In a month that ended with a violent storm, the mild temperatures were in stark contrast to last year’s big freeze: November 2010 was deemed the coldest month since records began by the Meteorological Institute.

The most astonishing average temperatures were measured at Svinøy Lighthouse off the west coast, where the mercury hovered at a record 9.8 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees above normal.

“If Svinøy had been 0.2 degrees warmer we could have said that it was summer in November,” meteorologist Jostein Mamen told weather website yr.no.

“Summer is defined by the average temperature surpassing 10 degrees.”

The highest maximum temperature was recorded at nearby Tafjord, which reached a balmy 18.8 degrees on November 9th.

2011 has also been one of the warmest years on record, with temperatures for January to November 1.7 degrees above average.

“Unless we have an exceptionally cold December, 2011 will stand as the third or fourth warmest year since 1900,” climate research Ketil Isaksen told the Meteorological Institute.