How seas froze over and temperatures dropped to -22°C in Big Freeze of 1963

Winter has well and truly arrived as Britain is set to be hit by a chilly cold snap with plenty of snow forecast over the next few days.

There’s a three-day snow warning in place across the UK this weekend, with people warned to stay indoors and stock up on essentials.

But the unpleasant forecast is nothing compared to the Big Freeze of 1963, our coldest winter in living memory.

Temperatures dropped as low as -22°C during the four-month chill, with lakes and rivers – and even the sea – freezing over.

The brutal winter saw non-stop snow weighing down telephone wires until they touched the ground.

Snowfall started on December 12-13 of 1962, with an anticyclone over Scandinavia bringing more cold air from Russia on December 22.

While the Scandinavian high collapsed over the Christmas period, a new one formed near Iceland on Boxing Day, bringing icy northerly winds and dumping even more snow on the UK.

Overnight on December 29-30 a blizzard swept across southern England and Wales, forming drifts of more than 20ft (6.1m) in places.

Roads and railways were blocked, villages were left stranded, and power lines were brought down.

And the near-freezing temperatures meant the snow cover lasted for more than two months in some areas.

On New Year’s Eve, Big Ben’s bongs to mark the new year were delayed by 10 minutes thanks to the large amount of snow accumulated on the clock’s hands.

January 1963 was the coldest month since 1814 in central England, with an average temperature of −2.1°C.

Drivers faced freezing fog, and the sea even froze over in Herne Bay, Kent, and Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Upper reaches of the Thames froze over, but it didn’t freeze over in central London in part thanks to the hot wastewater being pumped from Battersea and Bankside power stations.

Icebergs formed in the River Mersey, causing obstructions for vessels sailing towards the Irish Sea.

February saw even more snow fall, with storm winds reaching Force 8 on the Beaufort scale.

A 36-hour blizzard brought yet more 20ft snow drifts in some areas, with winds of 81mph (130kmph) recorded.

The freezing weather continued into early March, with March 6 the first morning of the year without frost in 1963.

Temperatures gradually rose, with the remaining snow disappearing over time – thankfully there wasn’t any widespread flooding caused by rapid thawing.

Throughout the Big Freeze, sport was seriously disrupted with dozens of games cancelled or rescheduled, some 10 or more times.

The Football League season was extended by four weeks in order to make time for postponed games, with the final league fixtures taking place one day before the FA Cup final.

National Hunt horse racing was also affected, with 94 meetings cancelled during the freeze.

Many schools were forced to close, thousands of homes faced power cuts, and livestock starved to death after farmers were unable to get to their animals through the snow drifts.

Several animals including monkeys and lemurs died at London Zoo, with elephants at Paignton Zoo given warm rum to try and keep them warm.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.