A year ago almost to the day a freak snowstorm brought Suffolk to a standstill, closing schools and causing travel chaos – but twelve months on, we’ve got a winter heatwave and the hottest February day on record.
Yesterday the UK shattered a 21-year-old record after highs of 20.3C were recorded in Wales – in stark contrast to the sub-zero temperatures we experienced this time last year when weeks of snow came from Europe.
Here we take a look back at scenes from last year’s Beast from the East and see how things have changed.
This weekend has been an unusually warm one for Suffolk, with highs of 14C and 15C hitting the region and temperatures expected to rise to 16C throughout the week.
However just four weeks ago the county experienced its coldest night since last year’s Beast from the East, as temperatures plummeted to -8C. But the winter weather didn’t last long and the unseasonably hot weather looks as though it is here to stay.
Dan Holley, a weather forecaster for East Anglia-based Weatherquest, said: “February has been dry and sunny at times and definitely milder than the average February.
“The normal daytime average for February is 7-8C but parts of Suffolk have seen temperatures reach the early teens.”
It is not yet known whether the heat will continue into the summer as forecasters say it is currently too early to predict.
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