We are about halfway through winter, but how cold has it been so far? Met Office figures show that the first two weeks of January were very cold: 4.9C (8.8F) below average for the UK. But December was not quite as severe, only 2.1C (3.8F) below normal, thanks to a reasonably mild start to the month. And with the current spell of weather not quite so cold, the average temperature for January will rise slightly.
So the headlines that this has been the coldest winter for 30 years were not quite on the ball. A fairer comparison might be the winter of 1981-82. Its most famous incident came in December 1981, when a snowstorm blocked roads in the Cotswolds just as the Queen was travelling to Windsor from the Princess Royal’s home at Gatcombe Park. The royal entourage was trapped 100 yards from the Cross Hands Hotel, Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire, and was forced to take shelter. “The Queen had to clamber out and hurry, head down, through the storm to the hotel,” The Times reported. “The manager of the Cross Hands, Mr Roberto Cadei, hastily swept snow from an outdoor staircase to show the Queen to the best bedroom in his hotel, complete with bath, shower and colour television, normal price £27.80 a night for two.” However, a few hours later the weather cleared and the Queen made her way back to Windsor.