Another snow news....

UK faces coldest winter in 30 years – forecasts

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* Matthew Taylor and Sam Jones
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 January 2010 20.09 GMT
* Article history


Much of the UK was blanketed in heavy snow as the extreme weather headed south and forecasters warned that the country was on course for its coldest winter in 30 years.

The Met Office issued an alert that nearly half a metre of snow was due to fall in some areas as the freezing conditions that brought chaos to the north and Scotland todayspread.

Tony Waters, the Met Office chief forecaster, said: "This is expected to cause disruption to transport networks and could lead to problems with power supplies."

A spokesman for the prime minister said the government was doing all it could to keep the country running.

"The weather is taking a turn for the worse," he said. "The Highways Agency has kept the vast majority of major road networks running. We are in close contact with local authorities and it is a situation we will keep a very close eye on."

Forecasters say the cold snap, which began in mid-December, is the longest since 1981 and warned that there was no end in sight. "I would normally be loth to look beyond five to seven days but the way the conditions are set at the moment I think the cold weather is not going to change for some time," said Stephen Davenport, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup.

"I will stick my neck out and say it will be here for a couple of weeks and possibly longer." He said if the freezing conditions continued for the rest of the month the UK would be on course for its coldest winter since 1979.

The snow was expected to hit southern counties of England with almost 40cm predicted to fall on Salisbury Plain overnight. Heavy snow was also expected across London and parts of Wales.

Waters said: "The heaviest snowfall this evening and tonight is expected across parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire where fresh snowfall of 15 to 20cm is expected widely, and locally in excess of 30cm. This is expected to cause disruption to transport networks and could lead to problems with power supplies."

The National Grid issued a rare warning to power suppliers to use less gas todayafter a 30% rise on normal seasonal demand. It has urged power firms to switch to coal and order more gas supplies from Belgium and Norway.

The business secretary, Lord Mandelson, told the BBC that it was "a time of special pressure on the grid" but did not address claims from the Conservatives that Britain has only eight days' worth of gas storage left.

Meanwhile the stockpiles of gritting salt held by councils for roads are running thin. Emergency deliveries were made to Fife council in Scotland, and in Wales Pembrokeshire council warned that gritting lorries were struggling to cope with the "extraordinary" conditions.

Derek Turner, network operations director at the Highways Agency, said: "We are working flat out to keep our roads safe and serviceable for use. However, it is very important to drive appropriately for the conditions; and even when roads are treated and appear ice- and snow-free they should still be negotiated with care."

Manchester, Liverpool John Lennon and Leeds airports were closed today and further delays were expected tomorrow at Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Newcastle.

Train services between London and Leeds on the east coast mainline were cancelled and operators were bracing themselves for more delays tomorrow.

Britain's road network also struggled to cope with crashes that closed many motorways. A driver was killed when two lorries collided on the M60 near Bredbury, Greater Manchester, and police and the Highways Agency have again warned commuters against travelling unless their journey is essential.

In Scotland Inverness was effectively cut off from the south after the police announced that the A9 – the main arterial road to the Highlands – had been closed by snow in the Cairngorms.

This followed the closure of the main railway line to Inverness after a goods train careered out of control in heavy snow.Sarah Holland a spokeswoman for the Met Office said there was no sign to an end of the freezing conditions.

"The current cold spell, which started in mid-December is already the longest since 1981, and as far as we can tell at the moment it is going to last for at least another couple of weeks."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/05/uk-faces-coldest-winter-weather?CMP=AFCYAH

Heavy Snow horror news....

Forecasters Warn Of Snowdrifts 40cm Deep


Snow has begun to fall in many areas of the UK amid warnings of "severe" weather and a predicted 40cm (16in) of snow in the next 24 hours.


Exceptionally heavy snow - of 30cm to 40cm - is being forecast for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire.

A Met Office "flash warning" said a "period of exceptionally heavy snowfall is expected with accumulations of 15-30cm and perhaps in excess of 40cm".

Hampshire is already seeing disruption on the roads as the county is blanketed in snow.

In parts of Manchester and Wales unofficial snow depths of 15cm have already been reported.

Braunton in Devon has seen 8cm of snow so far, Peterhead in Aberdeenshire 5cm, Radcliffe in Manchester 15cm and Coopers Hill, Brockworth in Gloucestershire 11cm.

The forecast warns that there could be "widespread disruption" to the transport network, and power supplies could be affected.

And worse is to follow, with the snow overnight expected to make commuters' morning journeys extremely hazardous.

Road safety groups are expected to tackle twice as many breakdowns as usual for this period and have advised travellers to prepare for potential delays.

AA spokesman Luke Bodset told Sky News Online businesses could help to lessen disruptions for their workers.

"There is plenty of warning that this snow is coming," he said.

"Employers are in a position to advise their staff as to what is reasonably expected.

"Companies should have contingency plans, and plan meetings or deliveries accordingly."

