Britain faced the coldest winter in 5 years. Temperature’s plummeted to minus 12 in some areas. Streets were filled with snow and ice.
The harsh weather conditions meant that schools across the UK were closed as the weather conditions became worse. Atleast 350 schools were closed in the West Midlands, and 180 schools were said to have been shut in Wales. More than 1,000 schools were closed in the UK.
Britain also faced one of the coldest nights of the year, as temperatures dropped to at least minus 12. Railway services were closed, due to the weather conditions. Cross Country Trains, East Midlands Trains, Chiltern Railways, Arriva Train Wales, Great Western Railway, Virgin Trains and the West Midlands Rail Network, were all affected. The cancellation’s caused disruption for people who are travelling across the UK, for the holidays. National Rail had warned people to check the train services before heading out.
Flights were all cancelled. Airports including Heathrow and East Midlands Airport had many cancellations, causing passengers to sleep on airport floors. Travel expert, Simon Calder has said that atleast 50,000 British Airways (BA) passengers were stranded at airports across the UK and even around the world. According to the airline, the staff were rebooking customers on to the next flight and even provided them with hotel accommodation. That’s what you call good customer service.
However freezing weather conditions not only disrupted trains and airport services, but the motorway and main roads caused chaos for people who are travelling to work. The severe weather conditions led to several car accidents, and hundreds of cars were stranded along Britain’s busiest motorways. Emergency services were warning people not to drive as the icy roads were slowing traffic down and causing accidents.
The heavy snow and icy conditions meant that more than 1,000 homes had no power, as 140,000 homes were cut off. According to Scottish and Southern Electricity Network, atleast 750 homes had no power in Oxfordshire.
