Snow Slams Britain Heavily

London

Strangely heavy snowfall threaded hundreds of motorists, disrupted trains and blackout schools and airports across Britain on Wednesday as the country suffered through its longest cold snap in the last three decades.

Airports across the country were paralyzed, operate and hundreds of flights canceled. At Gatwick more than 240 flights were canceled. Around twelve flights were also canceled at London's Heathrow airport.

The weather also badly hit Britain's road network. Sections of the country's most important highways, which link London and Leeds were closed, and the troop was called in immediately rescue motorists when over 1,000 vehicles were caught in a snow-related traffic jam in Hampshire, in southern England. Rail services were also canceled, with lines in southern England reporting reduced services.

British winters are typically mild, and cities and towns are generally badly equipped to deal with heavy snowfall. With the worst-hit areas seeing up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) of snow, officials and road crews were struggling to keep up.

The national weather office says Britain is experiencing its longest cold snap since 1981. The bad cold weather is expected to continue for two more weeks.

Forecasters say that, while rare, the recent attack of cold weather isn't necessarily a sign of climate change.

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