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| BULLETIN SNOW STORM BLANKETS THE UK |
* Audrey Gillan and agencies
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 February 2009 14.59 GMT
* Article history
Londoners young and old brave the arctic weather and head outside to play Link to this video
Heavy snowfalls and icy weather conditions are likely to continue throughout the week, bringing further chaos to the roads and public transport system, the Met Office said today.
Today's disruptions to trains, tubes and buses, which resulted in one in five people not making it to work, will probably persist until Friday, although the weather will become less severe as the week progresses.
The snow is turning heavier later this afternoon, according to the Met Office, with the drifts spreading from the south-east to northern and western areas.
Significant snowfalls are likely in some places. Icy conditions are set to prevail in the south-east this evening, and sleet and more snow are likely further north. The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning.
As much as 20-30cm of snow is possible on the higher ground, with drifting occurring in fresh easterly winds.
Another band of heavy snow is moving across from France and could drop 10-20cm on Kent, Surrey and eastern parts.
A Met Office spokesperson, Sarah Holland, said: "Temperatures are going to barely reach freezing today because of the cold easterly winds moving in from northern Europe. There will be more snow coming through again tomorrow, though lower levels might be a bit slushy.
"The rest of the week is going to remain cold. There could still be snow on Thursday. Because we have been used to milder winters, for many this snow is a surprise."
Those travelling to work in London today were hit hard after the heaviest snowfall in decades disrupted almost all forms of public transport. The Met Office issued an extreme weather warning for London and the south-east of England, with more than 15cm of snow falling in London and 25cm on the North Downs.
The snow arrived on a freezing easterly wind after gathering strength over the North Sea. Driving conditions are treacherous and Scotland Yard said it had received reports of a number of crashes in the early hours of today, though no one was seriously hurt.
All London bus services were withdrawn because of fears for passenger safety, leaving the snow-laden city streets unusually quiet. A limited bus service resumed this afternoon.
The congestion charge was suspended in London for one day as the capital was faced with "some of the most challenging weather conditions" seen in the city for two decades, the mayor, Boris Johnson, said.
Rural roads and some main roads in Sussex were described as treacherous by police as they urged motorists to consider whether they really had to drive today. Police said several bands of heavy overnight snowfall had affected mainly East Sussex and mid-Sussex. The A27 in the Hollingbury and Falmer areas of Brighton was impassable after seven articulated lorries became stranded in the drift. The longest queue of traffic stretched 32 miles on the M25 motorway between Watford and Reigate.
Southeastern said it had cancelled all rail services into London after heavy snow fell overnight in Kent and Sussex. A spokeswoman said: "We are endeavouring to run coastal services in Kent and East Sussex but all trains to London are cancelled."
Airports were also badly hit as BAA warned passengers travelling to and from Heathrow and Stansted airports to expect "significant delays and cancellations". Passengers were advised to check with their airline before leaving for the airport. The London Ambulance Service said it would only respond to "life-threatening" emergency calls because it was under severe pressure and had received more than 650 calls between midnight and 7am today.
Richard Webber, acting director of operations, said: "The extreme weather has placed the London Ambulance Service under severe pressure today and our priority is to get to those patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries as quickly as possible. Due to current levels of demand we will, until further notice, only be sending ambulances to patients across the capital with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. We would urge Londoners to use their ambulance service wisely and only call 999 in the event of a life-threatening emergency."
The AA has warned motorists to ensure they keep warm clothes in the car after dealing with unprepared drivers "flirting with hypothermia" at breakdowns during the last big freeze.
A police spokesman said: "Police advice to drivers is to consider whether they need to drive at all. If they have to go out, check national and local weather forecasts."
Drivers were advised to be prepared for the conditions if they needed to travel and ensure they go with boots, a spade, warm clothes and food and drink.
Many businesses were also expected to close down for the day as workers struggle to make journeys on icy roads.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said the A66 in the north-west of England, between Brough and Stainmore Summit, was closed at 1.35am after a request from the police. He said it was likely it would remain closed all day. Two lanes of the M62 over the Pennines were also closed for several hours last night but have now reopened.
Many schools in the south-east were forced to close due to the weather. More than 50 schools were closed in Kent, and Westminster council announced all its schools would remain closed. Schools in Birmingham and the Black Country have also closed their doors.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families said it expected to get a clearer picture of how many schools were closed nationally later in the day. A spokesman said it was hoped schools would remain open where possible.
"It is for individual schools to make any decision to close but we expect headteachers to take a common sense approach based on the conditions at the school and also the safety of any pupils travelling," he said. "We will be monitoring the situation day by day and we would hope that headteachers can keep schools open while it is safe for them to do so, but decisions about closure have to be taken locally by those who know the local conditions."
The Conservative leader, David Cameron, had to cancel a visit to Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham college, an academy in New Cross, south-east London, where he was due to highlight a package of proposals aimed at improving numeracy, including a maths taskforce headed by the former Countdown host, Carol Vorderman.
ting site today
* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
People are being warned to avoid non-essential travel
Heavy snow has fallen across large parts of the UK, disrupting travel and closing thousands of schools.
South-east England has the worst snow it has seen for 18 years, causing all London buses to be pulled from service and the closure of Heathrow's runways.
The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and parts of eastern Scotland.
By late Monday, the South East could be under a foot (30cm) of snow and the North East under 20 inches (50cm).
Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We are doing everything in our power to ensure services, road, rail and airports are open as quickly as possible, and we are continuing to monitor this throughout the day."
