:00:30. > :00:36.Good evening and welcome to this BBC News Special. First sum, the
:00:36. > :00:40.snow fall has been enjoyable but others it has been disruptive,
:00:40. > :00:45.inconvenient and in some cases dangerous. Forecasters had
:00:45. > :00:52.predicted it for days. Even so, for thousands it met power failures,
:00:52. > :00:55.road closures and plane and train cancellations. We will have the
:00:55. > :01:00.latest on the trouble situation and the important forecast on what the
:01:00. > :01:05.weather holds in store for the coming days. First, we look back at
:01:05. > :01:11.the day. On a gloomy Friday morning, snow
:01:11. > :01:17.swept in. Up the Bristol Channel, over the Welsh mountains, into the
:01:17. > :01:22.Midlands and beyond. Parts of Wales had been told to expect one foot of
:01:22. > :01:27.snow, and a red warning from the Met Office. It brought trouble
:01:27. > :01:33.headaches to more and more of us. Roads were blocked and schools and
:01:34. > :01:40.workplaces closed. Commuters who tuned to local radio found little
:01:40. > :01:48.to encourage them. Those who ventured out, on foot, on four
:01:48. > :01:54.wheels, must have wished they had not. Work said not to bother
:01:54. > :01:59.turning in today. Those who opted for an early start had made a wise
:01:59. > :02:05.choice. Snow ploughs and gritters made an effort to keep major routes
:02:05. > :02:10.open, but inevitably, some vehicles came to grief. One passenger filmed
:02:10. > :02:14.these pictures of the M4 motorway near Bath, gridlocked by an
:02:14. > :02:19.accident. Sharing its problems with motorways in the Midlands and West
:02:19. > :02:22.Yorkshire. Again, the most significant disruption affected
:02:22. > :02:28.minor routes and regions where travellers were advised to stay at
:02:28. > :02:34.home. This is the worst I've known it for a few years. Raids have been
:02:34. > :02:38.bad. In places where the salt is not working. Throughout the day it
:02:38. > :02:43.tightened its grip on airports with 400 flights cancelled at Heathrow
:02:43. > :02:47.where both runways were closed for a time. At Birmingham, passengers
:02:47. > :02:55.revised their plans. In Southampton, they have to wait until this
:02:55. > :02:59.afternoon to see flights resume. We had time to prepare. Trains were re
:02:59. > :03:03.scheduled and roads gritted. We were warned that whatever we did
:03:03. > :03:08.there would be disruption to transport and this the most
:03:08. > :03:11.widespread snow this winter has lived up to expectations. Rail
:03:11. > :03:18.operators reported difficulties across England and Wales. Delays
:03:18. > :03:23.and cancellations have extended into the Friday rush-hour. The
:03:23. > :03:29.weather is easing but there is no talk of a thaw. Those who have to
:03:29. > :03:36.travel and those who are enabling them to do so face the threat of
:03:36. > :03:40.ice and further snow. The forecast is we will continue with snow may
:03:40. > :03:49.be overnight. We are saying to drivers to drive carefully and only
:03:49. > :03:58.if necessary. There are those for whom the wintry blast is a novelty.
:03:58. > :04:04.Tigers at Longleat sizing up a snowman. Skiers are hunting for an
:04:04. > :04:09.urban black run in Bristol. And sledge owners looking ahead to the
:04:09. > :04:14.days when temperatures will remain below freezing ahead of more snow
:04:14. > :04:19.just as we turn our thoughts to a fresh working week.
:04:19. > :04:26.Some of the worst conditions are in Wales, which was hit hardest. In
:04:26. > :04:33.some areas, 25 centimetres bow. In South Wales, thin red warning is in
:04:33. > :04:37.place meaning that the weather poses a risk to life. One of the
:04:37. > :04:41.worst-affected areas was Merthyr Tydfil. With grit and a fair bit of
:04:41. > :04:47.determination. The town of Merthyr Tydfil is trying to deal with what
:04:48. > :04:51.the weather has thrown at it. Up to one foot of snow fell on the heads
:04:51. > :04:58.of the South Wales valleys. Many who battled to work quickly turned
:04:58. > :05:03.around. It is a nightmare. I own a business. I opened for 30 minutes.
