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Chaos na sneeuwval Engeland en Wales
LONDEN - Hevige sneeuwval heeft tot een verkeerschaos geleid in delen van Engeland en Wales.

Maandagochtend werden in Londen alle busdiensten geschrapt wegens de gevaarlijke omstandigheden. Zondagavond moesten al twee vliegvelden noodgedwongen dicht.

Vluchten naar Gatwick en City Airport in de Britse hoofdstad werden omgeleid of geannuleerd tot de start- en landingsbanen waren geruimd. Verder vielen in het zuiden treinverbindingen uit. Ook was het verkeer op meerdere autosnelwegen gestremd.

Meteorologen waarschuwden zondag al voor aanhoudende verkeersproblemen. Zij verwachtten in sommige regio’s tot vijftien centimeter sneeuw. Groot-Brittannië maakt de koudste winter in dertien jaar mee

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Snowstorm in Britain
Snowstorms are causing travel chaos across the country after transport bosses cancelled bus and train services and airport runways were temporarily closed.

Hundreds of snow ploughs and gritters were working to clear roads as much of the UK was blanketed in snow - and forecasters warned of further heavy falls in the next 48 hours.

All London bus services have been suspended and passengers hoping to take the
Underground instead were warned that many Tube lines are partially suspended.

Transport for London said buses will only start running again "when road conditions allow".



Click here for our guide to how the weather is affecting travel in your area.

Sky News weather presenter Lucy Verasamy said: "It is a pretty widespread snow event, affecting the bulk of central and eastern Britain, specifically the eastern side of England.

"It has been pretty well forecast. We have been mentioning it for a few days.

"But there was more continuous snowfall overnight than expected.

"We are expecting heavier, continuous snowfall through the later stages of today.

"Things will get worse before they get better."



Many schools in the South East have been forced to close due to the weather, including more than 50 in Kent.

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Op maandag 2 februari 2009 09:08 schreef Dj_Day-V het volgende:
CHAOS!

Kan niet wachten totdat de lente weer begint

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Op maandag 2 februari 2009 09:23 schreef Yngwie het volgende:
Als die zooi daar overal aanstaand weekend maar weg is

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Op maandag 2 februari 2009 09:27 schreef Frutsel het volgende:

[..]

Er komt nog meer

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Op maandag 2 februari 2009 09:27 schreef Frutsel het volgende:

[..]

Er komt nog meer

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Op maandag 2 februari 2009 09:54 schreef Inca het volgende:
ik wil hier ook zo'n pak sneeuw

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UK Faces Ice Threat After Snow

Commuters are facing another nightmare journey to work this morning - after snow on roads turned to ice, making driving conditions treacherous

Snowstorms that brought the South to a virtual standstill yesterday are spreading north and west today.



Although staff have been working through the night to clear train tracks and airport runways, more delays are expected on the transport network today.

The snow is moving to northern England, Scotland and Wales, and the South-West.

Forecasters are warning of up to a foot of snow, or 30cm, in some parts, temperatures struggling to get above freezing, and strong winds making conditions even more hazardous.

Monday's snow, the heaviest seen in 18 years, caused chaos as runways were closed at major airports and all bus services were cancelled in London during the morning rush hour.

Nearly 800 flights were cancelled at Heathrow on Monday, and others were subject to long delays.

About 200 Ryanair flights into and out of the UK were stopped, mostly at Stansted, and all BA flights from Heathrow were cancelled until 5pm.

Flights were also cancelled or delayed at airports including Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Southampton, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Edinburgh, and London City Airport was closed completely.

Dozens of trains - including all Southeastern services in and out of the capital - were suspended.

Navigation firm TomTom said there were more than 1,000 miles of jams around the country, with one of the longest being 53.8 miles on the M25, which saw drivers delayed for nearly three hours.

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Op dinsdag 3 februari 2009 08:55 schreef Big_Yin het volgende:
Ik dacht vanmorgen wakker te worden met een dik pak sneeuw. Mooi niet dus.
Had alleen maar geregend vanmorgen in Central Scotland en de temperatuur is boven nul op het ogenblik.
Verder naar het Noorden is er wel sneeuw gevallen en zijn er wat sneeuw hekken gesloten.
Als het vanmiddag helder begint te worden dan word het misschien nog oppassen voor gladde wegen door opvriezing maaar dat zien we vanmiddag wel weer.

