WINTER has definitely arrived and so too has the snow. Worse still, the Met Office has predicted that this cold snap will last for another ten days at the minimum.
Police have urged drivers to only drive in these tricky conditions if it is absolutely necessary. Those living in the North East of England have currently experienced the worst of the wintery conditions. In some areas, upto five inches of snow have fallen in less than two hours. Temperatures across the UK have struggle to rise about freezing, dropping to as low as -17 degrees in Wales overnight, the coldest ever temperature in November on record.
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| FOUL: Cars have fallen to the conditions in Scotland |
Luckily, there hasn’t been any reports of major incidents this weekend, largely as the gritting services seem to have been well prepared in advance, and the lack of rush to get to places from commuters. That could very well change at the start of this week, with heavy snow forecast for Monday evening in many regions. Winds from the North East are keeping the temperature down and the snow to fall on a constant basis. Currently, the Met Office has severe weather warnings in place throughout East Anglia, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, Yorkshire and the South East. The AA has reported an 80% surge in calls of breakdowns over the course of the weekend, a staggering statistic.
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| SPIRIT: Communities are pulling together to help out |
Health workers are urging people to check on vulnerable neighbours, to make sure that they have all the possible services available to them, such as proper heating and plenty of hot drinks. Flights are likely to be affected at many of the largest airports in the coming days, especially Stanstead, Newcastle and Manchester. Trains are likely to be badly hit too, with the 24-hour tube strike being held right now, just adding to the misery for many commuters. The sporting programme has been hit, although all key rugby union autumn internationals and Premiership football matches went ahead. Two FA Cup ties (at Hartlepool and Notts County) fell foul to the weather, as did some of the programme in Scotland and several horse racing meetings.
Residents in the UK will be used to the white stuff, last winter was the coldest for a long time and snow also caused chaos at the start of 2009. However, the timing of this snow has caught many by surprise. This is the earliest time that snow has fallen on a constant basis since 1993. The big chill is here and it will please some, particularly schoolchildren, who could be set for a number of days off. However, this cold snap will bite and bite hard. The UK is bracing itself for more sub-zero temperatures and I’d say, get prepared for it, because it will hang around for a good while. . .
We had a hard winter in the heartland back in the states too, last year. But its been so mild. Although, I see some chilling flurries moving in today.
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