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| Snow and ice take hold as temperatures plunge across Britain | Snow and ice take hold as temperatures plunge across Britain |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Temperatures are struggling to rise above freezing in many parts of the UK as icy conditions affect most areas and fresh snow showers move in from the south-west. | Temperatures are struggling to rise above freezing in many parts of the UK as icy conditions affect most areas and fresh snow showers move in from the south-west. |
| Hundreds of schools remain closed in the UK and travel disruption continues, but sunshine has unexpectedly broken through in many areas and created perfect truanting weather. Although banks of lying snow and overnight ice are keeping temperatures generally close to freezing, scenes in the north-east, Yorkshire and the Midlands resemble the Alps more closely than the murk of Sunday and Monday. | Hundreds of schools remain closed in the UK and travel disruption continues, but sunshine has unexpectedly broken through in many areas and created perfect truanting weather. Although banks of lying snow and overnight ice are keeping temperatures generally close to freezing, scenes in the north-east, Yorkshire and the Midlands resemble the Alps more closely than the murk of Sunday and Monday. |
| Flights continue to be disrupted at Heathrow airport, partly by worse conditions at continental cities, and there are road closures on the A38 on the Cornish side of the Tamar bridge and the A27 near Chichester. But National Rail's Twitter-feed reverted by mid-morning from news of closures to a long catalogue of Tweets saying: "Normal services are running again." | Flights continue to be disrupted at Heathrow airport, partly by worse conditions at continental cities, and there are road closures on the A38 on the Cornish side of the Tamar bridge and the A27 near Chichester. But National Rail's Twitter-feed reverted by mid-morning from news of closures to a long catalogue of Tweets saying: "Normal services are running again." |
| A seventh death due to the weather has been confirmed by Royal Mail, which said postman John Bircham collapsed and died while carrying out his round on Exmoor in Somerset that he had delivered for 25 years. | A seventh death due to the weather has been confirmed by Royal Mail, which said postman John Bircham collapsed and died while carrying out his round on Exmoor in Somerset that he had delivered for 25 years. |
| Ian Frankum, Royal Mail's delivery and collection manager, said: "It is with great sadness that staff at Dulverton delivery office learned of the death of postman John Bircham at the weekend. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues and our deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends at this sad time." | Ian Frankum, Royal Mail's delivery and collection manager, said: "It is with great sadness that staff at Dulverton delivery office learned of the death of postman John Bircham at the weekend. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues and our deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends at this sad time." |
| The tragedy follows the death of 25-year-old Bernadette Lee, found in a neighbour's garden at Deal in Kent after a late night out. Four young climbers were swept away by an avalanche in Glencoe on Sunday and a man died in when his car left the A12 in Essex and hit a tree. | The tragedy follows the death of 25-year-old Bernadette Lee, found in a neighbour's garden at Deal in Kent after a late night out. Four young climbers were swept away by an avalanche in Glencoe on Sunday and a man died in when his car left the A12 in Essex and hit a tree. |
| Liam Stafford, 16, remains critically ill in James Cook university hospital at Middlesbrough after hitting a tree while sledging. | Liam Stafford, 16, remains critically ill in James Cook university hospital at Middlesbrough after hitting a tree while sledging. |
| Temperatures overnight fell to a low of -11.3C (12.2F) in Buckinghamshire, -10C(14F) at Stansted airport and -9C(15.8F) at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and are expected to match this on Tuesday night after an Arctic day. | Temperatures overnight fell to a low of -11.3C (12.2F) in Buckinghamshire, -10C(14F) at Stansted airport and -9C(15.8F) at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and are expected to match this on Tuesday night after an Arctic day. |
| Scotland, Northumberland and Durham are likely to see snowfall of up to 10cm with up to 6cm in southern England and 2cm in East Anglia. Further fronts moving in from the Atlantic and Cornwall will add their share but are expected to turn more quickly into sleet and rain as temperatures ease slightly. | Scotland, Northumberland and Durham are likely to see snowfall of up to 10cm with up to 6cm in southern England and 2cm in East Anglia. Further fronts moving in from the Atlantic and Cornwall will add their share but are expected to turn more quickly into sleet and rain as temperatures ease slightly. |
| Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham and Newcastle airports have all warned travellers to expect delays and to check before setting out from home. Flights are getting back to normal at Robin Hood airport near Doncaster, East Midlands and Leeds Bradford, which also saw delays and closures on Monday. | Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham and Newcastle airports have all warned travellers to expect delays and to check before setting out from home. Flights are getting back to normal at Robin Hood airport near Doncaster, East Midlands and Leeds Bradford, which also saw delays and closures on Monday. |
| A spokesman at Heathrow said visibility problems on Sunday and Monday, when almost 500 flights, or 20%, of the timetable were cancelled, were compounded by delays and disruption at continental airports which have also been hit by snow and bad visibility. | A spokesman at Heathrow said visibility problems on Sunday and Monday, when almost 500 flights, or 20%, of the timetable were cancelled, were compounded by delays and disruption at continental airports which have also been hit by snow and bad visibility. |
