# How bad is this winter storm in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016 "2010-01-07T10:41:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/21 "2010-01-07T17:28:07Z")
Well’ I went to school in the 60s and 70s and I don’t remember anybody closing the schools then for a little bit of white stuff. Not once (the bastards). ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/22 "2010-01-07T17:35:51Z")
It’s the lenght of time it’s been below freezing that’s really fecking things up. Even in areas that haven’t recieved a lot of snow. The frost turns to ice and the ice doesn’t go away. Then any small amount of rain, hail, sleet or snow will turn to ice aswell and very soon the roads are a nightmare. We had a bit of snow yesterday and it fecked up the whole city. All the roads where like an ice rink. Cars slipping and unable to get up hills etc. then blocked the roads futher. All the busses stopped and teh taxi drivers went home so a huge amount of people had to walk on paths that were ice covered. 100’s of people broke bones last night walking home. Snow is bad but we over here are used to it going very soon and not lying on the ground for weeks. The gulf stream means that we have a very mild climate. Rarely gets too cold or too hot and when it does it doesn’t last. Lots of rain though. This cold snap is severe from our POV due it’'s lenght. Ireland and the UK just doesn’t have the infrastructure or the equipment (plows, snow tyres/chains) to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/23 "2010-01-07T22:17:01Z")
The UK is completely white on [satellite pictures](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm) right now. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/24 "2010-01-07T22:24:23Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > It was -12C here last night in the North West, and apparently -20C in the Scottish Highlands. We’ve had nearly a foot of snow in the last few days (it actually all fell in one day), with more on the way, and the snow from before Christmas hadn’t fully cleared, due to the temperature never edging above zero for weeks. > > I have to drive back to Edinburgh for Monday, a journey I’m not really looking forward to: the road through Biggar isn’t a very nice drive at the best of times, and apparently it was shut completely yesterday, with even the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh being brought to a standstill at times, or so I’m told. It was Biggar where we had to seek refuge just before Christmas. You know the village of Coulter, just south of Biggar on the A702? There’s a very sharp turn over a bridge, and the road then rises up a small hill. No one could get up the hill - heavy snow and you couldn’t carry any momentum round the bend and up into the incline. Had to head back to Biggar - got the last hotel room as well. I drove back up New Years Day and it was fine. Guess it depends if there is any more snow and whether the M74 keep getting gritted. There were people travelling north who’d laid up in Biggar that night - they’d spent 5 hours on the M74 from Moffat to Abbingdon - that’s one exit and about 20 miles! Good luck in any case - hope it doesn’t turn into too much of an adventure. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/25 "2010-01-07T22:27:59Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > The UK is completely white on [satellite pictures](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm) right now. That’s rather beautiful, don’tcha think? My car is stuck in my driveway still. And I can’t get to the shovel because it’s locked in the shed, which I discovered earlier is frozen shut. Here are some [British asshole drivers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MPRmOUxRMY) for your Schadenfreude purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/26 "2010-01-07T22:35:02Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > The UK is completely white on [satellite pictures](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm) right now. That’s a lovely photograph. Looks like all of the mainland is covered bar the Rhins peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/27 "2010-01-07T22:36:45Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Here are some [British asshole drivers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MPRmOUxRMY) for your Schadenfreude purposes. Jesus wept! ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/28 "2010-01-07T22:40:37Z")
One driver. Two idiots. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/29 "2010-01-07T22:40:39Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That’s a lovely photograph. Looks like all of the mainland is covered bar the Rhins peninsula. I just realised you can see the major cities - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh in particular - by the greyness of the snow. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/30 "2010-01-07T22:47:02Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Here are some [British asshole drivers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MPRmOUxRMY) for your Schadenfreude purposes. [Here’s the Bolero remix.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILHcLO-GvNA&NR=1) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/31 "2010-01-07T23:03:35Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > [Here’s the Bolero remix.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILHcLO-GvNA&NR=1) LMAO. