If you live in northern England or Scotland at the moment, you’d be forgiven for thinking we were in the heart of Winter. Britain is currently experiencing its earliest widespread snowfall since the early nineties, and – somewhat predictably – social chaos has arrived.

Perhaps ‘social chaos’ is a bit of an exaggeration, but with roads barely usable and public transport delayed due to less than favourable conditions, the British economy is about to take another hit.

It takes very little snow for Britain to grind to a halt. Due to its mountainous terrain, what might appear to be only a couple of inches soon becomes a couple of feet if you drive ten minutes up the nearest incline. For this reason (and many more) British schools close at the drop of a flake, leaving parents either desperately looking for a babysitter, or taking the day off work – assuming they could get to work in the first place. Unlike our cousins in Scandinavia and Canada, driving in the snow is not something us Brits are accustomed to, so many people don’t. And if you rely on the train to get around, you will no doubt been affected by delays thanks to ‘snow on the line’ – this romanticised form of weather sure knows how to impact our lives on this island.

Londoners have been spared so far. It might be pretty chilly in the capital right now, but if BBC weather are to be believed, snow is on the way to our fine city. This would make it the second major snowfall in a year for London – something pretty much unheard of in this part of the country. When the snow fell in January, the city skidded to a halt. Commuters struggled to get in, and businesses paid the price. Whilst most enjoyed a frolic and a brief snowball fight, as the snow refused to budge, our patience for the stuff became slightly less permanent.

So if the snow really does reach London this weekend, how will it be greeted? Will our services be better prepared this time round, allowing people to get to work and businesses to minimise the financial impact? Or is London going to once again be delayed by ‘snow on the line’?

Image courtesy of philb1959 on flickr