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Op dinsdag 3 februari 2009 09:02 schreef Frutsel het volgende:

[..]

of staan ze op het punt er heen te gaan

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Sneeuw zuigt Londen leeg

In de Tesco was maandag het brood op en de groente. Verwarde klanten kochten wat ze konden vinden. Er waren nog wat gele paprika's, veel crackers en een opzienbarende hoeveelheid vacuüm gezogen rundvlees.

Sneeuw in Londen en het zuiden van Engeland zorgde er maandag voor dat alles even ophield. Winkels kregen hun voorraden niet op tijd geleverd, bussen reden niet (voor het eerst ooit), vliegvelden lagen stil, drieduizend scholen waren dicht en zes miljoen mensen verschenen niet op hun werk.



Speelplaats Londen
Het was magisch. De meest heftige sneeuw in achttien jaar maakte Londen een soort speelplaats. Kinderen bouwden sneeuwpoppen op de begraafplaats achter mijn huis (het klinkt wat macaber, maar het is een hele oude begraafplaats dus dan mag je er spelen als kind zonder heiligschennis te plegen of onbeleefd te zijn), jongeren gleden op skateboards van Primrose Hill af, en iedereen maakte foto’s met hun telefoons. Alles draaide om de sneeuw. Ik ben drie keer bijna doodgereden omdat ik alleen bezig was met het ontlopen van modder en sneeuw en vergat dat er ook nog auto’s waren. Er wáren buiten de hoofdwegen dan ook de hele dag geen auto’s. Winkels gingen heel vroeg dicht zodat het personeel naar huis kon, West End shows werden afgezegd omdat de acteurs niet op tijd bij het theater konden komen, de metro’s reden bijna niet. Maar ik heb niemand horen klagen. Er leek een soort algemeen spijbelgevoel over de stad te hangen met een vleugje avontuurzin.

Zure sneeuw
Nadelen had de sneeuw ook natuurlijk. Zure economen lieten gelijk weten dat de sneeuw het land deze week drie miljard pond zou kunnen kosten. En voor kleine bedrijfjes kunnen een paar dagen sneeuw in deze economisch zware dagen net de laatste druppel zijn. Mensen winkelen niet, de post komt niet aan, de bank werkt niet op volle kracht, producten worden niet geleverd. De Federation of Small Business (mooie naam) voorspelt dat voor zo`n drieduizend bedrijven deze ingesneeuwde week de doodsklap kan zijn. Want vandaag sneeuwt het weer. En volgens de weersverwachting morgen en overmorgen ook. (Bron: De Pers)

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Scholen dicht in besneeuwd Groot-Brittannië

Na een ijskoude nacht en weersvoorspellingen van meer sneeuw, zijn scholen in Groot-Brittannië dinsdag voor de tweede dag op rij gesloten. Ook luchthavens ondervinden nog veel overlast van het winterweer. Honderden vluchten zijn afgelast of vertraagd.

Miljoenen Britten gingen dinsdag weer aan het werk, nadat het vervoer langzaam weer op gang kwam na de problemen van maandag. Tienduizenden schoolkinderen kregen echter nog een dag vrij. ,,Ik ben gek op sneeuw'', zei een 6-jarig meisje. Zakenmensen waren iets minder enthousiast. Zij becijferden de kosten van de hevige sneeuwval maandag en de falende infrastructuur. De schade wordt geschat op ongeveer 1,2 miljard Britse ponden (1,3 miljard euro).

Het zuiden van Engeland had maandag te kampen met de hevigste sneeuwval sinds 1991. Bijna 6,5 miljoen mensen konden daardoor niet op hun werk komen. (Bron: De Pers)

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Life in Britain is getting back to normal

Britain is returning to "business as usual" after heavy snowfalls that paralysed much of the country and claimed the life of a teenage sledger.

Francesca Anobile, 16, from Sheffield, died after crashing into a barbed wire fence yesterday on a makeshift metal sledge in a South Yorkshire country park. Her death - described by police as "tragic" - came as thousands of schoolchildren enjoyed a second day off school and forecasters warned that more snow was on its way.

Estimates said the weather disruption, caused by some of the heaviest snowfall to hit the UK in almost two decades, could cost the country as much as £3.5bn.

