Raging seas, gales, and snow ... it must be a bank holiday
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Raging seas, gales, and snow ... it must be a bank holiday weekend
In theory, spring has already sprung.
But in reality, winter still has much of Britain in its icy grip - and it's going to get even tighter.
Yesterday, high winds lashed many parts of the country while temperatures plummeted. It was a bitter prelude to what forecasters warn will be the worst Easter weather for a quarter of a century.
Storm force: Toweing waves lash the lighthouse at Seaham, County DurhamSnowstorms are expected in to hit large swathes of eastern England and Scotland today and tomorrow, with up to six inches likely to settle.
The cold conditions are due to continue into next week, threatening more travel chaos for the return home on Monday after many endured a nightmare Good Friday getaway.
However, it was a mixed picture yesterday, with many parts of southern England enjoying bursts of glorious sunshine.
White Easter: Snow hits Glenshee, Braemar and Cairngorms in Scotland yesterdayLooking ahead, Paul Fox-Hughes from the Met Office said freezing northerly winds would bring snow in Scotland and the North-East and the eastern parts of England today.
"Some of it will melt later in the day, but it will return again overnight so there will be a lot of snow on Easter Sunday.
"In lowlying areas it is likely to be two inches, rising to up to six inches on higher ground."
London is also expected see some snow, although it is unlikely to settle in the capital, he said.
Drenched: A heavy hail storm in London sent pedestrians running for cover
Overwhelmed: A giant wave engulfs one vehicle at Redcar
The South is expected to have wintry showers and be cooler than normal for this time of year, but escape lightly compared with other areas of the country.
The last white Easter Sunday was in 1995, but this year is expected to see the heaviest snowfall since 1983.
And the forecaster warned that, although less severe, the snowstorms and bad weather would continue after Sunday, causing more mayhem on the roads on Monday and for the return to work on Tuesday.
Yesterday there were dramatic scenes in the North-East with fierce winds whipping up a sandstorm on Tynemouth beach.
Sand storm: Walkers get caught in freak conditions at Tynemouth beach, Tyne and Wear
Chilly: The sun may be out but it was too cold for daytrippers in Cardiff to abandon their blanketsMeanwhile 50ft waves towered over the 33ft high Seaham lighthouse at the storm-lashed harbour in Seaham, Co Durham.
On the Windsor racecourse in Berkshire, two circus spectators were injured when part of the big top collapsed as it was hit by a massive gust of wind.
Hundreds of people were watching clowns and trapeze artists at Billy Smart's Circus when wind whipped through the tent.
The performance came to an abrupt halt and more than 200 circus-goers were led to safety by the emergency services.
Wrapped up: Despite the cold, these children make the most of the Easter break on Bournemouth beach
Road to nowhere: Heavy traffic on the southbound M5 near BristolThe injured spectators were taken to hospital.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "One side of the tent collapsed at 5pm during one of the performances.
"Luckily no one was trapped in the tent and we already had officers at the scene."
In London the Thames Barrier was closed and flood watches were put in force across the capital and Oxfordshire amid concerns about a deluge rushing inland from the North Sea.
In Bournemouth, a few hardy souls wrapped up warm to take a stroll along the seven mile promenade despite temperatures dipping to 7C (45f).
Disruption: Engineering work is being carried out across the rail networkThe scenes were a far cry from last Easter when thousands of people sunbathed on the sandy beach amid temperatures of 20C (68f).
Supermarkets recorded a surge in demand for "winter warming fare" yesterday as shoppers settled in for the cold snap.
Sales of casseroles, shepherd's pie, bangers and mash and soup were up by a fifth while traditional hot puddings rose by a quarter, according to Tesco. Whisky sales also shot up by 39 per cent.
But there was little comfort for the millions heading off for the start of the long weekend yesterday with hellish conditions on the roads and railways.
More than two million passengers are set to use BAA's airports over the Easter breakHeavy rain caused an eight car pile-up leading to delays lasting several hours on the M3 near Basingstoke while other crashes blocked the M27 and the A34 in Hampshire.
Further problems were caused by roadworks on the M1 between junctions six and ten between St Albans and Luton, the M1 between junctions 26 and 27 in Nottingham, the M4 from junctions 30 to 32 near Cardiff and the A74 at the Scottish border.
Parts of the rail network were also crippled as a massive engineering work programme got under way.
Timetables on some of the country's busiest routes were slashed to one train per hour or fewer as operators ran weekend services to make way for major tracklaying and bridge repair jobs.
Around 6,000 staff are expected to work 300,000 man-hours, laying new track, repairing bridges and updating signalling systems over the weekend.
But Network Rail insisted that, this time, the works would finish on time.
Deputy chief executive Iain Coucher said the group had "learnt our lesson" and would do "absolutely everything" to ensure there was no repeat of the New Year overruns, which saw the company fined a record £14million.
Airports were also packed yesterday as two million Britons headed abroad to escape the wintry weather, with 187,000 passengers passing through Heathrow alone.
Source: Daily Mail UK, Mar. 21, 2008