So much for the arctic winter – Ireland has just experienced its mildest November in over 150 years.

A year after the country was brought to a standstill by the first of the big winter freezes, weather forecasters have been baffled by the turnaround.

This time last year temperatures went as low as minus 10 at night in November but 2011 has been a different story altogether.

Provisional data from the state’s Met Eireann weather department proves that the month was exceptionally mild. The weather station in Dublin’s Phoenix Park recorded the warmest November since records began in 1855. The figures state that he average temperature at the Phoenix Park across the autumn was a mild 12C.

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The weather station on Valentia Island in Co Kerry recorded a high of 12.7C, its warmest autumn since its records began in 1869.

Casement Aerodrome in west Dublin reported an average top temperature of 12C, the warmest autumn since records began there 50 years ago.

Temperatures across the country averaged between 2C and 3.5C above normal.

Met Eireann also reports that sunshine and rainfall levels for November were above normal for some parts of the country with the West wetter than normal while the Eastern seaboard avoided a repeat of the October floods.

A Met Eireann spokesman said the outlook for the coming days was for a mixture of cold and rain.

“It’s very mixed but we are not getting any significant cold, although there will be some frost at night,” he said.