Now we have passed the half way point of this winter we can assess the CET so far compared to both last year and the 1971-2000 mean
2013/4 1 Dec to 14 Jan 6.72C (1971-2000 4.83C +1.89C)
2014/5 1 Dec to 14 Jan 5.56C (1971-2000 4.83C +0.73C)
So the first half of winter this year has still been a fair bit above average but nearly 1.2C cooler than the same time last year.
The figure for the second half of winter last year was as follows:
2013/4 15 Jan to 28 Feb 5.86C (1971-2000 4.18C +1.68C)