Major snow-related disruptions hindered mobility for millions of residents inthe United Kingdom on Thursday as a major cold wave entered its second week.Southern and southeastern England, including outskirts of London, suffered asecond day of heavy snowfall.
The busy regional airport of Gatwick, south of London, was shut for a secondday owing to the weather. Nearby Charlwood observed a snow depth of 10 inches,an exceptional amount of snow for the region.
Snow in eastern England (Credit: Rob,AccuWeather.com Facebook fan)Snow and ice brought accidents, delays and at times even chaos on roads andhighways across many parts of the U.K. according to reports.
The head of the U.K. Highways Agency urged would-be drivers to stay homebarring a necessity to travel.
"I think it is really important that people think whether their journey reallyis necessary," he said.
Complaints have been raised that storm response for the roadways has been weak.
Local and national rail service also suffered delays and cancelations.
Snowy beach in Scotland (Credit: Tom,AccuWeather.com Facebook fan)An area from eastern Scotland through northeastern England has born the bruntof the heaviest snow with this extreme wintry outbreak, and Thursday broughtmore of the same.
The Edinburgh, Scotland, airport was shut once again on Thursday as the snowdepth reached nearly one foot.
Snow depth in the Scottish Borders and neighboring Northumberland, England,already above one foot, rose further. At Redesdale Camp, snow depth reached 15inches, the highest thus far.
The unusual cold will last through at least the end of the week, bringing withit potential for further snow in areas of the U.K.
By AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews
