Winter in Europa (2009/2010)

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Around 300 people - including children on a school bus - have been rescued from cars trapped in snow on the Glenshane Pass near Londonderry, as severe winter storms battered parts of Britain.

Stranded drivers had initially been taken to Dungiven Leisure Centre near Londonderry, but a blackout meant the site had to be switched to the Roe Leisure Centre in nearby Limavady.

Blizzards, gale force winds and torrential rain have hit Scotland and Northern Ireland, knocking down power lines and wreaking transport havoc.

The Met Office has issued extreme weather warnings for the two regions, forecasting more severe blizzards and severe drifting snow up to 50cm (20in) deep in parts.

During the distinctly un-spring-like conditions, temperatures will remain close to zero through the day.

There could also be snow flurries across high areas of England and Wales, experts said.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said between 45,000 and 48,000 customers, mainly in the west and the north, have been cut off overnight after widespread damage to its network.

At one point there were 600 individual faults reported, the firm said, with the biggest disruption was in Omagh, Enniskillen, Dungannon, Londonderry, Coleraine and Ballymena.

Poor visibility and strong winds were preventing workers from climbing poles, it added.

A spokesman for NIE said 450 engineers and workers were out helping restore supplies as soon as possible - and blamed the disruption on "unprecedented" weather.

"We have had unprecedented weather conditions, and are working to get people reconnected as soon as possible," he said.

"Our crews are getting back out in the field again, we have 450 staff in the field."

Colin Brown, of the Roads Service, said they expected the weather to get worse throughout the day.

''We are getting geared up for difficult day of rain turning to snow as we progress through the day and into the afternoon and evening.''

Scotland saw around 22,000 homes suffer power cuts on Tuesday, with people North Ayrshire the worst hit, but most properties were reconnected during the day.

People living in north-east Scotland were suffering some of the country's worst weather today, with gale force northerly blizzards whipping up snow drifts. Big cities Glasgow and Edinburgh will see wetter conditions.

Snow ploughs and gritters were out yesterday across the country after cars and lorries became stranded in snow.

Ten lorries were stranded for several hours on the M90 close to Bridge of Earn in Perthshire, and two trucks also got into difficulty on the M8 near Edinburgh creating large tailbacks.

Two men also had a lucky escape after a 50ft tree fell on a car in Edinburgh city centre. The men were treated for shock but were uninjured, police said.

Among the roads closed today were the A68 at Soutra Hill in Lothian and Borders, and the A96 between Huntly and Colpy in Aberdeenshire.

Train services on the East Coast main line were also suspended north of Berwick after two landslips last night.

Network Rail said it was working to re-open the line today, diverting some services via Newcastle and Carlisle and using replacement buses.

Elsewhere, heavy rain led to the River Esk bursting its banks in Musselburgh.

Ferry firm Stena also said its sailings between Belfast and Stranraer were being delayed or cancelled.

Steve Ellison, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the wintry weather would start to die away tonight and tomorrow, but it would remain unsettled in many parts.

He said: ''There's been quite a lot of snow falling over Scotland, especially over the higher ground. But places like Edinburgh can also expect a covering.

''It's also going to be very windy again.

''A deep low pressure is moving across the UK at the moment, dragging in a lot of cold air from the north.''

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Op woensdag 31 maart 2010 20:23 schreef Big_Yin het volgende:

[..]

Ik weet niet waar de telegraaf zijn nieuws vandaan haalt maar waarschinlijk uit "That London".
Het ongeluk met de schoolbus was in het zuiden van Schotland , Biggar ligt namelijk in de Borders.
En helaas is er ook een leerling bij overleden.

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Hevige sneeuwval in Frankrijk

De winter lijkt terug in Frankrijk. De kust van de Middellandse Zee werd dinsdag geteisterd door hevige sneeuwval. Tienduizenden huishoudens kwamen zonder elektriciteit te zitten, nadat onder de sneeuwlast bezweken bomen op stroomleidingen waren gevallen.

De luchthaven van Perpignan is gesloten wegens sneeuwoverlast. In de Pyreneeėn, waar op sommige plekken sinds maandag 60 centimeter sneeuw is gevallenen tot woensdag nog eens dezelfde hoeveelheid wordt verwacht, wordt gewaarschuwd voor lawines. Franse meteorologen wijzen erop dat lawinewaarschuwingen in mei zeldzaam zijn.