| He said: "Because Heathrow runs at almost 100% capacity there is no slack in the system and flights unfortunately have to be cancelled. Further cancellations are inevitable given the adverse weather conditions at other airports around Europe." | He said: "Because Heathrow runs at almost 100% capacity there is no slack in the system and flights unfortunately have to be cancelled. Further cancellations are inevitable given the adverse weather conditions at other airports around Europe." |
| The Highways Agency's modernised fleet of snowploughs and gritters has kept major routes open apart from the Woodhead pass across the Pennines between south Yorkshire and Manchester and the wild and windblown stretch of the A66 between Bowes in County Durham and Brough in Cumbria. Severe drifting across the grouse moors owned by the family of the late Queen Mother make the road all but impossible to keep clear in heavy snow. | The Highways Agency's modernised fleet of snowploughs and gritters has kept major routes open apart from the Woodhead pass across the Pennines between south Yorkshire and Manchester and the wild and windblown stretch of the A66 between Bowes in County Durham and Brough in Cumbria. Severe drifting across the grouse moors owned by the family of the late Queen Mother make the road all but impossible to keep clear in heavy snow. |
| Train companies advised passengers to check live service information and Twitter. Early Tweets from National Rail had reported problems at Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Luton and Portsmouth and delays of up to 40 minutes because of snow and ice on the flagship east coast mainline. | Train companies advised passengers to check live service information and Twitter. Early Tweets from National Rail had reported problems at Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Luton and Portsmouth and delays of up to 40 minutes because of snow and ice on the flagship east coast mainline. |
| Police warnings in County Durham about potential arrests for dangerous snowballing were borne out in Surrey, where a 15-year-old girl was charged with causing £200 of criminal damage in Epsom after breaking a window with a snowball. Police are also hunting gangs who dropped chunks of snow and ice from a bridge in Luton, Bedfordshire, and forced a bus in Southampton to stop with a barrage of snowballs. Passers-by intervened when they then attacked and attempted to rob the driver. | Police warnings in County Durham about potential arrests for dangerous snowballing were borne out in Surrey, where a 15-year-old girl was charged with causing £200 of criminal damage in Epsom after breaking a window with a snowball. Police are also hunting gangs who dropped chunks of snow and ice from a bridge in Luton, Bedfordshire, and forced a bus in Southampton to stop with a barrage of snowballs. Passers-by intervened when they then attacked and attempted to rob the driver. |
| In Birmingham promoters of Strictly Come Dancing, which saw 1,700 people fail to reach shows at the National Indoor Arena because of the weather, offered a special performance next year – in part to mollify those angered by a tweet from participant Denise van Outen which told a worried fan: "It's only snowing, love." | In Birmingham promoters of Strictly Come Dancing, which saw 1,700 people fail to reach shows at the National Indoor Arena because of the weather, offered a special performance next year – in part to mollify those angered by a tweet from participant Denise van Outen which told a worried fan: "It's only snowing, love." |
| The sunshine has helped the online progress of an online exercise which started as a Facebook page called "Wiltshire, let's get naked in the snow" and has attracted thousands of imitators. Care worker Leanne Myers and her next door neighbour Danielle Smith have triggered an inventive internet gallery of scarcely clothed Britons with everything from snowmen and scarves to a frying pan doing the traditional job of fig leaves. | The sunshine has helped the online progress of an online exercise which started as a Facebook page called "Wiltshire, let's get naked in the snow" and has attracted thousands of imitators. Care worker Leanne Myers and her next door neighbour Danielle Smith have triggered an inventive internet gallery of scarcely clothed Britons with everything from snowmen and scarves to a frying pan doing the traditional job of fig leaves. |
| The exercise may now be adapted to raise money for winter-related charities in the manner of the Calendar Girls from Rylstone Women's Institute in the Yorkshire Dales. Myers said: "I thought it would be a bit of a giggle for a few friends but it's huge. It would be great to use this for doing some good, especially as it's a bit of fun." | The exercise may now be adapted to raise money for winter-related charities in the manner of the Calendar Girls from Rylstone Women's Institute in the Yorkshire Dales. Myers said: "I thought it would be a bit of a giggle for a few friends but it's huge. It would be great to use this for doing some good, especially as it's a bit of fun." |
| The Meteorological Office forecast further snow on Tuesday night in the south-west, spreading to Wales and the Midlands with a sharp frost, followed by light snow in many areas on Wednesday and then a drier but very cold period. | The Meteorological Office forecast further snow on Tuesday night in the south-west, spreading to Wales and the Midlands with a sharp frost, followed by light snow in many areas on Wednesday and then a drier but very cold period. |
| Thursday is expected to be drier with widespread sunshine apart from patches of stubborn freezing fog, and the weekend will bring milder temperatures at last. The following week promises an unsettled picture but the prospect of Atlantic dampness gradually overcoming Scandinavian chill. | Thursday is expected to be drier with widespread sunshine apart from patches of stubborn freezing fog, and the weekend will bring milder temperatures at last. The following week promises an unsettled picture but the prospect of Atlantic dampness gradually overcoming Scandinavian chill. |
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