David Byers
Commuters were facing the prospect of rush-hour chaos this evening, after up to four inches of snow caused disruption for air, road and rail travellers for much of the day in England and Wales.
Passengers at five international airports were left stranded, schools were closed, and trains were cancelled or delayed after the deluge in the early hours of this morning.
The five closed airports - London Luton and Stansted, Cardiff, Birmingham and Bristol - had re-opened by 1pm, but tens of thousands of passengers were this afternoon suffering long waits due to a huge backlog of delayed and cancelled flights.
The worst affected were Stansted and Luton Airports. Stansted only opened for the first time today at 11.15am while Luton opened at 1.15pm, with tens of thousands of passengers either having their flights - many with low-cost airlines Ryanair and Easyjet - delayed or cancelled.
Passengers on commuter trains were also facing further delays this evening, after a morning of widespread disruption.
Southern, which operates rail services into London from Kent and Sussex, was warning of short-notice delays and cancellations while First Capital Connect, which runs trains from Bedford and Luton through London to Brighton and Wimbledon, said that several of its trains would be unavailable having been damaged in the weather. Hundreds of the company's passengers had been stranded in tunnels for up to an hour and a half during rush hour thanks to a failed train at Farringdon at 8.50am this morning.
First Great Western was also reporting problems on routes between Hereford and Oxford and Gatwick and Reading and Midland Mainline, which runs trains from major Midlands cities to London and the south, was warning of short-notice cancellations.
Travellers on the London Underground were facing some of the most serious delays, with Transport for London warning of disruption to services on the Bakerloo, Central, Circle, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.
A Transport for London spokesman warned that passengers should "check the latest travel information before setting off on their journeys".
Drivers were also bracing themselves for more motorway chaos, after serious delays on the M4 and M25 this morning, while driving on minor roads became treacherous.
Paul Simons, the Times weatherman, said that all drivers should be cautious on their way home from work this evening.
"If it is cold and icy this evening, as expected, then it is going to be dangerous on the roads," he said.
"Once the snow stops falling, any gritting done after that will stay on the road until this evening. However if we get rain during the afternoon as temperatures rise, then any gritting may wash off.
"It would be sound advice to tell people to be cautious when driving."
However, despite causing chaos and misery for commuters and travellers, the picture-perfect scenery across England was bringing delight for schoolchildren.
Around 600 schools across south and mid-Wales were closed today, while a large chunk across East Anglia, Birmingham, Gloucestershire, London and the Home Counties were also shut.
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Here in Montreal, what are you talking about 4 inches, even with 14 inches of snow, our children take their little showels and clean up their path to walk to the Scool Bus and go to school.
Really 4 inches is causing such chaos, come on, enjoy the snow, don't be lazy, get to Work and School.
Omaimah, Montreal, Canada
What on earth are you complaining about? 4 small inches and the world as you know it comes to an end...? In Oslo it has been snowing steady for the last week, and there has so far not been any general standstill. Closing of school? What rubbish. My 7 year old daughter uses cross country skis to school every day. Stop whining and put on some woollen socks!
Eivind, Oslo, Norway
Something as beautiful as snow can cause so much chaos in so many lives. It's a pity they haven't upgraded their equipment, especially in London with such a huge population - I'd accept that happening in Brisbane, Australia because as far as I know we've never had snow here. My daughter was stranded at Luton airport all day yesterday and might not make it to her father's funeral in Switzerland even though she left her appartment in Kensington at 3am Thursday morning, 32hrs before the funeral, for a 7.30am direct flight. She has now been en route all day and night and is probably waiting in Paris CDG airport overnight because a further 50 min. delay caused her to miss the connection to Geneva. I doubt if she'll even arrive in tiime. It would almost have been easier to get to Australia. We could probably rewrite the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" with the events of her day's experiences.
Lorelle Sutton, Brisbane, Australia
I'm sorry - WHAT "snow crisis"??????????? Are you all weather wimps over there??! Here in the state of Washington (my little town is within an hour of the Cascade Mountains) I wouldn't even bother to put on my boots for 4 inches of snow! And that picture just looked like a typical winter day in our part of the world. Tough winter weather? Try upstate New York, with "lake effect snow" off the five Great Lakes - recent accumulations of 72 inches, headed towards 100 inches (that's ON THE LEVEL, not drifted) Toughen up, you Brits!! As for school closures, my town has had ONE in the past 20 years - and that was with massive drifting snow in the country and below-zero temperatures (Fahrenheit, not Celsius) AND wind. Get a grip!
Sharon Eide, Bridgeport, U.S.A./Washington
Its like home:)
Kristina, Jönköping, Sweden
This is not heavy snow. This is "headlines" guff that Brits swallow hook, line and sinker. The fact is that every winter we are never organised for snow and should be. The French, Swiss, Austrians, Canadians and Scandinavians, cope because they are organised. Local authorities need to buy the right machinery for clearing snow from roads and people need to clear the pavements outside their own houses or shops as they do elsewhere. As for closing schools when it snows, how pathetic can you get. That just causes chaos for working parents.
Will Sellar , Cockermouth , Cumbria, UK
Delays on the Underground? What kind of snow falls under ground?
Bernhard Warner, Rome, Italy
In reply to Sue (HK): the British parent is a highly flexible beast used to dealing with long holidays, ever-burgeoning INSET days, school closures, etc. but dare to take your child on holiday in term-time and you soon discover where the inflexibility really is! John (USA): safety of the kids is a rather flacid excuse, as we parents are responsible for it! Andrew (who must be a teacher!): put the kettle on, it's snowing again.....!
Craig, Aldershot, Hampshire
Well, I got a nice quiet day stress free, watching daytime TV and drinking cups of tea- haven't done that in years- very refreshing!!!
Andrew, London, UK
Just in reply to Mr Nobbs comments.
Living in Hong Kong we often get sever weather in the summer, typhoons and heavy rain. The system here is very clear - at a point where it is deemed unsafe for children to be travelling they close the schools and parents make arrangements accordingly. It's not about sciving teachers, it's about your child's safety. Employers and parents need to learn flexibilty around the occasional conditions which result in people being absent from, or late in to work.
Sue, Hong Kong, China