Unusual Weather

Above: Rime caused by freezing fog coats a European hillside.

Snow travel chaos set to impact on Christmas week

The last round of this unusual weather in Europe preceded our own very cold episodes by about a week (Dec. 7-8 and again Dec. 14-16). It will be interesting to see if this dip in the jet stream makes it all the way around the globe again this time. For now, its a comparatively balmy 60°s F. (15 - 17° F.) here in Central Florida.

The headlines across Europe talk of "[s]evere disruption caused by freezing weather set to continue."

Hundreds of Christmas travellers have faced a second night sleeping at the busy London airport, Heathrow, with more delays and cancellations expected on Monday.



Above: An unusual snow cover over Paris.

As knock-on delays hit other airports, the Met Office warned of more snow and ice in many parts of the country.

A "bitterly cold" day is forecast on Monday, December 20, with freezing fog. This phenomenon is normally more common on mountain tops which are exposed to low clouds. It occurs when liquid fog droplets freeze to surfaces forming white soft or hard rime.

Southern England and South Wales were among those in the "firing line" for Monday, said BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts, with 5-10 cm. (2-4 inches) of snowfall that could coincide with both the morning and evening rush hours.



"We could have some bedlam once again, it looks absolutely atrocious," she said.

There were warnings of more heavy snow for much of Scotland and north-east England on Sunday evening and through into Monday.

Northern Ireland, East Sussex and Kent were also forecast to have more snow on Sunday evening.



Above: Northern France has been badly hit by the unusually severe weather.

On the railways there was some disruption on Sunday, including the suspension of East Coast Train services between London and Peterborough, stranding hundreds of passengers.

No trains were running between Oxford and Hereford, while some Chiltern Railways, South West Trains and First Capital Connect services were affected by the weather.

With France also suffering severe weather, Eurostar said people should not travel unless it is necessary.



ABOVE: The Eurostar