FOG AND FROST

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 5 January 1945, Page 5

FOG AND FROST

LONDON TRAFFIC DISLOCATION London, Jan. 1. Traffic crawling through the worst fog of the year, plumbers turning from bnrnb repairs to mend burst pipes, skaters having their hopes dashed by the thaw—these were some of the weather items of the last week of 1944 in Britain. , In the Dover Strait yesterday, visibility was better, and the barometer was high and steady after another night of heavy frost. Twice last week London was the coldest place in Britain. The lowest ground temperatures registered at Kew on Thursday night and early Friday morning was 13 degrees (19 degrees of frost)—the same as was registered on Christmas Eve night and early Christmas morning. Friday night’s temperature at Kew reached a new low level for the wintry spell with 20 degrees of frost on the ground. On Saturday morning, rain began to fall, stopping all hopes of skating on ponds and lakes in London parks, which had not Quite frozen hard enough to permit it. Frost and fog led to considerable dislocation of the railways, and road traffic in London was forced to crawl. In some suburbs, beacon flares burned at crossroads, and buses were led by conductors carrying lanterns and torches.