Snow in the South East 02/02/09
So, it’s predicted that up to 15cm of snow will fall overnight in the south/south eastern parts of England. All London bus services have been withdrawn due to dangerous conditions on the roads, and many flights from the capital have been cancelled. (See Heavy snow causes travel problems.) I’m still in Milton Keynes and I was due to travel back to London tomorrow in order to attend my lectures first thing Tuesday morning. The ‘bad’ weather is expected to continue until then. The debate is; should I risk going back, or should I just stay in Milton Keynes and hope for the snow to continue so I can spend the day making snowmen in the garden with Justin?
Part of me will be gutted at missing my lectures for the second week in a row, but I hate the thought that I could make it even as far as Euston and not be able to catch a tube or bus home and be stranded in the cold with heavy bags. It’s not like I packed clothes appropriate for snowy weather – it was fine when I left! I do wonder how hard hit Milton Keynes will be. It’s approximately 43 miles north north west of London. Currently there is a layer of snow outside, but will it increase overnight, or just melt away over time and never really settle in snowman-making amounts?
The last time I saw any significant amount of snow was in February two years ago – evidently on a day when my friend was due to catch a flight home from London. We set out not thinking much of the whole situation until we reached the tube station where we found that some of the lines were closed, completely screwing up our route to Heathrow. We managed to get halfway but then decided to call a helpline number to check the flight details – sure enough, it was cancelled. So we tried to make our way back to my house. We ended up going completely out of our way and what would’ve been a 20 minute journey took hours. The snow was pretty, though.
Is the town too small to have its own weather forecast? I dunno, it sucks to miss classes for a second week in a row, but if there’s a big chance you’ll miss the classes anyway, you might as well stay.
Oh, and I’m sorry, but I had to giggle at buses being canceled for 15 cm of snow. I remember a day last year with 50 cm, and although the buses were late, they weren’t canceled! I guess that’s part of living in a snowy country :P
They’ve predicted twice that our city would get snow, but both of those predictions turned out to be incorrect. Maybe you’ll be able to have that luck as well? I’d love to see snow, but I would hate to drive in it. I hope it doesn’t snow too much and are able to get to your classes. I remember hating to miss a single class because it felt like I missed so much!
I’m chuckling for the same reason as Kaylee; 15cm of snow is nothing where I live.
Snow is pretty, but I hate having to shovel it. I think if I were you, I’d stay… and make snowmen. :P
It has to be at least 9 inches deep here! School has been cancelled; WOO!
Well, if I were you I’d simply stay at home and not risk it – or maybe email some of your lecturers to send you some notes as you’re “snowed”. And then – you get the best of both worlds! xP
I have no idea what to do in these situations as I don’t live in the snow heh but wouldn’t you love to make snow angels and play in a powdery white paradise with Justin?! It is, afterall the beginning of the year. xD
@Kaylee; snow is a complete novelty in England. We very rarely get any, so when we do, we’re never prepared for it and it totally screws everything up. It’s not like we have any snow shoveling equipment/machines stashed away. :P
I think you should stay in Milton Keynes, safety comes first :P
*cough* I didn’t know snow will cause such a trouble. I don’t live in a winter country and I have never seen snow before. Tsk tsk, sorry if I sounded stupid .__.”
Half of that 50 miles (more like 40-45 anyway, depending which bit of London you measure to) is west, not north.
And, yes, England just isn’t used to getting this kind of snow any more, certainly ‘the south’ isn’t. Even if the councils are on the ball with gritting and ploughing you’ll still find most drivers unable to cope.
I would definitely stay! 15cm isn’t that much compared to what I’m used to, but it’s still snow. Hopefully you get the good kind so you can make snowmen. :P