Britain Set for “Worst Winter in History”

Winter 2013 could be the longest in history

BRITAIN is facing an unprecedented six month winter, with a strong probability heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures would last until May 2014,  said forecasters.

A “widespread snow event” is forecast to wreak havoc on the roads and paralyze transport networks as early as next week.

Winter 2013 could be the worst in 66 years with Polar conditions lasting  into May 2014. A record-breaking period of bitter Arctic winds, paralyzing snowfall and plunging temperatures is forecast to hit the entire country.

A high pressure  system is drawing in freezing air from the Arctic, generating “an exceptionally prolonged period of widespread cold” in Britain that will be colder than in Iceland, Norway and Sweden and even parts of the Arctic region, forecasters said.

Heavy snow and massive drifts are forecast to cause chaos for up to six months [Image credit: APEX/ via Express UK]

“It will be accompanied by snow drifts of several feet and long-lasting snow accumulations on a widespread scale,” said a long-range forecaster at Exacta Weather.

“This period of snow and cold is likely to result in an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times.”

“This winter could also be a carbon copy of 1947, the snowiest in history with showers in March leading to seven-meter high drifts,” said the report, “the worst winter since 1814, with continuous snowfall from January 22 to March 17.”

This winter could now parallel the worst winters ever recorded, said a forecaster for Vantage Weather Services.

“Looking back at historical data there is certainly an argument that we may well parallel with severe winters of the past including 1947 and 1962.

“We have had such a cold November, and there is no sign of any change due to a high pressure blocking system.

“When these severe temperatures bed in it becomes like an accumulative effect – like a heatwave but in reverse, we could be looking at the longest winter in history,” he said.

“And this is when you see records breaking, all signs point towards this winter being exceptionally severe, I wouldn’t put anything past it.”

An estimated 40,000 people perished in Britain due to the cold weather in 2012.

“That more people die from the cold every year in temperate Britain than in freezing Sweden is an embarrassment and a tragedy,” said a campaigner.

Related Links: Other Extremes

• Intensifying Winter Drought in England Worst Since 1888 Posted on March 12, 2012
• ‘Catastrophic Losses’ of Animals Feared due to UK Spring Snow Posted on March 26, 2013
• How Homo Ignarus Killed Spring Posted on March 21, 2013