Chaos door kou en sneeuw in Engeland

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Kou breekt records in Groot-Brittannië

Londen, 28 nov. De kou in Groot-Briitannië heeft records gebroken. Afgelopen nacht was in veel delen van het land de koudste novembernacht aller tijden.

In Llysdinam (Wales) zakte de temperatuur naar 17,3 graden onder nul. Bij Loch Glascarnoch (Schotland) vroor het 15,3 graden. Dat heeft de Britse omroep BBC vandaag gemeld.

Gisteren viel op veel plaatsen in Groot-Brittannië al de zwaarste novembersneeuwval in zeventien jaar. Vandaag sneeuwde het nog steeds in Schotland en noordoost-Engeland. Morgen wordt meer kou en sneeuw verwacht.

Veel hinder

Snelwegen en luchthavens ondervinden veel hinder van het winterweer. Automobilistenvereniging AA zei dat het gisteren 15.000 pechgevallen heeft verholpen. Dat is 80 procent meer dan op een normale zaterdag in november.

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Chaos in UK cause of snow and freeze
There are warnings of snow for London and the south-east of England overnight - areas which have so far escaped bad weather that has disrupted much of the UK.
Forecasters are predicting snow showers will spread from the east, and will also reach parts of the Midlands and Wales.

The Kent area is seen as being particularly at risk of heavy snow, according to the Met Office.

Parts of the Midlands, south-east England and Wales could see 2cm-5cm in places, with as much as 15cm possible in hilly areas overnight and on Tuesday.

The North East and Scotland have already been hit by large falls this week, affecting schools and roads, as the snow lingers.

About 800 schools were shut in Scotland, including all in Dundee, West Lothian and Shetland.

About 135 in North Yorkshire were closed or closing early. In York, the figure was 12, while 40 schools were affected in East Yorkshire.

The ice and snow also led to the closure of around 78 schools, nurseries and pre-schools in Cornwall, and there were difficult driving conditions for many people trying to get to work.

Some airports have also been closed, although Edinburgh airport has now re-opened.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "Snow showers in the east will drift inland overnight on the strengthening wind to parts of the Midlands, Wales, south-east England and London, with a covering in places.

"Snow showers will continue to affect many on Tuesday, perhaps heavy at times for eastern parts of Britain and Ireland but they will clear the south-east later.

"Northern Ireland, north-west England and western Scotland will stay mainly dry with some sunshine, but even so it will feel bitterly cold for all, particularly in the breezy conditions in the south.

"Snow showers will linger across parts of the Midlands, north-east England and north-east Scotland on Tuesday evening."

Nearly 700 motorists were left stranded overnight into Monday in freezing conditions in Scotland as the big chill tightened its grip.

What was thought to be the largest rest centre ever set up in Scotland was organised to help 669 people stuck on roads around Perth.

There are warnings that temperatures could fall as low as -20C in Scotland later this week.

The UK's lowest ever recorded temperature in November was -23.3C recorded in Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, on November 14 1919.

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Arctic conditions in Britain
Snow showers have swept across almost all of Britain with bitter easterly winds engulfing the country in Arctic conditions.

Almost every corner of the UK woke up to between 2cm and 10cm of snow this morning, with the east coast worst hit by flurries and sub-zero temperatures.

The freezing conditions that have paralysed much of Scotland and the North East spread overnight to the Midlands and are expected to reach parts of Wales, the South East and London later.

Severe weather warnings of heavy snowfall and widespread road ice have been issued by the Met Office across almost every part of the UK, with further travel chaos expected to heap misery on commuters.

Edinburgh Airport has reopened after being closed overnight but London City Airport has reported cancellations and severe delays.

Train services all over the country have been badly affected by the severe weather, with some services not operating and others badly delayed.

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Tweede luchthaven Groot-Brittannië gesloten

LONDEN - De tweede luchthaven van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en de op een na grootste van de Britse hoofdstad Londen, Gatwick, is in de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag wegens winterse weersomstandigheden tot nader order gesloten.

Een woordvoerder zei dat het personeel de hele nacht hard heeft gewerkt, maar dat het niet is gelukt alle sneeuw te ruimen.

De weersomstandigheden blijven bovendien slecht en daarom is het niet meer mogelijk te landen of op te stijgen op dit vliegveld, zei de woordvoeder. Hij wist niet hoe lang dit gaat duren.

Gatwick Airport ligt 45 kilometer ten zuiden van het centrum van Londen en heeft maar één start- en landingsbaan. Het is desondanks de tweede luchthaven van Groot-Brittannië en achtste van Europa gerekend in aantallen passagiers die het vliegveld bedient.

