I think it's the lack of a memorable cold episode that makes this year seem less than dramatic even with the low CET values. Here in southern England, the Novembers of 1993, 1996, 2005 and 2010 stick in my mind as they all brought notable cold snaps and some early snowfalls. This year has been very much in the "consistently cool but unspectacular " category. 1998 was in a similar vein IIRC