Rail and air services are returning to normal, although motorists are being urged to take extra care as sub-zero temperatures have created dangerous conditions on untreated surfaces.

Snow that has gathered on the ground in many areas is turning to ice with temperatures falling below freezing nationwide.

The Met Office also warned of icy roads in south-west England, South Wales and the southern part of Scotland this morning.

In the capital, one of the areas worst hit on Monday, a Transport for London spokeswoman said gritters were out overnight on the city's major roads and a "good service" was expected for the "vast majority" of the London Underground.

But she warned that it all depended on the weather and urged drivers "to continue exercising caution".

A spokeswoman for airports operator BAA said it also expected to run a "full or near-full schedule" at its airports.

Many schools across the country were also reopening after the closure of hundreds on Tuesday - including every school in Birmingham - that drew condemnation from parents.

An estimated one in five workers took Monday off because of weather-related transport or childcare problems.

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Fresh snow brings new travel havoc
Freezing temperatures and fresh snowfalls of up to five inches are creating dangerous conditions on the roads and bringing further disruption across Britain.



More snow fell overnight in south Wales, north Devon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire, where many schools are closed and public transport is at a standstill.

Public services are also affected, with the Royal United Hospital in Bath asking patients and visitors not to travel to the hospital unless absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, the north of Scotland was hit by snowfalls of between six and eight inches and the snow is still falling in Aberdeen.

Several roads in the region are blocked and numerous schools have been unable to open.

In Cairngorms, two experienced walkers aged 22 and 29 were plucked to safety by a rescue helicopter after spending a freezing night in the Strath Nethy Valley.

Travellers have been asked to check in as normal but expect delays at East Midlands Airport, while several flights have departed late or been cancelled at Luton Airport.

The Highways Agency is warning drivers to take extra care on the roads, and the Met Office issued severe weather warnings for further heavy snow in the Midlands, the West Country, much of Scotland and southern and eastern Wales.

The East of England Ambulance Service urged people to only call 999 if absolutely necessary because the state of the roads was making driving so difficult across much of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Spokesman Gary Sanderson said: "A normal 999 service is in operation and we have a number of 4x4 vehicles on standby across the region to assist as needed.

"However, we would ask people to help by only dialling 999 if absolutely necessary."

Some councils have admitted their supplies of salt are now so low they are only able to treat major routes, leaving many back roads perilous for motorists.

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Honderden Britten gered uit sneeuwstorm

Reddingsdiensten hebben donderdagavond meer dan tweehonderd Britten gered, die met hun auto's waren gestrand in een sneeuwstorm in het zuidwesten van Engeland. De bevrijde automobilisten werden opgevangen in evenementenhallen.

Een flink deel van Groot-Brittannië wordt al dagenlang geteisterd door hevig winterweer. In het zuiden van Wales, het westen en midden van Engeland, Noord-Ierland en het noordelijke gedeelte van Londen viel donderdag ongeveer 10 centimeter sneeuw.

De luchthavens van Bristol en Luton bij Londen hebben wederom een flink aantal vluchten geschrapt. Sommige plaatsen zijn afgesneden van de buitenwereld door het dikke pak sneeuw. Verder zijn nog ongeveer vijfduizend scholen gesloten.

De Britten hebben te maken met de ergste sneeuwval in twintig jaar. Meteorologen hebben voor komend weekeinde weer een flink pak sneeuw voorspeld in Groot-Brittannië.

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De Engelsen beleven de sneeuwrijkste periode in decennia. Volgens weerman Francis Wilson van Sky is de sneeuwsituatie met op 2 februari 23 cm in Londen op twee na de ergste van de laatste decennia. Aan top staat 1 januari 1963 met 33 cm en op de tweede plaats 5 januari 1982 met 28 cm in Londen. Voor de zuidoostelijke regio is het de ergste sneeuwsituatie sinds 1991. Toen viel in Yorkshire op 9 februari 51 cm en in het centrum van Londen 15 cm.

Voor het eerst in honderd jaar kwamen de londense dubbeldekkers tot stilstand. De sneeuw was vijf dagen tevoren al door de weerkundigen aangekondigd.

KNMI

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The coldest snap for 20 years shows no sign of letting up, with the freezing weather expected to last all weekend and into next week. Almost anywhere in the UK can expect a further covering of snow on Sunday and Monday, the BBC Weather Centre said.

