the next couple of days.

But Spring isn't quite here yet as by early next week temperatures are expected to drop back down to single digits upon Winter's return.