:05:03. > :05:09.I closed because it will cost more in electricity to keep the lights
:05:09. > :05:16.on. Probably I might get away till Monday or Tuesday. It is a weekend
:05:16. > :05:23.off. We closed early. We are walking down to the car, hope for
:05:23. > :05:27.the to get home. -- hopefully. Getting home will not be easy. Main
:05:27. > :05:33.roads have been closed for part of the day. The red warning for this
:05:33. > :05:36.area will remain in place until 9pm. This road goes through that red
:05:36. > :05:41.zone. The main deal carriageway connecting their heads of the
:05:41. > :05:47.valleys. Normally it would be busy with commuters. Today, just a few
:05:47. > :05:52.are venturing out. With blizzards forecast to continue into the night,
:05:52. > :05:55.many have heeded warnings and stayed at home. Others seem
:05:55. > :06:01.determined to ride out the conditions until the worst has
:06:01. > :06:06.passed. For thousands of children, it meant
:06:06. > :06:12.a day off school, unless they had to sit examinations. Duncan Kennedy
:06:12. > :06:16.was in the West Country. Schools have been badly hit.
:06:16. > :06:22.Massive disruption across the country. I am at a school in
:06:22. > :06:26.Bristol. It was close today. We calculate 1,000 schools across the
:06:26. > :06:29.southern part of Britain have been caught up in a bad weather.
:06:29. > :06:32.Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Hampshire and the
:06:32. > :06:37.Isle of Wight and into Gloucestershire, tens of thousands
:06:37. > :06:47.of students were forced to go home. We are not just talking about
:06:47. > :06:50.
:06:50. > :06:54.disruption to the timetable, but also examinations.
:06:54. > :06:58.School's out the winter. Hundreds in the south-west are closed with
:06:58. > :07:05.students and teachers told to stay off the roads. Everywhere you go,
:07:05. > :07:10.it is like this. Treacherous conditions. I am on the road just
:07:10. > :07:14.off the M5 motorway in Gloucestershire, luckily in a 4x4.
:07:14. > :07:19.I would not want to tackle the roads in a normal vehicle. Even
:07:19. > :07:28.though gritters have been through, the snow covers it within a few
:07:28. > :07:32.seconds. At this school, some have to get in because they are sitting
:07:32. > :07:42.GCSE and A-level examinations. Classrooms were kept especially
:07:42. > :07:43.
:07:43. > :07:49.warm. The weather added unwanted pressure. Ice everywhere. We got
:07:49. > :07:54.hit in the end. The eager spirit to go and do your best! They are
:07:54. > :07:58.friends who will not be able to make it in and they will have to
:07:58. > :08:06.sit the examination in the summer. I got here half-an-hour early, took
:08:06. > :08:13.the examination and I have an hour- and-a-half -- walk back.
:08:13. > :08:18.Oxfordshire, 50 schools closed, including this one. In the south,
:08:18. > :08:25.Hampshire and the Isle of Wight closed 400 schools. This one in
:08:25. > :08:26.Southampton, the only people to turn up with these plastics
:08:26. > :08:32.students. And what about this? Students from Bristol University
:08:32. > :08:37.Ski Club with a different degree on their minds today. The sub-zero
:08:37. > :08:47.variety that saw them turn the city centre into cross country. Unlike
:08:47. > :08:48.
:08:48. > :08:52.their studies, it was downhill all the way. The concern now is whether
:08:52. > :09:02.the school gates will open on Monday. The advice we have is to
:09:02. > :09:02.
:09:02. > :09:09.continue checking the weather education authority and for your
:09:09. > :09:15.individual school. We have a story that came into us.
:09:15. > :09:20.At least one school stayed open thanks to a resource for
:09:20. > :09:26.headteacher. The Tex said, I thought everyone would like to hear
:09:26. > :09:31.about Greenfylde School School, in Ilminster, the headmaster, Mr John
:09:31. > :09:38.Jeffrey, slept at school overnight. A wonderful school. It sounds like
:09:38. > :09:48.it. Please keep your pictures and text messages coming in. Give your
:09:48. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:54.name and say where you are from. You can also send them by e-mail.
:09:54. > :09:59.We can get the latest on the travel situation. We will be speaking to
:09:59. > :10:08.our reporter who can talk about the railways, but first, over to
:10:08. > :10:11.Heathrow. The latest news is that 423 flights
:10:11. > :10:18.out of 1300 aircraft movements at Heathrow have been cancelled today.