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Snow and ice leave hundreds stranded
Hundreds of motorists were left stranded overnight as ice and snow led to hazardous driving conditions and left many roads closed.

One of the worst hit areas was Kent, with the weather conditions causing congestion throughout the early hours.

Motorists faced massive delays on the A2 at Cobham after a lorry jack-knifed under the M25 flyover.

An AA spokesman said latest figures showed it had been called to 3,000 breakdowns nationally this morning by 8am - with parts of London, the M25 and areas around Sheffield and Leeds among the busiest.

He told Sky News Online: "It's been another incredibly busy morning - we are expecting it to be even worse than yesterday, and yesterday was exceptionally bad.

"By the time morning rush hour starts in earnest we're expecting that to have risen to 2,000 calls per hour."

The Dartford River Crossing was also closed with traffic being diverted through one of the Dartford
tunnels.

Many roads in the west and north of the county were impassable due to snow and ice and there are reports the A2022 is blocked in both directions in Banstead, Surrey, because of stranded lorries.

Severe weather warnings were in place for the whole of Scotland today, with widespread icy roads and heavy snow expected in central and south westerly areas.

Warnings were also in place for northern England, the south coast and parts of Wales.

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More snow, more cold, more delays and much more traveldisruption
There is more major disruption to travel this morning after a night of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures.

The South East was the worst hit with 15cm (6in) of snow overnight in Kent and 30cm (12in) in East Sussex.

London was also affected and further snow is expected through the day in the East and South East.

A train on the London to Brighton line was stranded overnight and drivers were left stuck in South Yorkshire on the A57.

Several airports remain closed, including London Gatwick, which will stay shut until at least 6am on Friday, and London City Airport, which is closed until at least midday.

Around 25cm of snow has accumulated around Gatwick.

Severe weather warnings are in place across most of England and Scotland, with the heaviest snow expected to fall in the South West, southeast England and along the east coast.

Heavy delays are expected on major roads, including the M25 in Kent and Surrey. The M20 was closed earlier this morning southbound between junction 7 and 13 due to hazardous driving conditions and other major roads are closed up and down the country.

The AA says it has dealt with more than 100,000 breakdowns in the last week.

Forecasters say the cold snap will last at least until the weekend, with only a brief let-up from the snow on Thursday night.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said the South East would see further snow today and further freezing temperatures.

"We have seen fresh snow overnight, including snow in the London area. South London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex have all been particularly badly hit," she said.

"Today we are going to continue to see a bitter easterly wind blowing more snow in across south-east London, Sussex and the extreme South East.

"Today London can expect a further 2cms of snow while another 10 to 15cms will fall in southeastern counties."

Lang said it would be another exceptionally cold night across the UK.

Temperatures fell to -18.6C in the Scottish Highlands last night and Lang said there was a possibility of -25C being hit in the Grampian area tonight.

Temperatures of -15 could be recorded in the snowfields of northern England while the rest of the country will shiver in sub-zero temperatures.

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Vrouw slaat alarm om diefstal sneeuwpop
KENT - Een Britse vrouw uit Kent heeft alarmnummer 999 gebeld om de diefstal te melden van haar sneeuwpop. De politie noemde de actie van de vrouw „volledig onverantwoordelijk”, berichtten Britse media vrijdag. De vrouw dacht dat ze de politie moest inschakelen, omdat er op de sneeuwpop munten zaten en theelepeltjes, die respectievelijk de ogen en armen voorstelden.

Toen de vrouw het alarmnummer belde, zei ze: „Er is sprake van diefstal bij mijn huis. Ik ben vijf uur niet meer buiten geweest om te kijken of hij er nog was. Maar ik ging een peukje roken en zag dat hij weg was.” Toen de medewerker van het alarmcentrum vroeg wie er dan verdwenen was, reageerde ze met: „Mijn sneeuwpop. Ik dacht, omdat het glad is en niemand naar buiten gaat, dat hij wel veilig zou zijn.”

De politie heeft de vrouw gezegd in welke gevallen mensen de alarmdiensten moeten bellen en in welke niet.

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500 auto's ingesneeuwd in Schotland
Honderden mensen in Schotland hebben in hun auto moeten slapen, omdat ze door de sneeuw op de weg geen kant meer op konden. Allerlei drukke routes werden door het winterweer onbegaanbaar.

