Cold weather in Britain

Cold weather goes on as road, rail and air travel disrupted

Met Office puts east coast on severe weather alert and warns that cold is expected to go on 'for some time yet'

the Guardian,

5 December, 2012

Severe weather warnings have been issued for the whole of the UK's east coast after a band of icy weather ambushed London and the south-east on Wednesday.

More of the same is likely to hit the capital and surrounding areas on Thursday with much heavier snow expected in the Scottish Highlands, where police warned of transport problems.

Airports from Aberdeen to Heathrow are on alert for the mixture of snow and sleet falling on icy ground. Travellers at Stansted airport in Essex complained of the disruption caused by a 2½-hour closure which coincided with the busiest time for early morning departures.

There were also problems at Aberdeen, Luton and Newcastle airports. Trains were disrupted on many commuter routes into London. Underground lines and major roads including the M2 in Kent, M40 in Oxfordshire and A43 in Northamptonshire were severely affected by ice and accidents.

The 2cm snowfall in England halted trains between Watford Junction in Hertfordshire and in the capital's western suburbs. There were long delays on commuter routes from Reading and the Thames Valley, and on the Channel Tunnel line between London and Ashford International. Problems affected parts of north Yorkshire and north-east England early in the day, with cars skidding through blizzard conditions on the A1 near Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on the A171 near Scarborough. But the band of weather rapidly moved south east, leaving crisp and cold but beautifully sunny conditions in its wake.

Michael Dukes, director of forecasting at MeteoGroup, said that cold weather would remain for "some time yet." The Meteorological Office issued a yellow alert for eastern Britain on Thursday, with an orange for the eastern highlands of Scotland.

In a statement on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers of Scotland, Fife deputy chief constable Tom Ewing said: "The public should be prepared for the risk of significant disruption to travel especially over the M8 corridor to the east of Glasgow, across Perthshire and over much of inland eastern Scotland.

"Anyone who is travelling in these areas should be prepared for possible delays and make sure their vehicle is properly prepared. The snow will follow a prolonged period of low temperatures and all road users should take care and look out for ice and untreated surfaces. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure the safety of travellers and keep the transport network moving as smoothly as possible."

Snowfall is expected to reach 10 to 15cms above 1,300ft in Scotland and five to 10cm above 650ft.

Dukes said: " Most of the snow to date has been on higher ground but there has been a little bit on lower ground as well. Tomorrow morning will be a bit of a problem. Right at the end of tonight another band of rain and snow comes into Scotland and the north-west of England. That will fall on very, very cold roads because it will have been cold overnight.

"There could be some widespread ice issues tomorrow morning in Scotland and in north west England. There will be some rain, sleet and snow falling over frozen ground."

Temperatures were expected to fall to minus 8C (18F) overnight on Wednesday, suggesting another busy day for highways agencies. Before midday on Wednesday, the AA had dealt with almost 5,000 breakdowns, while British Gas is on course for 250,000 calls for help from customers, 70,000 more than in an average week. It has 10,000 engineers on immediate alert.

In Southampton, police reported the theft of a husky called Sasha from a back garden. The dog's owner received an anonymous telephone call offering the animal back for £250.

Something a bit lighter!

No Joke: Extreme ice and snow driving in Moscow

Driving in Moscow during the winter months can be difficult. So for all those brave drivers among you, why not learn a few more skills to combat the icy winter conditions? Prime Time's Martyn Andrews ventured off to a driving school in the Moscow Region to learn some skills.