100 things challenge - 40: Winter of '63

[birdienl]

The winter of 1963, this year 50 years ago, was the coldest winter of the 20st century in large parts of Europe, in some places even the coldest winter since records began. In many countries of Western Europe it froze for three consecutive months and large areas were covered in snow all this time. The winter started in december 1962, when around Christmas the first snow fell. In the UK, a large blizzard swept over the South and West of the country, leaving up to 6,1 m of snow drifts in places. Roads and railways were blocked in large numbers and many remote villages were isolated. In The Netherlands, the Wadden Islands could no longer be reached by ferry and were supplied with the necessary food by planes and helicopters. 

January 1963 saw the winter digging its heels in. Many nights, it froze over 10 C. Rivers and even the sea froze, leading to problems with shipping traffic. From the South coast of England, the sea froze for more than 1 mile. Problems arose with electricity and drinking water, as many electricity cables and water pipes had frozen solid. 

The frost stayed almost permanently until the first week of March '63. Though many people saw the thaw coming with gladness, it brought new problems along with it. As the ground was still frozen for almost 1 m, the melting water and rain could not sink into the ground. This, combined with thawing rivers and other waterways, led to flooding. 

The winter of '63 most likely cost over 1500 human lives across Europe. It is estimated that in the UK over half of the bird population died due to cold and starvation. Still, many people also have fond memories of the winter of '63, of skating on big waterways, such as the River Thames and no school for many kids for at least multiple weeks!

Comments

[ces-1.livejournal.com]

omg, those trains! :o
The trains nowadays just breaks down as soon as a teeny tiny snowflake land on the rails it seems...

That's quite impressive, and people should stop complaining; "we're going towards a new ice age!" :P

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

You're so right! We have that problem excessively here in The Netherlands, with the trains. I think it's all the vulnerable techniques that go into them these days, while in the old time, they were big metal 'beasts' with a coalstove on board.

[ces-1.livejournal.com]

Ikr?

I'm always amused every winter that it's so *shocking* that we have *gasp* snow! It's not like we live in the northern hemisphere where it's tropical weather every winter..

The trains nowadays aren't equipped with handling the cold or snow, as you say. :/

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

Woah!! And you hear people complaining about a teeny bit of snow these days! We're just a bunch of wimps now...

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

That's so true, though I think the people did complain quite a lot then too! (But maybe now, with social media and quicker news, the complains are more visible)

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

That is very true! I often think about how social media has transformed our way of hearing about natural disasters. Lots of people are quick to say the world must be ending because of all the horrible things happening around the world but I think the truth is that horrible things have always happened around the world - now we're just hearing about them quicker.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

Wow. The poor dead birds! :(

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

It is very sad, but the program I was watching about this (from the BBC) said that within 5 years, the populations of the birds had bounced back to normal numbers, showing what strength these species as a whole have.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

Now that is impressive indeed. :)