Warmest start to a year ever

Mild temperatures being experienced across the West Midlands this month have made it the warmest start to a year since records began, experts say.

And weather experts, who said 2006 was the hottest on record in the Midlands, said people should not expect much snow in the coming months when the colder weather eventually arrives.

Figures show an average temperature in the West Midlands of 10.65C so far this month and Simon Keeling, owner of Weather Consultancy Services, said this was significantly warmer than last year.

"Of the past four years, three of them have shown a very warm start to January," he said.

"The nearest to this year's figure was in 2005 when the temperature averaged 10.47C, so this year is almost 0.2C higher. In climatology, this is a big deal.

"The warmth has continued from 2006, which was the warmest year on record in central England."

Despite the mild temperatures, Mr Keeling said the weather could be set to change in the next few weeks.

"We could see the briefest of cold snaps in about a week's time," he said.

"After that, the middle two weeks of February could be wintry, although I don't expect a great deal of snow."