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This Is The Winter The Met Office Predicted Back In October


Timmytour

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Posted
  • Location: Broxbourne, Herts
  • Weather Preferences: Snow snow and snow
  • Location: Broxbourne, Herts

The only trouble is, they got in there four years too early....!

Daily Mail 19 Oct 2005

Britain warned of worst winter in 10 yearsby SEAN POULTER and TAHIRA YAQOOB,

Daily Mail

Last updated at 10:55 19 October 2005

Britain can expect its coldest winter for at least a decade, the Met Office has warned.

Sustained icy weather threatens to kill thousands and cause travel chaos.

Coupled with a shortage of gas, it could lead to power cuts for industry. Gas supplies to factories and power stations would be cut to ensure there is enough to run the nation's central heating systems.

But even though households would be guaranteed supplies, the soaring cost of fuel means that many might still decide they cannot afford it.

It is claimed that three million pensioners and poorer families already face a difficult choice between heating their homes and putting food on the table.

Charities fear a sharp rise in the number of older people dying from the cold. An estimated 32,000 die every winter through lack of adequate heating - a figure which rises by 8,000 for every degree the temperature falls below the average.

Two weeks of freezing temperatures

Chief meteorologist Ewen McCallum said: "There is the potential for long periods of up to two weeks where the temperature may not rise much above freezing."

London Mayor Ken Livingstone warned that London and the South East could face the worst winter since 1962-1963, when Britain was frozen from Boxing Day until April with an average temperature of 0.2C (32.3F).

The Met Office has told the London Resilience Forum, which lays plans for major disasters, that there is a high chance of extreme weather.

Its warning is based on the likelihood of winds gusting in from Russia instead of the warmer Atlantic ocean.

The Met Office has issued an amber alert urging emergency services to brace themselves for the worst. This is one step away from a red alert, which is given only at the height of a winter freeze.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has held talks designed to maintain rail services and ensure the roads are cleared and gritted.

However, the history of recent cold snaps suggests that it will be impossible to avoid travel chaos.

The National Grid and the power industry regulator, Ofgem, recently warned of gas shortages this winter.

They said that an average winter will probably mean a few industrial customers and power stations would have gas supplies cut off to ensure there is enough to heat homes.

Widespread disruption

A harsh winter would bring widespread disruption to both gas and electricity supplies to industry.

Gas is used to power 40 per cent of the country's electricity generating power stations. Consequently, gas shortages also harm electricity generation.

One option to save electricity would involve dimming the nation's lights by turning down the voltage in the mains.

Business leaders have condemned the threat of gas shortages to individual companies and the wider economy.

The problem stems from the fact that the UK is no-longer self sufficient in gas coming out of the North Sea. We rely on gas imported via a pipeline under the English Channel and supplies held in storage.

However, storage capacity is woefully short compared to other European nations.

The CBI director-general, Sir Digby Jones, has accused the Government of failing to support the building of new storage needed to see the country through a cold winter.

Warning of power cuts to industry, Sir Digby said: "Businesses will have to close and that means people will lose their jobs. If it is cold this winter I promise we are going to run out of fuel and that is a disgrace."

The director of Age Concern, Gordon Lishman, said: "The predicted cold winter warnings will alarm many older people who find it difficult to keep warm and stay active.

"It is vital older people do not put their health at risk by economising on their heating this winter."

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Posted
  • Location: Bedworth, North Warwickshire 404ft above sea level
  • Location: Bedworth, North Warwickshire 404ft above sea level

my computer cost £700 quid and predicted this cold winter.....erm well sort of....well maybe not, but i hoped it would be :whistling::D

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Posted
  • Location: Blackburn, Lancs
  • Location: Blackburn, Lancs

Latest news. After another shambolic LRF, the MetO have decided to ditch their £30 million super computer, and replace it with pine cones, seaweed, and poor old Grandads arthritic knees. A spokesman for the Met, stated that due to unforeseen natural cycles, we have decided to embrace natures technology, at a fraction of the cost!

Edited by Solar Cycles
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