Snow was a big feature of last winter as the Beast from the East hit East Anglia.

East Anglian Daily Times: Helmingham Hall in the snow. What will the weather be like for the Woofers Winter Walk? Picture: SUFFOLK COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONHelmingham Hall in the snow. What will the weather be like for the Woofers Winter Walk? Picture: SUFFOLK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION (Image: Suffolk Community Foundation)

This winter is totally different, as we have been dogged by rain, mild temperatures and the occasional windy day which has not brought to us the white Christmas we all dream about.

• Why a white Christmas is something we can normally only dream of.

Weather experts, Weatherquest, based at the University of East Anglia, have spoken about why the region can’t expect some of the white stuff for the festive period.

A spokesman for the weather station says that there is still one major obvious ingredient missing from the atmosphere to give us that flurry of snow.

The spokesman said: “We need cold air which usually comes in from the east or the north-east and there is no sign of that happening.

“Wind is only coming in from the west off the Atlantic which quite mild.

“It needs to be below freezing in the air all the way up to the atmosphere before we have a chance of getting snow.”

Colder air coming into Britain usually hails from northern Europe, Scandinavia or Russia.

Last Christmas, Britain was hit by snow storms formed by easterly winds over Russia, creating the infamous Beast From The East.

“Cold, dry air comes in from the east,” said the spokesman.

“It then picks up some moisture over the north sea and as the temperature continues to drop we see some snow.

“We aren’t going to see snow in this part of the road at any point before Christmas or after because it’s simply too mild and there are no strong easterly winds.”