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07-01-2009, 10:12 PM
Britain's cold snap has seen temperatures drop so drastically that the sea off the south coast froze over.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week1/15199180.jpg
Southern England was gripped by conditions chillier than parts of Iceland and Greenland as temperatures fell close to -12C (10.4F) on Tuesday night.
In Dorset, the sub-zero temperatures froze a half-mile stretch along the shoreline of Sandbanks, home to Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Harry%20Redknapp).
Locals said it was the first time in decades the sea had partially frozen, but sea off the South Coast is known to have iced over in 1991.
Across the country, families ignored safety warnings and took to frozen flooded fields and lakes on ice skates.
Fen skaters were pictured in the village of Earith, Cambridgeshire, where locals were hoping the cold snap would provide the opportunity for a championship skate race for the first time in 10 years.
Dozens of schools across the UK were closed on Wednesday because of heavy snow and ice.
A primary school in Ruthin, North Wales, remained shut after thieves stole the fuel needed to heat its buildings.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week1/15198559.jpg Tough work for gritters
Thousands of motorists were left stranded across the country as their vehicles broke down.
Milder weather is predicted for Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but forecasters warned drivers would still have to contend with freezing fog and black ice.
The UK will have to wait until the weekend before average temperatures rise above freezing.
Europe has also been gripped by the cold snap.
A rare snowfall in France (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/France)'s Cote d'Azur sent the SNCF national railway into "crisis" mode, halting trains in Provence and the Alps.
In Italy (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Italy), flights resumed in and out of Milan's Malpensa and Linate airports in the early afternoon, but delays and cancellations continued because of drifts of 30cm of snow across the city over nearly two days.
However, it was Germany (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Germany) that got the coldest, with temperatures plunging to -28C (-18.4F).
Yesterday was the coldest day of my life but now this, end of the worlddddddddddd
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week1/15199180.jpg
Southern England was gripped by conditions chillier than parts of Iceland and Greenland as temperatures fell close to -12C (10.4F) on Tuesday night.
In Dorset, the sub-zero temperatures froze a half-mile stretch along the shoreline of Sandbanks, home to Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Harry%20Redknapp).
Locals said it was the first time in decades the sea had partially frozen, but sea off the South Coast is known to have iced over in 1991.
Across the country, families ignored safety warnings and took to frozen flooded fields and lakes on ice skates.
Fen skaters were pictured in the village of Earith, Cambridgeshire, where locals were hoping the cold snap would provide the opportunity for a championship skate race for the first time in 10 years.
Dozens of schools across the UK were closed on Wednesday because of heavy snow and ice.
A primary school in Ruthin, North Wales, remained shut after thieves stole the fuel needed to heat its buildings.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week1/15198559.jpg Tough work for gritters
Thousands of motorists were left stranded across the country as their vehicles broke down.
Milder weather is predicted for Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but forecasters warned drivers would still have to contend with freezing fog and black ice.
The UK will have to wait until the weekend before average temperatures rise above freezing.
Europe has also been gripped by the cold snap.
A rare snowfall in France (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/France)'s Cote d'Azur sent the SNCF national railway into "crisis" mode, halting trains in Provence and the Alps.
In Italy (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Italy), flights resumed in and out of Milan's Malpensa and Linate airports in the early afternoon, but delays and cancellations continued because of drifts of 30cm of snow across the city over nearly two days.
However, it was Germany (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Germany) that got the coldest, with temperatures plunging to -28C (-18.4F).
Yesterday was the coldest day of my life but now this, end of the worlddddddddddd