The Highways Agency said their gritting teams were on standby but would definitely return to action later on the M25 and beyond.

Transport For London confirmed its 38 gritters, supported by a fleet of quad bikes, will work with London boroughs across the capital.

A spokesperson confirmed de-icing trains would run on the tube network to limit the anticipated disruptions to the morning commute.

The RAC has told road users to check weather reports and prepare for delays in advance of travel.

A spokesperson advised commuters to consider different ways of getting home, or - if possible - to make alternative arrangements and avoid overnight travel altogether.

Sky News weather presenter Lucy Verasamy said: "London can expect snowfall tonight into tomorrow morning, but it's worse in the rest of the South.

"Temperatures across the region will drop as low as -4c and -5c, and as low as -3c in the capital."

Travellers have already faced major disruption after heavy snow forced airports in Manchester and Liverpool to shut and dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled.

Flights were delayed at Gatwick, Glasgow, Aberdeen Newcastle, Durham Tees Valley, Leeds Bradford International, Belfast and Derry airports.

Operations have been temporarily suspended at Southampton Airport while snow is cleared from the runway.

Many rail services in Scotland were disrupted, while there have been delays and cancellations to trains in eastern England.

On the roads, conditions were particularly bad in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland and Scotland.

A lorry driver was killed in a crash on the M60 near Bredbury in Greater Manchester.

Bus services in Sheffield and Barnsley stopped temporarily and in Leeds, rubbish collection services were suspended.

Extreme weather warnings for Dorset and Slough have been downgraded.

Hundreds of schools nationwide were closed and a large-scale search undertaken for a North Yorkshire man who went missing on Sunday morning.

A team of eight police officers, 15 from RAF Mountain Rescue and 20 volunteers from the village of Wath, near Ripon, have been scouring the area for Ian Simpkin, 36.

Football bosses postponed Blackburn's Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Aston Villa, and Manchester City's clash with Manchester United.

The filming of TV soap Coronation Street grounded to a halt in Manchester, as did that on the Emmerdale set based in Leeds.

There have also been reports of shoppers panic buying, with supermarkets seeing increased sales in Wellington boots, take-away food and thermal underwear.

source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100105/tuk-forecasters-warn-of-snowdrifts-40cm-45dbed5.html

Warnings as snow chaos heads south

The Met Office issued emergency weather warnings after Arctic conditions crippled large parts of the country. Skip related content

Forecasters said up to 40cm (16in) of snow could fall in some areas as the worst of the cold snap switches from the north to the south.

Heavy snow forced the closure of schools, roads and airports around the country. Police warned of hazardous driving conditions and the Met Office predicted worse could follow overnight and on Wednesday.

The Met Office said Dorset, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire could see "exceptionally heavy snowfall". Between 15cm and 30cm (6in and 12in) of snow is expected but there could be "in excess of 40cm (16in)".

"This is expected to cause widespread disruption to the transport network and could lead to problems with power supplies," the Met Office said.

A spokeswoman said warnings of either heavy snow or ice were in place for every county in the UK. Parts of Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire and the Isle of Wight are also expected to see "extreme" conditions.

National Grid, which issued only its second ever gas balancing alert (GBA) on Monday after a 30% surge in seasonal demand, said the warning would not be repeated on Wednesday. GBAs are a way of warning customers on "interruptible contracts" to ease off on the fuel as well as encouraging suppliers to bring in more gas. A spokeswoman said the situation was being monitored on a daily basis but stressed supplies were in place to cope with demand.

There were widespread travel problems with Manchester Airport and the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool being forced to temporarily close. Passengers at Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow and Leeds Bradford International also faced delayed flights. Channel Tunnel services, badly disrupted before Christmas due to problems with Eurostar trains, were held up after a problem with a Eurotunnel freight shuttle train.

On the roads, heavy snow caused a section of the A66 to be shut in both directions in Cumbria and a succession of accidents added to drivers' difficulties on many routes. Meanwhile, supermarkets saw a surge in panic buying as shoppers stocked up on essential items.

In Berkshire, a six-year-old boy was fighting for life in hospital after falling through ice in a garden pond while playing with a friend. It is thought the boy had been underwater for half an hour before he was pulled out by firefighters. His playmate, thought to be another boy around the same age, raised the alarm after the accident in Crookham Common, near Thatcham

source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100105/tuk-warnings-as-snow-chaos-heads-south-6323e80.html

NOTE- FEEL SO LUCKY HAVE SAFE JOURNEY LAST WEEK TO SCOTLAND@ SNOWLAND ALTHOUGH THE WEATHER ALMOST NOT PROMISING IN THAT TIME.....BUT GOT BAD EXPERIENCES JOURNEY WHEN BACK FROM DUBLIN LAST 20 DEC 2009.....THANKS TO ALMIGHTY GIVE ME CHANCES TO SEE THE SNOW BEAUTIES OF THE SCENERY AS MY MIND THERAPY..WALLAHAUALAM....