Santa’s sleigh? No, it’s the tire chains of the British Army – sent out to rescue stranded motorists after large areas of Britain were hit by blizzards.
The Army was drafted in to rescue scores of motorists who became trapped in their cars after a wave of Arctic weather swept across large parts of northern England and Scotland.
In blizzard conditions traffic came to a standstill and shivering drivers were soon stranded in their vehicles.After several 999 calls two 4×4 vehicles from the B Company 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment were dispatched, along with police, to one of east Lancashire’s busiest roads.
The four-hour operation saw the Grane Road closed at 7.30am, while 70 people were rescued from 50 cars.
The motorists were just a handful of thousands affected by wintry conditions which caused early morning havoc in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Overnight blizzards brought travel chaos with dozens of roads blocked by skidding cars, and hundreds of schools stayed shut.
Elsewhere, a cruise ship hit ice in the Antarctic and has run aground. The passengers are awaiting rescue.
A cruise ship carrying 122 people was stranded Thursday on the coast of Antarctica after striking ice, officials said, officials said.
Mariano Memolli of the Argentina Antarctic Directorate told Argentina’s TodoNoticias (TN) Television a naval boat and plane were dispatched to evacuate the passengers of the Ushuaia, as a precaution.
Must be that “shrinking” polar icecap. Which isn’t.
And still elsewhere, extreme cold is sliding further to the South in the US, with snow expected in North Carolina. But wait! There’s more! An even bigger storm is predicted for next week.
Finally, despite the added carbon and the hot air, the UN Climate conference in Poznan, Poland is currently experiencing a balmy 34 degrees F, with overnight temperatures expected to reach 32 – with rain and possible heavy fog.
Other than that which the conference is generating, of course.