:10:18. > :10:23.For a time, North and South runways were closed. That was while
:10:23. > :10:28.clearing equipment was out. Reduced visibility was a problem, which
:10:28. > :10:33.meant the number of flights had to be spaced out more. The situation
:10:33. > :10:42.at other London airports, Gatwick airport, they say the situation is
:10:42. > :10:47.improving. There are cancellations. again. They closed for a 11 hours.
:10:47. > :10:52.They said as they clear at the snow from the wrong way, it fell again.
:10:52. > :10:59.Birmingham was closed for most of the day. It opened an Arab go.
:10:59. > :11:04.Cardiff airport is also open. -- it opened one hour ago. Later tonight
:11:04. > :11:09.at Heathrow, they will have 500 people at clearing the wrong way.
:11:09. > :11:15.They have doubled the size of the fleet of vehicles to clear the snow
:11:15. > :11:24.and ice. That is the situation at the airport. Now the situation on
:11:24. > :11:28.the trains. About nine railway companies have
:11:28. > :11:34.been seriously affected today it also Eurostar. They had services
:11:34. > :11:41.disrupted. First Great Western, South Eastern, South West trains,
:11:41. > :11:51.London Midland trains, Greater Anglia, welsh trains were affected.
:11:51. > :11:52.
:11:52. > :11:56.That was because of the red warning airier. -- region. There was
:11:56. > :12:01.extensive disruption. We have spoken to people at the station I
:12:01. > :12:07.am at. It is one of the London commuter stations. Many people told
:12:07. > :12:12.us they had not had too bad a journey. Because the amended
:12:12. > :12:17.service was introduced. As long as you could get onto a train, you did
:12:17. > :12:27.not do too badly. They said they were very fall. There are cars
:12:27. > :12:28.
:12:28. > :12:38.behind me in the car-park. -- full. It has been a painful rush hour.
:12:38. > :12:43.
:12:43. > :12:48.The forecasters have been predicting this for days. John
:12:48. > :12:53.Hammond is with me. Why has it been so heavy this time? There are good
:12:53. > :12:58.reasons. There is something peculiar going on in the atmosphere.
:12:58. > :13:05.The Met Office has been keeping an eye on something for weeks now, a
:13:05. > :13:10.sudden, stratospheric warning. It is normally very cold in the
:13:10. > :13:18.wintertime, but unusually it suddenly warns. The effect of that
:13:18. > :13:23.is normally it is reversed. The winds start coming from the other
:13:23. > :13:28.direction. That percolates down the atmosphere, so that the jet stream,
:13:28. > :13:36.which brings as mild, wet and windy weather in from the West, that gets
:13:36. > :13:42.slower and it is eventually blocked. We rely on those mild westerly
:13:42. > :13:46.winds. However, once that Jetstream gets blocked, that opens the gates
:13:46. > :13:53.to Calder, easterly winds coming in. That is exactly what has happened
:13:53. > :13:58.over the last week or so. That is an important area of research. We
:13:58. > :14:03.now have the capability to predict these stratospheric warming us. We
:14:03. > :14:12.can prepare for this winter spell. We knew it was coming. The question
:14:12. > :14:16.is, how long is it going to last? wane, its effects on the surface
:14:16. > :14:22.last quite a few longer these days. The question everybody wants to
:14:22. > :14:26.know is how long is it going to last? For several days we have got
:14:26. > :14:33.that blocked easterly winds. The Atlantic weather systems are trying
:14:33. > :14:39.to come in, but they get blocked the east. It is a battleground over
:14:39. > :14:43.the UK. Moister and cold air equals snow.
:14:43. > :14:53.John will be back at the end of the programme with all the details. Now
:14:53. > :14:53.
:14:53. > :14:57.it is time for the news where you are.
:14:57. > :15:01.Around London the worst affected areas have been to the south and
:15:01. > :15:04.west of the capital where about 10 centimetres of snow had fallen.
:15:05. > :15:12.Inside the city there have been fewer problems, although train
:15:12. > :15:15.services are delayed. In a moment, we will take a look at
:15:15. > :15:25.Hertfordshire. Alice Bhandhukravi is at Euston station.
:15:25. > :15:36.