'Dangerous driving'
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UK PREPARES FOR FREEZING WEEKEND
BBC REPORTS
BBC weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said the worst-affected area has been the Thames Valley and Greater London where the transport network is at its most concentrated, which is why there has been such chaos.
Snowman
A snowman greeted BBC website reader David Shipway on his doorstep
He said some parts of London have seen up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow and through Monday evening there will be another band of snow.
Overall, some parts of London could see a foot (30cm) of snow, while northern England and the Pennines could see as much as 20 inches (50cm) - made worse by strong winds which will cause snow to drift, he added.
Thousands of school children across England and Wales woke up to the news that their school was closed for the day.
Most Surrey schools are closed, while in Essex, more than 450 shut and 255 Berkshire schools are closed. Leicestershire and Rutland gave pupils at 200 schools the day off.
Thousands more are closed across Wales, London, north-east England, East and West Sussex, Kent, Norfolk Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk, where snow-ploughs were out on the county's roads for the first time in more than 15 years.
Hospitals in London have put out an emergency call to staff to come into work because of a big increase in 999 calls, while many non-urgent operations have been cancelled and ambulance response times have slowed.
Bad weather has also forced the closure of the Old Bailey courts in London and crown courts in Southwark, Blackfriars and Lewes.
IMPACT OF THE SNOWFALL
One of two runways closed at Heathrow
Passengers stranded at Gatwick
Southampton Airport closed
BAA
London City and Luton airports closed
London City Airport
Luton Airport
London buses withdrawn
Transport for London
Train services cancelled
National Rail Enquiries
Hundreds of schools closed
Around the UK: Latest updates
In north Wales, two climbers have been killed on Snowdon. The mountain saw heavy snow all weekend.
The men were reported missing on Sunday night. A rescue team found their bodies on Monday morning.
Air travel has been badly affected.
All flights at Heathrow Airport near London have been cancelled until 1700 GMT and customers whose flights have been cancelled are being advised not to come to the airport.
Earlier a plane slipped off a taxiway at Heathrow due to the snow and icy conditions.
Passengers aboard the Cyprus Airways flight were unharmed.
The British Airports Authority said the front wheel of the plane landed in the grass area and they were in the process of removing the plane.
* The northern runway at Heathrow remains closed. All flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 have been cancelled.
* London City, Luton and Southampton airports are closed. Norwich and Leeds Bradford airports have now reopened.
* BAA has warned passengers travelling to and from Heathrow and Stansted airports to expect "significant delays and cancellations".
DEPTH OF SNOWFALL
North Downs: 11 inches (28cm)
London: 8 inches (20cm)
Berkshire: 6 inches (15cm)
East Anglia: 4 inches (10cm)
Midlands: 2 inches (6cm)
Northern England: 2 inches (6cm)
* BAA Scotland said four flights from Glasgow to Heathrow and London City were cancelled and one to Cardiff.
* BA says it has cancelled 65 flights, while 73 Ryanair flights are grounded.
* Gatwick is open, although fewer aircraft are able to take off. Some 23 flights had to be cancelled and 18 diverted to other airports after Gatwick closed its runway for two hours on Sunday evening.
* There is no service on the Gatwick Express.
On the roads, motorists were being warned of dangerous driving conditions.
There have been a string of accidents on many motorways and A roads, causing road closures, long delays and vehicles to become stranded.
London's congestion charge has been suspended for the day and motorists who have already paid it will be refunded.
LINKS TO OUR UK COVERAGE
London: Snow disrupts travel
South: Heavy snow falls
South East: Roads and schools closed
West Midlands: Schools closed
North: School closures
Scotland: Flights disruption
Wales: Braced for snowfall
NI: Flights hit by snow
And there was more bad news for people trying to use public transport in the South East of England.
* All London buses have been withdrawn from service due "to adverse weather and dangerous driving conditions".
* Many Tube lines are partially suspended and the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines entirely suspended.
* South West Trains is running a reduced service on most routes and passengers are advised not to travel unless their journey is essential.
David Brown of Transport for London said the situation was "exceptional".
He added: "We haven't had a circumstance like this for over two decades. We were prepared in the sense that all our cold weather plans on the underground were put into place.
"But I think that actually the volume of the snow falling during the middle of the night was very difficult for us."
Blizzard conditions
The Highways Agency said there have been too many minor accidents on the roads "to put a number on".
The agency recommended people should only make essential journeys.
Eurostar services are currently operating between the UK and the continent, but may be delayed due to heavy snow in the UK and northern France.
In the late afternoon, more heavy snow is forecast to hit the eastern part of England, including East Anglia, London and the Home Counties, accompanied by "strong winds [and] blizzard conditions".
Surrey Quays under snow
BBC website reader Fiona Morse snapped snowy Surrey Quays, London
This will work its way up through the Midlands, northern England and eastern Scotland.
Evening temperatures will fall to about -1C for many areas of England and eastern Wales, with the weather turning icy by Tuesday morning making road travel treacherous.
There will be minor snowfalls and temperatures will reach about 4C in most areas by Tuesday afternoon.
One motorist, driving in the Midlands on Monday, told the BBC conditions were much clearer there, but highway officers told him they had responded to 1,735 incidents over a 24-hour period in the East Midlands alone.
The Highways Agency said the organisation was well prepared to deal with snowfall over roads after criticism over its reaction to severe weather in 2003.
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