100 DAYS OF HEAVY SNOW: Britain now facing worst winter in SIXTY YEARS warn forecasters

Britain is facing up to 100 days of heavy, persistent snow this winter.

The latest detailed forecasts for winter 2013 ALL point to months of relentless extreme cold with heavy snow likely across the country.Arctic air will roar in from the North Pole later this week, triggering the start of the worst winter in many people’s lifetimes.Experts in long-range weather forecasting said the WHOLE of Britain should be prepared for this winter to be the most severe since 1947, which saw the UK hit by relentless snow and some of the lowest temperatures on record.

The infamous winter of 1947 was among the coldest in history [PLANET NEWS ARCHIVE]

February 1947 was the coldest in history with heavy snow the following month leading to seven-metre high drifts.Flooding was also a problem as rain ran off frozen ground in torrents leading to widespread chaos on the roads.

The Daily Express reported on the huge blizzards sweeping Britain in 1947 [DAILY EXPRESS ARCHIVE]

As the Daily Express reported at the time, roads and railways across Britain were blocked by huge Arctic blizzards.Coal supplies – already low in the wake of WWII – struggled to get reach power stations and many were forced to shut down, causing widespread blackouts.The lack of power supplies became so critical that at one point radio and TV broadcasts were suspended, magazines were ordered to stop being published and many newspapers were forced to cut their size.

What Britain faces this winter is an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times

James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather

And the latest long-range predictions for this winter show a pattern that look eerily similar to that infamous year, with bitter Arctic gales leading to feet-deep snow drifts right up until February.Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: “Early indications are that this winter is looking particularly severe, and we could see parallels with the shocking winter of 1947.“The models are pointing towards a high pressure blocking system which will hold cold air over the UK, and it becomes stagnant, meaning any rain turns to snow and temperatures are persistently much lower.“There are signs it could hold out until March, meaning winter misery on the cards for millions.”

The snow will be ‘heavy and persistent’ throughout the UK [PA]

The latest dire warnings come as temperatures begin to dip around the UK with the first real taste of winter likely to hit on Monday.James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said Britain is braced for “copious” snowfall this winter with extreme cold expected to last into the spring.He added that Britain faces “an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times”.He said: “An exceptionally prolonged period of widespread cold is highly likely to develop throughout this winter and last into next spring.“It will be accompanied by snow drifts of several feet and long-lasting snow accumulations on a widespread scale.“This period of snow and cold is likely to result in an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times.“A scenario similar to December 2010 is likely to develop, but on a more prolonged scale in terms of overall duration.”

The forecast snow is expected to cause havoc on the railways [EAST NEWS]

January is likely to bring the worst of the weather although Britain will shiver in below-average temperatures for the next three months.He said: “This is certainly a record-breaking and historical weather period which is likely to see one of the coldest and snowiest starts to British New Year in a very long time.”Doctors warn temperatures persistently dipping low as -15C (5F) will lead to a crisis on over-stretched hospital wards.Experts say 25,000 elderly people die every year from the cold and this year’s toll could be even higher.Professor Mike Morgan, of NHS England, said: “My message to the public is simple: look after yourself this winter.“If you know someone who is frail or elderly or has an existing health problem and they are feeling unwell, encourage them to seek early advice, go to their local pharmacy or GP before one problem leads to another and they end up in hospital.”

The UK has been warned to face months of travel disruption [PA]

The Met Office agrees temperatures will sink over the next 30 days with snow on the way.Its 30-day outlook states: “Conditions are not expected to be as mild as recent weeks, instead, temperatures are thought more likely to be just below average than above.“Snow is not unusual during late November and early December.“So, with temperatures more likely to be just below average, the chance of seeing snow across the UK increases relative to recent weeks.”

Snowy scenes like this will be common across Britain this winter [PA]

Local Authorities are on standby for a particularly severe winter with gritters at the ready and more salt stockpiled than last year.Around 95 per cent of councils are either maintaining or increasing stock levels this winter, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).Half of councils also plan to share resources with neighbouring councils while some are  adopting new methods of tackling winter including GPS trackers on gritters.Local authorities are also using liquid de-icers, brine and sugar-coated salt which is less likely to be blown off roads by wind or traffic.

Airport bosses are expecting heavy snow to disrupt flights this winter [REUTERS]

Airport bosses warned cancellations would be “the most effective way” of dealing with severe weather.British Airways’ operations director Andy Lord said: “I can’t guarantee that. There will be, on occasions, desks that won’t have people on them.”He said BA was considering moving some flights from Heathrow to Gatwick in bad weather.But he warned some people diverted to Gatwick would need to then get to Heathrow for connecting flights.He added: “Inevitably there will be disruption at Heathrow if there are problems elsewhere.”

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..but at least the snow will provide fun for some [GETTY]source

100 DAYS OF HEAVY SNOW: Britain now facing worst winter in SIXTY YEARS warn forecasters