Weather expert warns 'exceptionally mild' conditions are finishing as frost returns to Aylesbury Vale

The first month of meteorological winter is now behind us, and December’s weather was certainly mixed across the Vale.

The first week was unsettled and a brief blast of northerly winds resulted in a rarity across the Vale; an air frost with temperatures of -1C. There was a dusting of snow on the morning of the 2nd, particularly across the Chilterns where a couple of centimetres were recorded.

There was some rain around too, and we recorded about 15mm of rain in the first week.

The second week of December remained unsettled but it also became milder with daytime highs reaching 12C at times. Another 10mm of rain was added to the monthly total during this second week, although none of it was heavy.

High pressure developed during the third week which brought with it largely dry weather. It was far from pleasant, however, with extensive low cloud and even some fog. We barely saw any sunshine at all.

The sunless conditions continued into the final week and it became more unsettled again with over half the month’s rain falling, about 30-40mm in 10 days.

The wettest day was Christmas Eve, when about 15mm was recorded. Perhaps most notable was just how mild Christmas and New Year were, with no night-time frost.

It was a very mild New Year’s Eve, with maximum temperatures of 14C during the day, and not falling below 11C overnight.

Since New Year, the weather has already changed a great deal, with rain and exceptionally mild conditions giving way to cold and frost.

It is likely to stay rather cold over the next couple of days with frost and even some wintry showers, and some heavier rain is possible this weekend.