So... was it the 'coldest winter in 100 years'?

With the sun shining at last and the recent snow falls beginning to thaw, it's time to pay a final visit to a headline from last November (right).

Examining the constant weather headlines of The Express may seem gratuitous. After all, they're not really meant to be accurate, they're meant to sell newspapers.

So we'll keep this quick.

Was this past winter the coldest in 100 years? Did The Express prove the critics, the doubters, the bookmakers, the Met Office and everybody else wrong?

Of course not.

The Met Office has published its full winter figures - classed for reporting purposes as December, January and February and a spokeswoman for the Met Office told the Media Blog:

"It hasn't been the coldest winter in 100 years. Far from it." 

She's not wrong. It wasn't even the coldest winter in 50 years.

Or 25 years.

Or 10 years.

Or 5 years.

BUT... it was colder than last winter.

For the record, this past winter, with a mean temperature of 3.3°C, was the 43rd coldest in the last 100 years which in the grand scheme of things is really pretty average - a description which could also be applied to the UK's weather in general, despite The Express's best efforts to convince us we're only ever just days away from being baked or frozen to death.

See also:
The Express's 'Frozen Planet' moment
The facts and figures behind Express weather claims
Weather forecasting: Express style

Comments

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Well for me its been one of the clodest winters in history i ain't no weather man but i can tell you when it's cold specially when i have to pay so much in gas and electric keeping my house warm.