Yesterday, it snowed in London for the first time in October since 1934.
Londoners have not experienced snow in October since the year that King Leopold III came to the throne in Belgium, the first Flash Gordon comic strip was published, the Soviet Union joins the League of Nations and footballer Stanley Matthews made his England debut.
The southeastern counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire, just outside London, have experienced their first October snow since 1974, and this is England's first siginificant snowfall since 2003.
One dead, thousands without power and the first October snow in London in 74 YEARS as Arctic blast sweeps across UK
By Daily Mail Reporter
29th October 2008
Daily Mail
One man was killed and thousands were left without power today after inches of snow fell across the country overnight.
Just two days after the end of British Summertime, the first snowfall of the year saw a lorry driver killed when his vehicle collided with another lorry on the M40 in Buckinghamshire.
Tonnes of lard being carried in one of the lorries was left strewn over all six lanes of the motorway causing long delays.
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Weather victim: A lorry driver was killed when his vehicle collided with another lorry on the M40 in Buckinghamshire this morning
Thousands of homeowners were today without power after high voltage cables were brought down by the night's snowfall.
Clusters of homes in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire were affected and energy provider EDF said it would work throughout the day to reconnect supplies.
Even London was hit by a light dusting last night - the first time the capital has seen snow in October since 1934.
That was the year footballer Stanley Matthews first pulled on an England jersey, Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer and Alcatraz prison opened its gates off San Francisco.
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A commuter cycles home in snowy Coventry, cutting a track through the fresh layer
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A car heads through blizzard-like conditions in Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Other areas of the South-East, including Hertfordshire, just 20 miles out of London, were covered in a thick blanket of snow.
Thousands of homes in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex were today without power as the unseasonal weather led to substation problems.
The last time it snowed in the region in October was 1974.
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The cold snap saw snow falling on London
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It was the first time snow has settled in North London in October for decades
The Millennium Bridge over the Thames in London was coated in snow
Children in Stevenage, Hertfordshire managed to make snowmen and Welwyn Garden City saw two inches of thick snow.
Oxford and parts of Bedfordshire were also covered as the weather front swept across the Home Counties.
In the Midlands, an area from Herefordshire in the West to Cambridgeshire in the East was transformed into a Christmas card scene.
It was the first significant snowfall in England since 2003. In some areas, the conditions were so bad that league football matches had to be called off or abandoned after kick-off.
Luton's game at home to Bournemouth was abandoned after just eight minutes and the Wycombe vs Macclesfield match lasted only 23 minutes before the weather closed in. Other games, at Walsall and Northampton, also failed to go ahead.
The Met Office said it was extremely unusual for snow to fall in London in October.
Cancelled: A football match between Luton and Bournemouth was abandoned when snow fell on the pitch
A forecaster said: 'It has snowed across the country and many people would have seen a couple of centimetres of snow collecting on top of their cars.'
The snow is even more remarkable for October's warm start, with the country basking in a sunny 20c (68f) in the month's early days.
The Met Office's John Hammond said: 'October started like summer and is ending like winter.'
Mr Hammond added that the cold snap resulted from air travelling south from the Arctic.
The chilly forecast follows the revelation that hundreds of Bewick's swans, which were due to return to an English nature reserve for the 'warmer' winter, are staying put in Siberia because it is colder in the UK.
Around 300 Bewick's Swans were expected at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre on October 21, but as yet there has been no sign of them.
Each year the swans land at Slimbridge having completed the 1,864-round-trip from Russia.
But weather experts say global warming has created warmer temperatures in Siberia, which may cause the swans to fly over later, or at worst not come at all.
And it seems Siberia is not the only place warmer than the UK with temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska hovering around a relatively balmy -4c and 6c in Oslo, Norway.
dailymail.co.uk
Londoners have not experienced snow in October since the year that King Leopold III came to the throne in Belgium, the first Flash Gordon comic strip was published, the Soviet Union joins the League of Nations and footballer Stanley Matthews made his England debut.
The southeastern counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire, just outside London, have experienced their first October snow since 1974, and this is England's first siginificant snowfall since 2003.
One dead, thousands without power and the first October snow in London in 74 YEARS as Arctic blast sweeps across UK
By Daily Mail Reporter
29th October 2008
Daily Mail
One man was killed and thousands were left without power today after inches of snow fell across the country overnight.
Just two days after the end of British Summertime, the first snowfall of the year saw a lorry driver killed when his vehicle collided with another lorry on the M40 in Buckinghamshire.
Tonnes of lard being carried in one of the lorries was left strewn over all six lanes of the motorway causing long delays.
Enlarge
Weather victim: A lorry driver was killed when his vehicle collided with another lorry on the M40 in Buckinghamshire this morning
Thousands of homeowners were today without power after high voltage cables were brought down by the night's snowfall.
Clusters of homes in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire were affected and energy provider EDF said it would work throughout the day to reconnect supplies.
Even London was hit by a light dusting last night - the first time the capital has seen snow in October since 1934.
That was the year footballer Stanley Matthews first pulled on an England jersey, Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer and Alcatraz prison opened its gates off San Francisco.
Enlarge
A commuter cycles home in snowy Coventry, cutting a track through the fresh layer
Enlarge
A car heads through blizzard-like conditions in Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Other areas of the South-East, including Hertfordshire, just 20 miles out of London, were covered in a thick blanket of snow.
Thousands of homes in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex were today without power as the unseasonal weather led to substation problems.
The last time it snowed in the region in October was 1974.
Enlarge
The cold snap saw snow falling on London
Enlarge
It was the first time snow has settled in North London in October for decades
The Millennium Bridge over the Thames in London was coated in snow
Children in Stevenage, Hertfordshire managed to make snowmen and Welwyn Garden City saw two inches of thick snow.
Oxford and parts of Bedfordshire were also covered as the weather front swept across the Home Counties.
In the Midlands, an area from Herefordshire in the West to Cambridgeshire in the East was transformed into a Christmas card scene.
It was the first significant snowfall in England since 2003. In some areas, the conditions were so bad that league football matches had to be called off or abandoned after kick-off.
Luton's game at home to Bournemouth was abandoned after just eight minutes and the Wycombe vs Macclesfield match lasted only 23 minutes before the weather closed in. Other games, at Walsall and Northampton, also failed to go ahead.
The Met Office said it was extremely unusual for snow to fall in London in October.
Cancelled: A football match between Luton and Bournemouth was abandoned when snow fell on the pitch
A forecaster said: 'It has snowed across the country and many people would have seen a couple of centimetres of snow collecting on top of their cars.'
The snow is even more remarkable for October's warm start, with the country basking in a sunny 20c (68f) in the month's early days.
The Met Office's John Hammond said: 'October started like summer and is ending like winter.'
Mr Hammond added that the cold snap resulted from air travelling south from the Arctic.
The chilly forecast follows the revelation that hundreds of Bewick's swans, which were due to return to an English nature reserve for the 'warmer' winter, are staying put in Siberia because it is colder in the UK.
Around 300 Bewick's Swans were expected at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre on October 21, but as yet there has been no sign of them.
Each year the swans land at Slimbridge having completed the 1,864-round-trip from Russia.
But weather experts say global warming has created warmer temperatures in Siberia, which may cause the swans to fly over later, or at worst not come at all.
And it seems Siberia is not the only place warmer than the UK with temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska hovering around a relatively balmy -4c and 6c in Oslo, Norway.
dailymail.co.uk
