"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Winter report from Europe...
Holland to be exact... Global warming on the increase?

After almost six weeks of uninterrupted snow, ice, sleet and hail,
supplies of road grit are almost completely exhausted.
Several provinces, including North Holland, are only gritting main roads
and bus lanes. The authorities hope that the shortage of road grit will
not lead to entire areas being cut-off from the rest of the world.

It's far colder now than it was when the weather took a turn for the worse
in December. The snow is sticking to the ice-cold asphalt and many roads
are dangerously slippery. During the Monday morning rush hour, dozens of
motorists in the centre of the country gave up and parked on the verge
because it was just too dangerous to continue.

Monday’s rush hour was a record breaker - the 500 kilometres of tailbacks
and traffic jams made it the busiest since the beginning of winter. Monday
morning was also one of the busiest days on the roads ever. This week saw
a rare weather event as well - an Arctic depression and storm, accompanied
by lightning and temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius, hovered over the sea
just off the Dutch coast. The last time that happened was in 1979.

*Incidents
*Fortunately, there haven’t been many serious incidents. Just one person
has been killed in a weather-related incident since winter set in with a
vengeance. Other countries, including Poland, Great Britain and Germany,
have reported numerous weather-related deaths.

The first few days of snow and freezing temperatures caused havoc on the
railways but the trains appear to have become accustomed to the cold and
although the rail companies aren't running as many trains as normal, most
of them are running almost on time.

*Limits
*Many people appear to have reached their psychological limit, not only
because of the daily problems but also because they have finally realised
that the cold and ice is going to stick around for quite a long while. The
joy that greeted the first flurries of snow and the news that the
Netherlands would have its first white Christmas for decades has long
gone.

Meteorologists say January was the coldest month so far this century and
the first with an average temperature below zero. Weather experts are also
predicting that the snow and ice will continue for the coming week.

*Trends
*Ever increasing numbers of people are wondering whether this is the
beginning of a trend instead of an unusual event. People are wondering
whether winter weather records will be broken, year after year after year
and if the sight of pack ice drifting ashore along the banks of the
IJsselmeer will become ordinary.

It is quite likely that it will become quite ordinary to hear people
complaining about the weather and longing for a return to the good old
days of the late 20th century, when the winters were short and mild.

Bring back global warming I reckon Think warm feel cold?

--
It does seem weird, but colder conditions are just as normal as hotter
conditions as a result of global warming. It is the heat that drives the
weather systems. Thus extra heat means extra driving force. Hence all
weather events become more extreme. That includes cold spells.
We just have to learn to survive it.
Cheers,
Dan