Accessibility links

Breaking News

Britain Hit by 'Beast From the East' Blizzards


Two women make their way through snow in Canary Wharf, London, Britain, Feb. 27, 2018.
Two women make their way through snow in Canary Wharf, London, Britain, Feb. 27, 2018.

Snow fell over swaths of Britain on Tuesday as freezing weather dubbed "the Beast from the East" swept in from Siberia, forcing some schools to close and snarling the travel plans of thousands.

Parts of eastern Britain have seen up to 10 cm (4 inches) of snow this week and temperatures could fall towards minus 10 Celsius in some rural areas, Britain's weather service said.

"Bitterly cold easterly winds maintain their grip across the U.K. and we will see further snow showers in some places," said Aidan McGivern, a meteorologist at the Met Office. "It is bitterly cold out there."

Train services and some flights were cancelled while police warned drivers to take care as they battled blizzards and ice.

In London, snow covered some parts of Westminster and a blizzard briefly swept through the Canary Wharf financial district.

The freezing weather was expected to last for the rest of the week.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG