Arctic conditions have meant a miserable return to work for millions of shivering Britons. Icy rain, sleet and snow moved down the UK, turning to ice in many places as temperatures dropped overnight. The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for London and east and south-east England with widespread icy roads and pavements. Meanwhile, people living in those areas could wake to one to two centimetres of snow. "It's going to be a bitterly cold morning," said forecaster Dan Adamson. "It's been a few years since it's been as cold as this." December 30 saw temperatures plummet to -13C in the Scottish Highlands, while on Saturday night Benson in Oxfordshire reached -9, he said. Though temperatures dropped below zero in most places last night, cloud cover meant it was not as cold as Saturday night. The current cold snap is set to continue until the weekend when milder weather may finally arrive. The chill prompted water company Severn Trent to appeal to its eight million customers across the Midlands and Wales to protect their water systems, after receiving reports that pipes were freezing even with heating on full blast. Health campaigners have warned that the return to work this week will prove "heavy going" for the NHS with many people laid low by the spread of the winter vomiting virus and flu. Businesses and schools will also be affected as people call in sick and those employees who do struggle in to work are more likely to spread bugs around offices and factories. Geoff Martin, from campaign group Health Emergency, said: "The period after Christmas and New Year is always heavy going for hospitals as the country gets back into gear but the return of the icy weather, along with the flu and the norovirus, is likely to pile on the pressure. "We know from front-line reports that services in many areas are dangerously short of capacity and are working on a knife edge. "In the north west, the service is paying a heavy price for the closure of Burnley's A&E department and bed reductions elsewhere have left the NHS dangerously exposed this winter."
Yeah set the neighbours house on fire. Just make sure its not attached to yours. That'll keep you warm.
We had a whole family die a year or two ago during a cold snap. They tried to heat their home with a BBQ grill and charcoal....died of carbon monoxide poisoning. I hate to make light of such a tragedy but isn't there a joke about chlorine in the "gene pool" that might apply to this situation? edit: I just remembered...it's not the joke about chlorine in the gene pool...it's the Darwin Award!
STOP MAKING US JEALOUS! Anyway, I don't really feel the cold. I'm quite a keen skiier, so I've learned to cope.
Ugh WHY did it have to snow today?!?! It took me ages just to walk down the bloomin' road cos of the ice. No snow for aaages and on the first day back it hails it down. UGH! And matty - I hear you
I could never live where is snows...wouldn't be fair to my little Dachchunds. They're males and their...um...attributes are very close to the ground! Brrrrrrrrrrr!
Arctic blast? A bit colder, that's all, as winters are supposed to be. Most of northern and central Europe functions in far colder weather every year.
Man alive, I'll trade you guys anytime! I'll take your -13C and icy conditions and you can have my -30C and blizzard conditions! I think that sounds like a fair trade, no? I'm so sick of winter, it's not even funny. It's been hovering around -25 to 30 for weeks, dropping to -45 overnight with the wind chill. Clearly I live in the wrong country.
I remember a few years back in North Carolina we had a similar event. I woke up one morning and literally the trees in front of my house were covered with a heavy layer of Ice! It was super kool XD, especially since school was cancelled. Only sad part was a whole bunch of trees collapsed cause they couldn't hold up the weight.
There was a piece on the news this evening about the weather there. Said it was heading our way. And to think I was uncomfortable this morning when it was 27 degrees. Sounds like tank-top and shorts weather in Canada.
Something like that. Then again anything warmer would feel like summer right about now. I'm thinking of relocating, possibly to Hawaii. My advice for cold weather: wear a toque (or whatever you call 'em where you're from). You lose most of your heat from your head!
