One year on, November pictures capture startling contrast

What a difference a year makes. This time last year snow was falling on the West Midlands for the first time, as the region entered one of the most severe winters in living memory.

Today, November is a very different experience as temperatures rise into double figures.

The contrast could hardly be more stark. Where trees were bare and snow-covered last year, autumn leaves still hang on today. Grit bins plundered 12 months ago now remain untouched. Last year's winter broke all kinds of records, including the earliest snowfall in the West Midlands for 17 years.

• Click on the gallery to your right for 2010 and 2011 Autumn pictures

This year has brought another meteorological landmark – as the region heads for the second mildest ever experienced.

Temperatures so far this month have averaged 9.2C (49F), and this weekend it will hit 12C (54F) – far higher than the average for November of 6.3C (43F).

The reason is a mass of warm air blown up from southern Europe, which has brought a sustained period of mild weather. It has also been drier than normal with average rainfall in the first two weeks of November at around an inch.

That is less than half of what would usually have fallen, leading to warnings of half-full reservoirs and the prospect of hope-pipe bans later.

Last year, cold air from central Europe descended on Britain and decided to stay. When it came into contact with Atlantic fronts, it dumped snow over the UK

On November 26 2010, up to 1.5ins of snow fell in parts of the region and temperatures didn't get above freezing.

And that was just for starters, with temperatures later in the winter dipping to -15C (5F) and substantial falls of the white stuff causing chaos on the roads and thousands of burst pipes.

Last November, Billington's Fruit Shop in Penkridge, was one of the shops hit by blizzards and was forced to clear piles of snow.

Although the owner Rob Billington has now retired, his former assistant Georgina Darby, is now working at Penkridge Hardware, the store that took over when the fruit shop closed.

She said: "I am so surprised at how mild it is this year and I hope we do not have the levels of snow we had last year.

"The fruit shop managed to stay open the whole time during the snow though – it was good for us to be able to do that."

Richard Simkin, owner at Essington Fruit Farm, said: "Our level of customers are up on last year – but whether that's the mild November weather or more people being aware of local food I'm not sure.

Dan Williams, spokesman for the Met Office, said: "November is likely to be the second warmest on record, behind 1994 when the average temperature was 8.8C, while we are expecting Autumn to be the second or third warmest autumn recorded since 1910."