Coldest night for 20 years in parts of southern England, page 1

Coldest night for 20 years in parts of southern England

www.guardian.co.uk

The icy blast continues to grip many parts of the UK after some parts of the country shivered through their coldest night for more than 20 years. The coldest place was Benson in Oxfordshire, at -11.8C – the chilliest night there for 11 years.

But last night was even more of a shock to residents of coastal areas in the south-west who normally enjoy a relatively mild climate even at this time of year. At Culdrose, near Helston in south-west Cornwall, the temperature dropped to -7.8C. It was theUp the coast in Plymouth, south Devon, it reached -7C, again the coldest for 21 years. At 10am this morning it was still -3.1C in Plymouth and -2.3C in Yeovilton, Somerset. Within the M25 it was -2C at Kenley, near Croydon, at 10am.

Further north it was warming up a little as a band of cloud slowly made its way down the country. North-west Scotland was enjoying a relatively balmy 7C.

Over the next few days it is likely to stay warmer in the north but remain perishing in many parts of the south. There was a dusting of snow in many places in England today, but the Met Office does not believe there are likely to be heavy falls.

In north Wales a primary school had to stay shut after thieves stole an emergency delivery of heating oil. Tania Armstrong-Owen, headteacher of the 50-pupil Ysgol Rhewl in Ruthin, branded the thieves "callous" and said the primary school could be closed until Friday.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I must have had my head in the clouds over the past week or so because i wasn't aware of this and i live in the UK. I live in the North so i dont think this affects us as much - yet. I have notice a quite a bit of ice but i wouldn't say that is too unusual for this time of year.

Some good news for OAP's and the vulnerable, the government is giving them a £25-a-week heating bill subsidy
This comes into effect when an ares temperature falls to or below 0c for more that 7 days in a row,

The article mentions trafalgar fountain freezing, it made wonder if the thames will ever freeze again,

www.netweather.tv...

With Solar Activity as it is who knows?
www.popularmechanics.com...

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Although specific regions have been hit by lower temperatures than they have in the recent past, my understanding is that this winter is actually not especially harsh compared to others over the last few decades. And in fact, the current cold snap is a sign of "good" weather - that's to say: stable, high-pressure conditions with dry air and clear skies. It's just that the air happens to have drifted over from the Arctic rather than the Atlantic for a change.

-12 sounds bad, but Scotland hit -27 as recently as 1995, and again before that in 1982:

Link here to BBC explanation

As for the Thames freezing, I'm afraid it would have to get a lot colder for that to happen! In the old days the river's flow used to be thwarted by a far greater number of obstructions - ships and boats, industrial equipment, bridges with a higher number of arches (London Bridge wasn't far off damming the river altogether) - so the water tended to be much less mobile, allowing it to freeze more easily. The river in London was much shallower and a fair bit wider than it is today, which also helped. And London generally speaking is a lot warmer than it used to be - you hardly see snow settle for long anymore.

Kind of a shame, but not when you want the trains to function, which I do this evening!

LW

reply to post by LoneWeasel

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The winters not out yet, it has been colder than i remeber last year to be - there will be snow in March maybe april -or is that spring, weather changes so much you can't almost tell.
When i mentioned if the River could freeze, I didn't mean now, i meant say over the next decade. If it ever got that cold, to be honest i dont think Britain would be prepared for it, they dont manage when recent severe weather brought power outages and roads to a stand still.

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