Exceptionally Mild November-December 1953

[Weather-history]

The last two months of 1953 were exceptionally mild combined

CET

Nov: 8.5C

Dec: 6.9C

Tropical maritime air was frequent, bringing at times, exceptionally mild temperatures

16.1C was recorded at Wrexham and Hawarden on the 15th of November, at Aber on 23rd, Gillingham on the 28th and Bromley on the 29th

Early December was even milder with maxima of 17.8C recorded at Llandudno on the 2nd and 17.2C being recorded at St James's Park and Thetford on the 4th

It was a dry December for England and Wales following the dryish November. Frosts were seldom, Oxford didn't record a single air frost for September, October, November nor December, the previous record for the latest date for the first air frost of the season was 22nd November in 1898.

RAF Mildenhall recorded just 4 air frosts for both months and 39 days where maxima reach double digits.

Not surprisingly the mildness caused spring flowers and shrubs to flower.

[damianslaw]

Proof that very mild autumns have occured in the distant past..

[Thundery wintry showers]

Thanks again for the statistical info- I was aware that 1938 and 1939 had very mild Novembers but I was unaware of November/December 1953 (though it was notable that on my snow events analysis the two months were notable for their lack of snow).

Fast forward to late January 1954, and patterns had changed considerably:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1954/Rrea00119540130.gif

[Weather-history]

Newspaper reports from that December

  

 

[A Face like Thunder]

'86 in the sun on Brighton Pier' - I like it!

London mean was 47.2F in Nov 1953 (+ 2.0 above average) and December was 46.5 (+5.0). As suggested, the pattern was to change, with eight out of the nine succeeding months in 1954 having below average temperatures (Brazell). 

[North-Easterly Blast]

What some may call an exceptionally mild November / December 1953, was actually cool in comparison to the same pair of months in 2015!  Nov 1953 still had a CET of 1*C less than 2015, and in Dec 1953 the CET was still 2.8*C less than 2015, so 1953 puts into perspective how exceptional the same pair of months put together were in 2015.