It comes as driving groups warn ice is making roads extremely dangerous. Councils are running low on road salt and Gloucestershire County Council has said it will resort to using table salt to treat roads. The BBC Weather Centre said some parts of the UK, including Kent, Shropshire, Northern Ireland and north west Wales, woke up to a fresh covering of snow on Saturday. Further snow is likely to fall in the north east of England but is not likely to cause major disruption, while overnight into Sunday temperatures are expected to fall to -10C in rural areas and -4C to -7C in city centres.

Falling temperatures in the Bristol and Bath region have meant that roads and pavements are frozen. The Highways Agency and Great Western Ambulance Service have urged people to stay at home.
Police forces across the West Country have advised motorists to only make journeys if they were essential, as many roads were covered in black ice. Roads across Wiltshire were particularly badly affected.

Forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said: "From Sunday morning almost anywhere in the UK may get a further covering, with the north more likely to see snow, up to four inches over the hills. "On Monday into Tuesday, southern Britain is at risk of a further dumping of snow."

Grit problem
Some councils in England have been running out of road salt, with the Highways Agency saying supplies were "very limited". Gloucestershire County Council has ordered 500 tonnes of white table salt from a company in Cheshire. Authorities in Wiltshire hoped to get 500 tonnes of salt from Devon County Council.
Stocks in west Berkshire are at 20% of normal levels and are expected to last only another two or three days. Cheshire-based Salt Union said staff were working around the clock but still could not meet demand.

A container ship is travelling from Spain with 40,000 tonnes of salt, and another ship is also heading to the UK with salt from Germany. Both are expected to dock on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Irish Salt Mining and Exploration company in Carrickfergus, Antrim, is digging up to 6,000 tonnes of salt a day, having been inundated by calls from councils across the UK.

The BBC's Alex Bushill in Bristol said many councils in the west of England have recently taken salt deliveries and that the situation is now better than it was on Thursday, when supplies were being effectively rationed.
Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) Environment Board, said eight councils had to prioritise supplies to focus on the most important roads. He said: "If that fails to deal with any issue, then councils will talk to the Highways Agency to look for further supplies."

Driving pressure
But Theresa Villiers, shadow transport secretary, said: "It is alarming that we face a grit shortage as the country has to contend with more snow and freezing weather." Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA, said people feel they still have to drive, even when all other forms of transport have ground to a halt.
He said: "You know we all accept that trains don't run, that aeroplanes can't land. But we never seem to accept that a car driver can be late or not come at all."

Jacquie Stares, 58, from Exford in Somerset, told the BBC there was still two feet of snow in her front garden, but that it was "thawing fast". She added: "It's so deep that it's going to take some time to thaw, but it is on its way. The village shop has been rationing supplies but everybody around here has been sensible and has stocked up on items like bread and Calor gas, just in case."

In Somerset there are 1,000 homes without power after snow and ice made access to necessary power line repairs difficult. Western Power says it hopes to have restored electricity by the end of Saturday.
A man is in hospital in Swindon with serious head injuries after a gang of teenagers beat him unconscious when he asked them to stop throwing snowballs at his car. Bath's Royal United Hospital has cancelled orthopaedic surgery for the weekend because its staff have struggled to get to work.

Monday's race meeting at Wetherby has been abandoned after the track failed an inspection. Northamptonshire Police said the freeze had left roads in the county in a treacherous condition. After a week with roads much quieter than normal because of the weather conditions, traffic police are preparing for the number of football and rugby fans crossing the UK on a typically busy sporting Saturday.

There are eight Premiership fixtures still scheduled with away fans travelling hundreds of miles.
English rugby union fans will be converging on Twickenham in London for England's opening match in the Six Nations against Italy. Many Welsh rugby fans planning to fly to Scotland for their team's opening fixture on Sunday have already seen their plans disrupted by cancellations. Meanwhile, fans travelling by road had to cope with the closure of the two Severn bridges when ice started falling from the gantries.

The M4 bridge crossing over the Severn remained closed overnight and is likely to remain closed for the rest of Saturday. But the M48 Severn Bridge Crossing is fully open. Elsewhere, the weather conditions are continuing to cause travel problems. Early on Saturday, ice was hampering drivers on the M4 in Bristol and Gloucestershire and the M5 in Devon, while there were several major road badly affected in Wales and the west of England.