Britain’s worst winters – from a deadly avalanche in Sussex to elephants walking on frozen river Thames
While many remember traditional white Christmases fondly, the reality was often very different, with Brits battling extreme temperatures of -22C
WHILE social media fills with complaints and memes as soon as the temperature drops, the current climate means winters are still nowhere near as cold as they once were.
Here we look at some of Britain's worst winters - the times the nation braved blizzards, avalanches, and went several months without temperatures getting above freezing.
1683-64
Dubbed the Great Frost of 1683-84, this winter is widely regarded to have been the coldest in Britain's history, with temperatures in some areas reportedly plummeting to -30C.
January had an average air temperature of -3C, while February was not much better at -1C.
As a result, the the river Thames remained completely frozen over for over two months, giving Londoners plenty of time to enjoy a frost fair on the ice, which was reportedly 11 inches thick.
1739-40
This was Britain's second coldest winter ever with temperatures falling to -22C in Essex and the Home Counties.
The bitter cold was made worse by a severe frost lasting from Christmas Day 1739 to 17 February 1740, during which time the Thames completely froze over and yet another a frost fair was held on it.
1813-14
A severe cold spell began on 27 December 1813, and daily temperatures remained below zero - on average -3.1C - until the 28 January 1814.
This winter saw the last of the great Frost Fairs on the Thames, which froze over for four days from 1 February.
During this fair, Londoners skated, danced and set up temporary pubs on the river and an elephant was even marched across the ice-covered water by Blackfriars bridge.
1836-37
Heavy snow, gale force winds and freezing temperatures were recorded nationwide from October 1836 until the following April, with very heavy snowfall beginning across South East England on Christmas Eve.
On Boxing Day, residents in Lewes, Sussex were told of a huge build-up of snow on a chalk cliff overlooking the town, and were advised to evacuate their homes.
But many tragically decided to ignore the warnings, and at 10.15am the following morning, Britain's deadliest ever avalanche crushed a row of seven homes. While seven people were pulled from the wreckage, eight died of hypothermia or suffocation.
1927-28
The whitest Christmas of the 20th century fell in 1927, when a 40-hour blizzard - Britain's biggest for 50 years - began on 25 December.
Entire towns and villages were cut off, with the situation becoming so bad that the Salvation Army was forced to charter planes to drop food supplies in cut-off areas.
To aid this operation, the BBC put out appeals urging residents in such areas to lay black clothes on the ground so the pilots would know where to release parcels.
The start of January saw the Thames burst its banks, and the House of Commons and many underground stations were flooded.
1939-40
This was the second coldest winter of modern times, only falling behind that of 1963.
Much of the UK was buried under snow, which was up to 4ft deep in some areas, while the Thames froze over for the first time since 1814.
Some experts have suggested that the onset of World War Two, and its intense military activity in the North Sea, may have affected sea temperatures and thus the climate - although this has not been proven.
1946-47
From 2 February 1947, London's Kew Observatory didn't record any sunshine at all for twenty days and many UK power stations had to be shut down after weeks of heavy snow made it impossible to transport coal.
This resulted in domestic energy being restricted to just 19 hours per day, while industrial supplies were cut off completely - slashing the year's total industrial output by ten per cent.
Radio services were reduced, television broadcasts and some magazines completely suspended and newspapers were cut in size.
When the snow finally melted in mid-march, it caused widespread flooding - with the Army called in to aid over 100,000 affected homes.
1962-63
Nicknamed the 'Big Freeze of 1963', this winter was the coldest seen by England and Wales for over 200 years.
With an average temperature of -2.1C, January was the chilliest month since 1814, and February saw a 36-hour blizzard across most of the country.
In Windsor, the ice on the Thames was so thick that people could cycle on it and the sea froze for four miles off the coast of France - causing the BBC to wrongly warn viewers the English Channel could freeze over.
Things finally took a turn for the better on 6 March, which was the first morning of the year without any frost anywhere in the UK, by which point a quarter of the nation's sheep had died.
