Two Shropshire winters in one picture - what a difference a year makes
They are the same views one year on – and how things have changed.
Last year we were shivering as Arctic air brought a big chill into Shropshire and Mid Wales.
Now the big freeze is a distant memory, and instead we are experiencing a winter that is mild and distinctly soggy.
These images were taken by Shropshire Star photographers and merged into one by our picture editor Steve Derry.
Last year, the Star was full of images that looked pretty but belied the hardship as temperatures dipped to -5C (23F).
Compare that to a weekend forecast, which will see the region getting a balmy 9C (48F) today, albeit with plenty of wet stuff.
Temperatures this winter have been much milder than last year, when much of the country was blanketed in snow. Up to five inches fell, closing schools and museums. In Telford, a bus crashed into railings outside the Abraham Darby Academy in Madeley and Arriva stopped all bus services across Telford as a precaution.
In Oswestry, a mother and her two children were trapped in their car in mud and snow after going sledging. Firefighters were eventually called to help the family.
The Met Office today confirmed it as one of the mildest winters for years, with barely a frost in most areas since November.
Last year December, January and February averaged 3.3C (38F). With the exception of 2011/12, which averaged 4.6C (40F), every other winter since 2007/08 has been colder than the average. But January temperatures this year have so far averaged 5.1C (41.2F), 1.5C higher than expected. December was further from the norm at 5.7C (42.3F), 1.8C above average.
January is on track to be the mildest since 2007, placing it in the top 10 warmest since records began in 1910.
