Britain also rocked by unusual cold snap
Source: Agencies |
January 7, 2010, Thursday
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UNUSUALLY heavy snowfall stranded hundreds of motorists, disrupted trains and shut down schools and airports across Britain yesterday as the country suffered through its longest cold snap in nearly 30 years.
Airports across the country were paralyzed, with London's Gatwick and Stansted unable to operate and hundreds of flights canceled.
At Gatwick, where the only runway was shut for snow clearance all day, more than 240 flights were canceled.
London's Luton Airport was closed until early afternoon. A dozen flights were canceled at London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest, with long lines building at check-in desks.
The foul weather also badly hit Britain's road network.
Sections of the country's most important highways - including the M1 which links London and Leeds - were closed, and the military was called in overnight to help rescue motorists when up to 1,000 vehicles were caught in a snow-related traffic jam in Hampshire, in southern England.
Many people were evacuated to nearby rescue centers but some slept in their vehicles overnight.
The demands on rescue workers in southern England were so overwhelming that coast guard workers turned their skills from sea to land to help.
Train services were also affected, with lines in southern England reporting reduced services. Eurostar, which services the Channel Tunnel, canceled four services yesterday.
Nationwide, thousands of schools were temporarily closed.
British winters are typically mild, and cities and towns are generally ill-equipped to deal with heavy snowfall. With the worst-hit areas seeing up to 40 centimeters of snow, officials and road crews were battling to keep up.
Several local governments were running out of sand and salt. The weather has prompted some police forces to urge drivers to stay off roads and some trash collectors to suspend rounds.
The national weather office said the unusually cold weather was expected to continue for the next two weeks.
Forecasters said the cold snap wasn't necessarily a sign of climate change.
Robin Thwaytes, duty forecaster at Britain's weather office, said "it's very unusual for something like this to last as long as it has," but noted such events can happen every 20 to 30 years.
Airports across the country were paralyzed, with London's Gatwick and Stansted unable to operate and hundreds of flights canceled.
At Gatwick, where the only runway was shut for snow clearance all day, more than 240 flights were canceled.
London's Luton Airport was closed until early afternoon. A dozen flights were canceled at London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest, with long lines building at check-in desks.
The foul weather also badly hit Britain's road network.
Sections of the country's most important highways - including the M1 which links London and Leeds - were closed, and the military was called in overnight to help rescue motorists when up to 1,000 vehicles were caught in a snow-related traffic jam in Hampshire, in southern England.
Many people were evacuated to nearby rescue centers but some slept in their vehicles overnight.
The demands on rescue workers in southern England were so overwhelming that coast guard workers turned their skills from sea to land to help.
Train services were also affected, with lines in southern England reporting reduced services. Eurostar, which services the Channel Tunnel, canceled four services yesterday.
Nationwide, thousands of schools were temporarily closed.
British winters are typically mild, and cities and towns are generally ill-equipped to deal with heavy snowfall. With the worst-hit areas seeing up to 40 centimeters of snow, officials and road crews were battling to keep up.
Several local governments were running out of sand and salt. The weather has prompted some police forces to urge drivers to stay off roads and some trash collectors to suspend rounds.
The national weather office said the unusually cold weather was expected to continue for the next two weeks.
Forecasters said the cold snap wasn't necessarily a sign of climate change.
Robin Thwaytes, duty forecaster at Britain's weather office, said "it's very unusual for something like this to last as long as it has," but noted such events can happen every 20 to 30 years.
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