:15:36. > :15:38.rail or bus, things have been particularly to services out of
:15:38. > :15:47.Heathrow. At Euston they are running a 75% service. Virgin
:15:48. > :15:53.and London to Birmingham, they have reduced the number of trains per
:15:53. > :15:56.hour. South West trains have a revised timetable and generally
:15:56. > :16:01.speaking train services to the south are the ones most affected by
:16:01. > :16:11.the weather. The main advice is to check before you travel.
:16:11. > :16:13.
:16:13. > :16:19.there? How people cope may welcome down to how well prepared they are.
:16:19. > :16:25.telling us it has gone out of its way to prepare gritting no fewer
:16:25. > :16:28.than four times in the past 24 hours. In the pub you can see
:16:28. > :16:34.behind me people say they could last up to a week. They say they
:16:34. > :16:44.are used to this, they get cut off perhaps every other year, so they
:16:44. > :16:45.
:16:46. > :16:55.had got of the stocks end. Will it roads are open, but the minor roads
:16:55. > :16:59.Counties enjoyed an additional day off school. 604 were closed due to
:16:59. > :17:03.the weather. We have been looking at how the capital fared with the
:17:03. > :17:10.first big snow of the winter. Early afternoon outside King's
:17:10. > :17:19.coming down, spirits remained high. Have your travel plans being
:17:19. > :17:23.affected? No, we are very good. you carrying on as normal? Exactly.
:17:23. > :17:33.Some Eurostar services have been cancelled, but disruption is kept
:17:33. > :17:35.
:17:35. > :17:40.to a minimum. Nearby things are not Primrose Hill experienced drivers
:17:40. > :17:46.had an uphill battle. You have got to stay away from the hills, really.
:17:46. > :17:51.I got stuck a couple of times. Heathrow Airport has spent millions
:17:51. > :17:56.trying to improve its ability to cope with heavy snowfall. Today
:17:56. > :18:01.more than 400 flights were cancelled. It is gridlocked here.
:18:01. > :18:07.All the parking bays are full, waiting for planes to either leave
:18:07. > :18:11.or be de-iced. They said it would be least another hour. Tonight at
:18:11. > :18:14.Waterloo East staff told us the station has been quieter than
:18:14. > :18:20.normal, many commuters taking the advice to work from home or leave
:18:20. > :18:24.early. Others were still frustrated there were some delays on South
:18:24. > :18:29.Eastern services. We are a bit in the dark as to what the timetable
:18:29. > :18:34.is going to be, because it is a shame. Perhaps this is the way to
:18:34. > :18:42.travel, through the blizzards in Richmond, on a day when London was
:18:42. > :18:48.put to the test. weekend and you can follow that
:18:48. > :18:57.travel situation on our radio station. This is the view in
:18:57. > :19:02.central London. Welcome back and as we were hearing,
:19:02. > :19:07.there has been widespread travel disruption across the road, rail
:19:07. > :19:13.and air networks, but it would have been worse if it were not for the
:19:13. > :19:15.thousands of people keeping things moving. In Stansted they have been
:19:15. > :19:25.working around the clock to keep things clear.
:19:25. > :19:28.This is the airfield operations duty manager on a 12 hour shift.
:19:28. > :19:34.Temperature minus two. The big challenge to keep half-a-million
:19:34. > :19:39.square metres of runways, taxiways and aircraft stands clear of snow
:19:39. > :19:46.and ice. They have handled over 300 flights today, although there were
:19:46. > :19:50.some delays. A familiar ritual in the sub-zero temperatures, a de-
:19:50. > :19:54.icing team at work on an aircraft. While some other airports faced
:19:54. > :19:58.major disruption, here at the snow remained light, the worst did not
:19:58. > :20:01.happen. On the north side of the airfield
:20:01. > :20:07.literally millions of pounds worth of heavy equipment is standing by
:20:07. > :20:12.in case of that proverbial white- out. We have got machines that cut
:20:12. > :20:18.through banks of snow, we have got machines that here ice and snow
:20:18. > :20:22.ploughs. As we filmed, conditions worsened. A quarter of a million
:20:22. > :20:27.pound de-icing machine cruised to one of the main taxi ways to keep
:20:27. > :20:32.the ice at bay. Our main concern is to keep the airport as safe as
:20:32. > :20:37.possible and if we have concerns, we will close areas. But this
:20:37. > :20:42.morning we have been out and put down a runway the eyes set on all
:20:42. > :20:48.of the surfaces and so far we have had very like snow. It has not
:20:48. > :20:52.caused us any major problems. We have been able to accept a couple
:20:52. > :20:57.of diversions from London City Airport this morning as well. There
:20:57. > :21:07.is an element of luck, but we have a good resource in a place.
