An area of high air pressure to the west of Britain and Ireland formed in late November to early December, which caused numerous windstorms to turn north to Norway and Sweden. All the storms moving north of the United Kingdom meant that November was fairly dry for the country. In December there were long periods of calm weather in France with sunniness and dryness. A change in the weather pattern began as active storms brought strong rain and snowfall to the mountains towards the end of the month. 