Snow blankets the Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy.

[longknife]

More photos @ Day in photos: Dec. 14, 2012 - NYPOST.com

 

[waltky]

Aye, is colder n' a well-diggers arse, matey...

More than 3,000 schools closed amid snow chaos across Britain
21 Jan 2013 • More than 5,000 schools closed • Heathrow forced to cancel 175 flights • Two people killed in severe weather • Severe delays affecting at least eight rail networks

Around 5,000 schools have been shut after heavy snow and ice brought Britain to a standstill this morning as forecasters predict more severe weather is on the way. Forecasters predicted freezing temperatures and further snow showers today would add to commuters' woes. This morning ice and snow grounded planes, left roads impassable and caused severe delays to the rail network. Icy road conditions led to the death of one man in Essex last night while a woman in her 20s was discovered dead having collapsed in the snow.

The wintry weather is also causing chaos in the skies. Heathrow has cancelled 131 flights, about one in ten of the number scheduled for today, while East Midlands airport, Robin Hood airport near Doncaster and Leeds Bradford airport are all closed. Birmingham Airport was also experiencing delays. National Rail warned anyone travelling by rail today to be braced for another day of delays and cancellations as at least eight rail networks faced severe delays. East Coast, Eurostar, First Capital Connect, London Overground, Southeastern, Southern, South West Trains and Virgin trains are all facing disruption.

South West Trains said it was running a revised timetable throughout its network because of the weather, and would be concentrating on its mainline services. The company said there would be no services between Ascot in Berkshire and Ash Vale in Surrey, between Virginia Water and Weybridge, or from Salisbury to Bristol. It was also running revised timetables on other routes. Southern said trains were unable to operate between Lewes and Haywards Heath in Sussex or between Horsham and Dorking or Reigate and Redhill in Surrey. The Southern service between South Croydon and Milton Keynes was also suspended.

In London, the tube has been badly affected by the weather. There are severe delays on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines while the London Overground, District, Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are part suspended. Eurostar said snow and ice in the UK and northern France were leading to speed restrictions and delays on all its trains. Six services were also cancelled, with customers told they could exchange their tickets for another date.

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Snow shuts schools and hits travel
21 January 2013 - Further snow and sleet are predicted as the week continues, along with widespread frost and ice

More than 5,000 schools were closed across the UK as snow and icy conditions continued for a fourth day. Travel has also been affected, with disruption to road and rail journeys. Flights are currently suspended at Leeds Bradford Airport, and at Heathrow one in 10 flights is cancelled because of poor visibility. Snow is falling in northern England and southern and eastern Scotland, where the Met Office has amber "be prepared" warnings in force.

About one in six schools are thought to have been affected by the weather. Education Secretary Michael Gove said "everything can and should be done" to keep schools open where possible. He told MPs the government had made changes so no school which stayed open would be penalised if individual students could not make it to school on that day. "And I hope as a result that more and more schools will recognise that, while the decision to remain open or closed is a matter for the headteacher, everything can and should be done in order to ensure that all children get access to a good education."

Forecasters say they expect 10-20cm (4-8in) of snow to fall during Monday in the "amber" areas - and even more on higher ground, with blizzard conditions in some areas. They are also warning of ice affecting East Anglia, southern England and south Wales. Heathrow Airport said some 10% of flights were expected to be cancelled. The situation was expected to get worse after 16:00 GMT, when visibility lowered. The airport said there would be no pre-emptive cancellations on Tuesday, unlike the last few days. However, cancellations and delays may still occur if problems result in cancelled flights at other international airports.

More BBC News - Snow shuts schools and hits travel

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It’s snowing, and it really feels like the start of a mini ice age
20 Jan 2013 - Something is up with our winter weather. Could it be the Sun is having a slow patch?

"The Sun is god!” cried JMW Turner as he died, and plenty of other people have thought there was much in his analysis. The Aztecs agreed, and so did the pharaohs of Egypt. We are an arrogant lot these days, and we tend to underestimate the importance of our governor and creator.

We forget that we were once just a clod of cooled-down solar dust; we forget that without the Sun there would have been no photosynthesis, no hydrocarbons — and that it was the great celestial orb that effectively called life into being on Earth. In so far as we are able to heat our homes or turn on our computers or drive to work it is thanks to the unlocking of energy from the Sun. As a species, we human beings have become so blind with conceit and self-love that we genuinely believe that the fate of the planet is in our hands — when the reality is that everything, or almost everything, depends on the behaviour and caprice of the gigantic thermonuclear fireball around which we revolve.

I say all this because I am sitting here staring through the window at the flowerpot and the bashed-up barbecue, and I am starting to think this series of winters is not a coincidence. The snow on the flowerpot, since I have been staring, has got about an inch thicker. The barbecue is all but invisible. By my calculations, this is now the fifth year in a row that we have had an unusual amount of snow; and by unusual I mean snow of a kind that I don’t remember from my childhood: snow that comes one day, and then sticks around for a couple of days, followed by more.

I remember snow that used to come and settle for just long enough for a single decent snowball fight before turning to slush; I don’t remember winters like this. Two days ago I was cycling through Trafalgar Square and saw icicles on the traffic lights; and though I am sure plenty of readers will say I am just unobservant, I don’t think I have seen that before. I am all for theories about climate change, and would not for a moment dispute the wisdom or good intentions of the vast majority of scientists.

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[Pogo]

Lucky bastards. Europe and Alaska get the winters while we get the Bland Warm. Something is definitely amiss.