After the snow, floods hit the UK

A woman climbs out of her flooded vehicle near Chelmsford, Essex

Britain is continuing to suffer from extreme weather with snow still blighting many regions. However it was heavy rain and floods that was wreaking havoc in the east of the country. In Essex the fire brigade fielded more than 300 calls from the public, six times the usual number of emergency calls. It was all due to the high tides and more than 30 mm of rain which fell in less than 24 hours. It resulted in more than 75 flood warning beings being put in place by the environment agency.

Flood signs failed to dissuade motorists from risking their lives and vehicles as they drove into flooded streets. Those ignoring warnings found themselves stuck in water up to 1.5 metres deep [5 feet] [BBC]. One woman drove into deep water and was later taken to hospital suffering from mild hypothermia and shock. In Braintree paramedics battled through flooded roads to reach a pregnant woman who later gave birth at her home [BBC].

Floods also affected parts of London and the West Country. In Water Lane in Watford there was flooding surrounding a hotel. And there were isolated reports of flooding in Dorchester in Dorset. Meanwhile snow was still acusing problems in the north of the country and to the far west. In South Wales snow forced the closure of schools and many cars became trapped in snow bound roads. Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire were also affected by continuing snowy conditions [BBC / Sky News].

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More snow on way for Britain

In Britain, meteorologists have warned more heavy snow is on its way [Sky News]. It will be welcome news for millions of children many of whom have seen their schools closed and taken advantage of tobogganing in parks and building snowmen [BBC]. But for commuters it poses more problems ahead. London and the surrounding counties were particularly hard hit on Monday with rail, bus and air transport networks being severely disrupted. Even rubbish collection has been affected in some areas [BBC].

While London thawed out, the west country and Wales saw heavy snowfall adding to the continued problems across the country. The economy is said to be losing billions of pounds every day due to the snow which has resulted in many workers remaining at home [CNN]. Many shops, already suffering from financial problems remained closed on Tuesday and some were stilled shuttered on Wednesday morning in many areas. Even where outlets were open, shoppers were few and far between. Icy pavements and freezing temperatures kept many at home.

The inability of the country to cope in such wintry conditions has led to criticism of local authorities for not gritting roads sufficiently. Many members of the public have condemned public transport companies for failing them. However London’s Mayor Boris Johnson said that it would be a waste of public money to have resources ready for conditions that happen so rarely. Indeed, the capital has not seen such conditions for around 18 years, but the chaos seen in London and the south-east could have been better prepared for as weathermen gave ample warning of the Siberian blast heading towards Britain. Laying grit on the roads is not however the cure all. It is about timing as well as having sufficient quantities [BBC]. Salt has to be on the road when the snow is fairly light, and most roads were well covered during Sunday evening. It is also advantageous to have traffic grinding the salt and snow together. London was least equipped to deal with the heavy snowfall and low temperatures since snow is rare and there are few gritting resources. But there are widely also differing resources across the home counties. Essex has around 60 gritting vehicles while Gloucestershire possesses only 12 such vehicles for the entire county.

If such condition become more frequent, local authorities will have to rethink their policy and emergency planning. For now Britain will have to put up with the chaos a small amount of snow brings with it.

Snow causes chaos in Britain

Throughout much of last week it was the continuing economic crisis that dominated the headlines. Protests have threatened to bring Britain to a halt after a serious of wildcat strikes broke out across the country. Oil workers, concerned about their jobs being taken by foreign workers, have walked out [BBC / Sky News]. However it was not the increasing industrial action that stopped England working. Instead, a few centimetres of snow managed to disrupt much of the country creating travel chaos and resulting in millions of pounds being lost as business closed early and many workers being forced to stay at home.

Described as a “heavy dumping of snow” by Sky News, the precipitation caused 1000 miles of traffic jams and closed all of London’s airport. At Heathrow a Cyprus airlines jet slipped from the runway, though no injuries were reported. Along un-gritted roads across the home counties motorists who braved the appalling road conditions found themselves slipping and sliding. Average speeds along many routes dropped to well below 40 km/h [20 mph] causing widespread gridlock. Those taking to public transport were left stranded after all of London’s buses were cancelled and much of the London Underground rail network was also brought to a halt. Shops in many areas were closed adding to Britain’s financial wows. It is estimated the weather may be costing the country in excess of one billion pounds.

For some the day was extremely enjoyable however. Most schools were shut and children took to the parks to build snowmen as others hit the slopes on sledges. At the dry ski-slope in Brentwood, Essex, the scene was more like the Swiss alps as snow gave a realistic feel to the facility. More snow is forecast with a severe weather warning announced by the Met Office [BBC / Sky News].

If the forecast by Punxsutawney Phil is right then winter may be here for another six weeks. “He saw his shadow and went back in,” said Jacqueline Parker, a spokesperson with the Nova Scotia provincial government told reporters. “It’s six more weeks of winter” she added [CTV News].

Today was after all Groundhog Day Groundhog Day. The annual holiday is marked in the United States and Canada. On the occaision a groundhog is used as a measure of weather prediction. If a groundhog emerges from its burrow and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks. It is an event not observed here in the UK, though the irony may not have been missed by some.