:21:07. > :21:08.
:21:08. > :21:11.number of other flights have been on standby to meet the challenge of
:21:11. > :21:14.a freezing weekend. Well the airports have been
:21:14. > :21:22.battling to stay open, in local communities people have been
:21:22. > :21:28.pulling together to help the most vulnerable during the big freeze.
:21:28. > :21:33.Through the snow belt of suburban Britain at something is moving. Not
:21:33. > :21:42.the police or rescue agencies, but still they regard their mission as
:21:42. > :21:51.essential. Meals on wheels. We go out in all weather, nothing stops
:21:51. > :21:57.us. We do not stop, we carry on. For people like this lady it is a
:21:57. > :22:00.lifeline, hot shepherd's pie on a cold day. She said she would be
:22:00. > :22:07.here in all weather and it is great. It is nice to see somebody on a day
:22:07. > :22:12.like this. With these conditions it is hard to get anywhere. A 4x4 can
:22:12. > :22:19.help and Tracey is one of the team volunteering for the West Midlands
:22:19. > :22:26.Ambulance Service, moving patients and essential personnel. In weather
:22:26. > :22:35.like this they get a lot more calls and they need to get the ambulances
:22:35. > :22:40.out. This lady is clearly delighted with the door to door service.
:22:40. > :22:43.There is nothing like a bit of snow to get this sort of reaction from
:22:43. > :22:49.the professionals and the volunteers, all of them determined
:22:49. > :22:54.to keep things moving whatever the conditions. It is invaluable. They
:22:54. > :22:59.get staff into work so that we can provide a good service. All this
:22:59. > :23:04.snow means that even on foot getting around is not easy. In
:23:04. > :23:09.Smethwick local people are clearing their own streets. The shovels are
:23:09. > :23:16.provided by the council, the muscle and sweat provided by volunteers.
:23:16. > :23:21.He cannot expect the council to do everything for you all the time.
:23:21. > :23:31.These extraordinary conditions may continue for days demanding an
:23:31. > :23:35.extraordinary community response. It is funny the stories that days
:23:35. > :23:43.like today throw up. Buzz Aldrin, famous for walking on the Moon
:23:43. > :23:50.where temperatures dropped to minus 153 degrees. Nevertheless, his
:23:50. > :23:55.flight was cancelled from Heathrow to Edinburgh. This is him taking
:23:55. > :24:03.photographs of himself travelling standard class from King's Cross to
:24:03. > :24:08.Edinburgh. A fellow traveller let him use his laptop so he could keep
:24:08. > :24:15.in touch. And here is somebody who thought she would never sit next to
:24:15. > :24:25.The winter weather is not over yet and John is here and there is more
:24:25. > :24:26.
:24:26. > :24:29.or freezing temperatures and snow There is plenty more to come in the
:24:29. > :24:38.days ahead. Let's look back at what we have had during the course of
:24:38. > :24:48.the day. There is a red warning from the Met Office in Wales. Many
:24:48. > :24:54.
:24:54. > :25:01.Northern Ireland is badly affected. some disruption. The snow is
:25:01. > :25:09.blowing around, still that gusty wind. Flurries around in southern
:25:09. > :25:14.back later on during the night. There are very icy conditions
:25:14. > :25:19.across the whole of the country. It will not get much warmer tomorrow
:25:19. > :25:24.it. Ice will be a hazard. Further outbreaks of snow across parts of
:25:24. > :25:28.eastern Scotland, particularly on the higher ground. There will be
:25:28. > :25:34.flurries scattered around across the country. Not great amounts, but
:25:34. > :25:40.locally we could see another centimetre or so. It is a bleak
:25:40. > :25:48.morning with that raw Eastern or North Eastern wind. That will blow
:25:48. > :25:56.up the snow around. We could see further drifting. Temperatures will
:25:56. > :26:01.not get much above freezing. In the more rural areas, they will
:26:01. > :26:10.probably stay below freezing all day long. This weekend there is no
:26:10. > :26:15.sign of it warming up. It will be around. Then on Sunday there is
:26:15. > :26:21.potential for more snow. This time it is coming from the south from
:26:21. > :26:26.France and spreads to Eastern areas. We could see five centimetres. That