GRIP OF WINTER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22242, 30 January 1947, Page 6

GRIP OF WINTER

BRITISH J3LIZZARD SNOW OVER EUROPE YELLOW FALL IN PARTS LONDON. Jan. 28. Snowdrifts piled up by a blizzard which swept southern England last night threaten to isolate villages. Up to 6in. of snow fell in an hour in some parts. Two deaths due to cold have so far been reported. In nearly 2,000.000 London homes the gas pressure was severely curtailed and electricity cuts were widespread. Yellow snow caused by fine dust blown from North Africa fell in Belgrade on Sunday. The winter’s worst storm swept Europe, claming many lives, nine of them in Portugal, which is covered by snow and is experiencing sub-zero tempera tures. Inland waterways throughout Germany, France and the Low Countries are frozen and vital shipments of food and coal are halted. Rome had 19in. of snow. Twenty people were drowned in Turkish eastern Thrace and thousands fled from their homes when the rivers ’Toundja and Arada overflowed. Arctic North-Easter .An Arctic north-easterly wind has been sweeping Britain and almost the whole of the country is covered with ice or snow. The south-east and east of England is the most severely affected. Kent and Essex had seven days of snow and London six. Tire worst snowstorms for 20 years swept Kent, and the road to the Isle of

Sheppey at the moulh of the Thames is blocked by snowdrifts sft. deep. As a result. 25,000 people are cut off from the mainland.

Gales have been pounding the east coast and hampering the fishing fleets. Many air services have been suspended. Farmers have been digging out sheep from drifts 10ft. deep on the North Downs and on the Yorkshire wolds. Conditions are becoming serious for villagers, who are busily gathering branch wood to supplement coal. Wild vp to 50 ni.o.h.

Lincolnshire had a succession of snowstorms with a wind reaching 50 miles an hour.

Four children in different parts of the country died through venturing on frozen ponds. Snow ploughs are working in many districts to keep roads open for food supplies. Cuts in electricity have been general, ranging from 10 per cent in the north to 15 per cent in the south. Last night was London’s coldest of the year with the thermometer at 27 degrees. The only people to gain enjoyment have been skating and tobogganing enthusiasts. The further outlook is for more snow.