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/32 "2010-01-07T23:06:40Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I just realised you can see the major cities - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh in particular - by the greyness of the snow. The greyness is due to the angle of the roofs reflecting less light, not the dirtier snow in the streets. Urban areas always look darker. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/33 "2010-01-07T23:21:44Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > That’s rather beautiful, don’tcha think? > > My car is stuck in my driveway still. And I can’t get to the shovel because it’s locked in the shed, which I discovered earlier is frozen shut. > > Here are some [British asshole drivers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MPRmOUxRMY) for your Schadenfreude purposes. Ow, that’s painful to watch. What does Schadenfreude mean? I take it, due to the rarity of the conditions, people don’t stock bags of salt for deicing their sidewalks? Probably isn’t even sold in stores there. I’ve still got 80 lbs left over from last year. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/34 "2010-01-07T23:26:57Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Ow, that’s painful to watch. What does Schadenfreude mean? It’s a German word that means something like “taking pleasure in the misfortune of others”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/35 "2010-01-07T23:34:43Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It’s a German word that means something like “taking pleasure in the misfortune of others”. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/36 "2010-01-08T00:14:37Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > It was Biggar where we had to seek refuge just before Christmas. You know the village of Coulter, just south of Biggar on the A702? There’s a very sharp turn over a bridge, and the road then rises up a small hill. No one could get up the hill - heavy snow and you couldn’t carry any momentum round the bend and up into the incline. Had to head back to Biggar - got the last hotel room as well. Yeah, I know that stretch well. It’s not a good drive even in good weather, as you invariably get stuck behind a lorry or slow driver, and there’s only two straight stretches on the 40 mile leg from Edinburgh to the M74! I’ve resigned myself to carrying on up to Glasgow and coming across the M8. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/37 "2010-01-08T00:16:09Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Ow, that’s painful to watch. What does Schadenfreude mean? > > I take it, due to the rarity of the conditions, people don’t stock bags of salt for deicing their sidewalks? Probably isn’t even sold in stores there. I’ve still got 80 lbs left over from last year. It is sold and some people do keep some stocks (we had a few bags), also there are big tubs with grit in on most roads. But round here I don’t see how it would have been possible to clear all the pavements or roads using it - houses are fairly spaced out, so clearly the pavements would have involved sweeping a foot of snow off the 100 feet of sidewalk around each house, then using whole bags of grit over the top of it, only for it to probably snow again. In some areas with a lot of farms the roads are constantly pristine, because farmers raid the grit tubs and drive around every back road in tractors or land rovers gritting the roads. But there aren’t many farms where I live and no one has a tractor! How do you successfully grit the whole sidewalk over there? Just with a lot of work? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/38 "2010-01-08T02:31:34Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > It is sold and some people do keep some stocks (we had a few bags), also there are big tubs with grit in on most roads. But round here I don’t see how it would have been possible to clear all the pavements or roads using it - houses are fairly spaced out, so clearly the pavements would have involved sweeping a foot of snow off the 100 feet of sidewalk around each house, then using whole bags of grit over the top of it, only for it to probably snow again. > > In some areas with a lot of farms the roads are constantly pristine, because farmers raid the grit tubs and drive around every back road in tractors or land rovers gritting the roads. But there aren’t many farms where I live and no one has a tractor! How do you successfully grit the whole sidewalk over there? Just with a lot of work? We use salt (versus grit) on the sidewalks in front of our houses after the snow is shoveled off. It’s not unusual to go through 80 lbs of salt at a time. In an area that gets enough snow to be difficult to shovel many people buy snow blowers. The last big snow we had here I bought one as a hedge against a heart attack. If it’s knee deep I’ll run it around my block and maybe part of the alley. ---
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/39 "2010-01-08T03:03:02Z")
Related question: Are there many AWD or 4WD vehicles in the UK ? That is, something to get around well when it does eventually snow? ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016/40 "2010-01-08T03:46:10Z")
I love that I learned a new difference in cross-Atlantic English: _gritter/gritting_ for _sander/sanding_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-is-this-winter-storm-in-the-uk/524016.md?page=3)