Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Frozen UK - snow causes chaos!

The UK is frozen and not just because of the freezing temperatures. It's frozen as in nearly coming to a stand-still in many places. Two major airports are closed, Eurostar trains delayed, scores of other rail services cancelled and motorways blocked. Thousands of schools are shut.

This bad weather started a few days ago when very cold temps and heavy snowfall hit Scotland and northern England, parts of Wales and Northern Ireland.

On Nov 28th, the Met Office reported that:
Lowest overnight temperature last night was -18.0C in Llysdinam, Powys making it the coldest November night in Wales since records began.

Scotland has been hit the worst with very heavy snow and even though they are used to heavy snowfalls and cold temperatures, this was very early in the winter for such severe weather. Edinburgh Airport is closed until at least Thursday morning due to heavy snow showers.

The snow and freezing temperatures have gradually spread to most of England now. Yesterday, snow moving across London and the surrounding areas, caused traffic chaos.

Gatwick Airport (Britain's second busiest airport) closed today! There are no flights until 6am Thursday [update: until at least 0600 GMT on Friday] due to heavy snow and further snow forecast. Check website for updates.

Snow closes Gatwick Airport


Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and London City all open, but with delays to flights. You're advised to check before you head out.

Due to current weather conditions Eurostar services are delayed by up to 90 minutes. See this Eurostar link for the latest news.

The forecast is for fresh snowfall across the majority of the country.

How is everyone faring? We've only had a smattering of snow where I live. It is very cold though.

Edited to add:
Lincoln's famous Christmas Market has been cancelled due to the bad weather. This is the first time it has had to be cancelled.

2 comments:

  1. Do you ever bore people with 'well, if this were Minnesota...'? I do, but at least Im smart enough to restrict that to my husband alone! I also complain about the cold which seems silly as my mom regularly sends photos of her outdoor thermometer reading -40 so why would I complain about 20F? Its all relative. I was really enjoying the mild English winters... :)

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  2. Hi Michelle. When I first moved to England, I used to talk to people about what a "real" winter is like. It was fun to watch their eyes grow bigger when I told them stories about a typical Minnesota winter.

    I don't talk about Minnesota much anymore unless someone asks me about it.

    I think it's funny when people in England get excited about a smattering of snow but I keep quiet. I just smile.

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