The first measurable snowfall of the winter occurred on February 4th 2011 when 9 centimeters fell between 15:00 and 22:00. This followed a minimum temperature of -6.4°C recorded at 08:16. This was the coldest temperature since the -8.8°C recorded on December 20th 2010. The average temperature was -2.9°C, the coldest since December 21st 2010 when the average temperature was -4.2°C.
The country had been sitting under a cold European block of high pressure for several days until milder air forced its way in from the south west. Rain on the cold front quickly turned to snow as it passed over Wales and the West Country in the morning. By mid-afternoon, the snow had reached Selston.
During the evening, the temperature began to rise and peaked at 0.1°C shortly before midnight.