Schotse agenten probeerden de gestrande automobilisten te bereiken, terwijl de regering in spoedberaad bijeenkwam. "De ergste sneeuw- en ijsomstandigheden sinds de jaren 60", zei de minister van Transport in Schotland.

Ruim 500 auto's en vrachtwagens kwamen gisteravond vast te zitten. In Hamilton sliepen 150 leerlingen en leraren op school, omdat ze niet weg konden.

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Snow and travel disruption expected for UK
Snow is expected to return to the UK this week, as forecasters predict an arctic blast could see temperatures plunge as low as -10C.

Some parts of the country could see up to 8in of snow this week

Experts say more travel disruption is likely as northerly winds bring the recent milder spell to an abrupt halt.

Those winds from the north look set to bring a band of rain and high winds on Thursday, followed immediately by snow across the country.

Joanna Robinson, from Sky News weather centre, said: "From Thursday, there's a real risk of snow.

"At first, this risk will be greatest in areas exposed to northerly winds.

Widespread ice will also be an issue, which could obviously lead to travel disruption.

"By Friday and Saturday, we will see temperatures again struggling to get above zero."

The Met Office says there will be 2-4in of snow over much of the country - with some higher areas of Scotland facing as much as 8in.

And Aisling Creevey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, added: "Temperatures could be down to -10C in Scotland and to -4C and -5C across the country overnight on Friday."

n Scotland, supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's had to stop taking some home delivery orders during last week's cold snap.

Plummeting temperatures and heavy snow saw parts of Scotland cut off during the last few weeks and drivers stranded on motorways.

The forecasts came as major rail company Southeastern admitted it would "always be a challenge" to maintain good services in snowy conditions.

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Severe weather warning issued for UK
Severe weather warnings have been issued for many parts of the UK as snow and freezing conditions are set to return.

Shoppers make their way through the snow in Whitburn, Scotland.

Shoppers make their way through the snow in Whitburn, Scotland

Britain has had a brief respite with a slightly milder spell in recent days - but this is due to come to an end, and more travel disruption is also possible.

Cold air from the Arctic is expected to bring with it rain, snow and ice over the next 48 hours, with temperatures set to go as low as minus 10C.

Experts have also predicted that western parts are more at risk this time around after eastern areas were hit hardest a couple of weeks back.

The white stuff and rain are expected early on Thursday for northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Icy conditions in the rush-hour could make driving "treacherous", said Sky weather presenter Isobel Lang.

She added: "This rain will continue to spread southwards, again bringing an ice risk as it clears across southern parts later in the afternoon."

"As this front sweeps south, it'll open the doors to an Arctic blast of winds and heavy snow showers.

"Snow will mainly affect coastal and northern parts initially, but are increasingly likely to affect northern and western areas late Thursday and into Friday. Some 10cm-20cm are possible, up to eight inches."

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Over het Kanaal heeft het winteroffensief het voorbije weekend ook hard toegeslagen. En de Britten maken zich op voor nog meer sneeuwellende en bittere kou. De komende dagen zou de temperatuur in bepaalde delen van Groot-Brittannië tot maar liefst min 27 graden zakken, zo wordt voorspeld. De Britten spreken nu al over de koudste maand december sinds het begin van de waarnemingen.

Het voorbije weekend heeft de sneeuwval de Britse economie naar schatting 3 miljard euro gekost. De chaos op de weg heeft immers, net als bij ons, voor een drastische daling van de kerstinkopen gezorgd. Het ministerie van Economie vreest dat 900 bedrijven hierdoor over de kop zullen gaan.

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Deepfreeze Britain - Misery certain till Boxing Day
Freezing conditions are continuing to bring misery for people trying to leave Britain by air or on the Eurostar - and forecasters say a thaw is not expected until Boxing Day.

Watch our snow coverage live at Skynews.com/liveplus

Airport operator BAA warned that Heathrow flights are limited with more delays and cancellations until potentially beyond Christmas Day.

British Airways said it was suffering significant disruption to its flights in and out of airport.

Gatwick Airport has reopened and around 600 flights are scheduled but delays are still expected.

urostar said it was running a restricted service due to the continued bad weather.

Queues of Eurostar passengers started building up from 3am at St Pancras station in London.

Thousands were forced to wait for up to eight hours for trains on Monday in bitterly cold weather.

First-aiders from St John Ambulance were sent in as a precaution while people shivered in lines that stretched around the terminal building.

East Coast rail has been forced to suspend all services to and from King's Cross for the rest of the day after severe damage was caused to overhead power lines at Huntingdon, near Peterborough.