> the winter was mild.

Sure about that? I remember a cold winter.

> Blizzards, record winds, red weather warnings and biting cold. The long winter of 2023/2024 has featured heavy precipitation and a number of extreme weather events.

https://www.uu.se/en/news/2024/2024-03-04-a-researcher-expla...

And

> Large parts of Europe are starting the 2023-2024 winter season with an abundance of snow and cold, a stark contrast from last year, which was abnormally warm and snowless.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/12/04/europe-sno...