If you thought December was the coldest you could remember, you were right... unless you are more than 120 years old.

The benchmark Central England Temperature plunged to an average of -0.6c (30.9f) over the month, making it the second harshest December since records began in 1659.

It was beaten only by the -0.8c (30.5f) average for December 1890, weather historian Philip Eden said last night. It was also the chilliest individual calendar month since February 1986.

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© Associated PressAn unidentified child throws snow into the frozen fountain of the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace just before Christmas. Snow and freezing temperatures continued to cause travel chaos for road, rail and air passengers in the weeks leading up to the holidays
As snow, ice and frost brought chaos to roads, airports and homes, there were ten nights in December 2010 when the temperature fell below -18c (-0.4f) somewhere in the UK.

Altnaharra in Sutherland, Scotland, experienced the coldest conditions, with the mercury plummeting to -21.1c (-6f) early on December 1.

This bitter end to this year was the result of an unusually large area of high pressure squatting over Greenland - combined with low pressure over the UK. Normally, westerly winds from the Atlantic keep the British Isles mild during the winter.

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© Jeff MooreThe Millennium bridge, with St Paul's cathedral visible in the distance is shrouded in mist on New Year's Eve
But the zone of high pressure in the North Atlantic blocked these winds, allowing a slab of cold Arctic air to flow south over Britain.

December was, however, drier and sunnier than usual. Rainfall averaged 39.5mm over England and Wales - less than half the normal amount and the lowest total for December since 1971.

Northern Ireland enjoyed 80 hours of sunshine over the month - more than twice the expected amount. Scotland had 78 per cent more sunshine than usual, and England and Wales was 17 per cent above the norm.

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© Jeff MooreFoggy London town: The month ended with a particularly dreary day
Despite the milder weather of late, winter is far from over, with weathermen warning of further icy blasts until mid-March. Snow is expected to return to the North today and hard frost is forecast into tomorrow morning.

Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence said: 'We are not expecting a return to the severe cold of the Christmas period but it will be below average for the time of year.