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Us Brits when it comes to a bit of snow... (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by whiterabbi

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[–]jamoseke 121 points122 points ago

This made me laugh more than it should have. Just the whole nation sort of slowly folding up, tilting a little to one side, and lying there in the foetal position until it stops.

[–]SquidManHero 22 points23 points ago

Foetal? Is that really how it's spelled?

[–]pikeybastard 49 points50 points ago

in the UK yes, not sure but think it's fetal in the US

[–]SquidManHero 19 points20 points ago

Thanks for clearing. In the US it is fetal.

[–]pikeybastard 21 points22 points ago

Pure guesswork, paying off again

[–]randyrectem 2 points3 points ago

It may have paid off a couple of times, but coming from somebody who exclusively deals guesswork...

Don't depend on it.

[–]PeteVenkmann 0 points1 point ago

Fabulous username.

[–]alexryane 6 points7 points ago

That's basically what happend. Half way through work on Friday everyone in the office started disappearing home before the snow shut down all the trains out of London. I walk to work so I have no excuse, but my mobility is now quite seriously inhibited. I've had to switch from stylish shoes to slightly more practical shoes, and although the pavements are gritted I'm basically walking at half speed trying not to slip over.

I didn't even go out tonight, why am I up at 5 am? I just turned the heating up and crawled into a corner.

[–]PeteVenkmann 0 points1 point ago

I feel your pain.

[–]JamesH2220 18 points19 points ago

I honestly do not understand the vast amount of "Britain in snow" posts that are circulating Reddit these past few days. I live in the north-East of England where there's a decent amount of snow right now but nothing to really worry about and not once have I seen a bad driver, Problem with public transport or even heard anybody complain. Matter of fact this morning I was out clearing roads leading to my home with 5 other neighbors. Either people are jumping on the karma bandwagon while the joke's hot or I'm just lucky enough to never experience anything negative when it comes to snow.

[–]Akuzed 1 point2 points ago

Doesn't England get snow? I always thought it was high enough up from the non-snowy areas of the world (Sub tropics and such) to get snow.

[–]benbentenn 1 point2 points ago

its weird. IIRC Atlantic ocean currents carry enough heat up to that part of the world to make England weather (and most of France and Germany too) much like New England weather even though its at the same latitude as Canada.

[–]KingofCraigland 1 point2 points ago

New England and New York get a ton of snow in the winter. A lot of it is due to lake effect from the Great Lakes. I would think the oceans would contribute something assuming weather still travels from west to east over there.

[–]DaftPunk_Glasto 0 points1 point ago

We have something called the gulf stream. Essentially most weather comes from the west and crosses over england. However the gulf stream warms up the air so we usually only get rain. In certain circumstances its cold enough for snow to form and then all hell breaks loose.

Its cool for me though as living on the west coast of the uk i get no snow, so its a luxury.

[–]Akuzed -1 points0 points ago

You guys must luck out then, because New England typically gets hammered year in and year out. I always thought that England did as well. I'm just gonna add that to my list of reasons why I need to move to England. In fact, I will list that right beneath #1 which is being in love with the accents.

[–]titykaka 1 point2 points ago

To be fair it does rain every day in England so I wouldn't say the weather was good.

[–]Miserable_Bugger 6 points7 points ago

It doesn't rain every day. Summer can be amazing here....last year it fell on a Saturday, which was nice.

[–]benbentenn 0 points1 point ago

what an interesting coincidence, winter fell on a saturday here in my part of the USA.

[–]Akuzed 0 points1 point ago

Rain I can deal with. Metric fuck tons of snow? No thanks. I'm not made of sugar, so I won't melt in contact with water, but I am warm blooded and hate freezing my ass off LoL

[–]titykaka 1 point2 points ago

It snows at least once every year.

[–]ribena_wrath 4 points5 points ago

The problem isn't the snow or the people. It's how the media reacts to the weather, and unfortunately it displays us as being pretty incompetent at dealing with it.

[–]ghost20 3 points4 points ago

On sky news they showed a school that was shut down because of the snow, it was such a thin layer you could see the pavement underneath...

[–]WNJohnnyM 1 point2 points ago

facepalm

[–]SilverCharm99 0 points1 point ago

Some schools shut down for one day, expecting more snow fall due to weather forecasts. They plan to close for one day to prepare for the next few days by gritting everywhere etc, and then they look like idiots when the forecast was wrong. It happened to my school multiple times.

[–]ghost20 0 points1 point ago

Some schools don't close until half way through the day. Mine did once, public transport had stopped and I lived about 20 minutes away by car, uphill.

[–]SilverCharm99 0 points1 point ago

Different councils have different rules.

[–]SilverCharm99 0 points1 point ago

Also, a couple of years back we ran out of grit salt and various other means because we were completely unprepared. It was one of the first times we had proper snow fall so bad it affected us, so it made an impact. People assume we're in the same situation now, whereas actually we're pretty much sussed. :)

[–]ribena_wrath 1 point2 points ago

What I really don't get is why we always have a grit shortage. We have a fortnight if snow every year. I don't understand how the local councils can't get enough grit in the remaining 50wks...

[–]SilverCharm99 0 points1 point ago

I understood the first time... But after that?? Learn your lesson Britain!!!!

[–]Adimany 1 point2 points ago

Newcastle?

[–]epsilonbob 0 points1 point ago

It is just the south, Bristol got a few inches hardly enough to count by the standards I grew up on but things ground to a halt, Uni shut down on Friday, roads and pavement are icy as hell now because no one ploughed/shovelled the snow.

You'd think no one had ever seen the stuff before by how they have handled/reacted to it.

[–]jamoseke 0 points1 point ago

A lot of it is, I suspect, the karma bandwagon effect - same as "Australia right now (brushfire.jpg)" or "it got a bit hot in Texas this summer (assortedmeltedcandy.jpg)".

In fairness though, this country is pretty wimpy about snow compared to others on our latitude. Northern Europe deals with it as a yearly occurrence, but the gulf stream keeps us nice and coddled so that years can go by with nothing but minor dustings. The media makes a fuss whenever we get more than a centimetre, schools shut, flights are delayed, trains run reduced service.

And good lord, you should hear the locals complain. I love it, it looks like a winter wonderland for once instead of a suburban Hades!

[–]ManOfPie 0 points1 point ago

I don't get it either. From my limited geographic knowledge I'm fairly sure that Britain is up north a fair bit and they should all be used to a moderate amount of snow.

[–]lagwaggin 16 points17 points ago

gulf stream

[–]groovemonkeyzero 0 points1 point ago

Exactly. London is on the same line of latitude as Calgary, but has this lovely warm current massaging its shores.

[–]Metzger90 2 points3 points ago

So instead of being snowy, it's dreadfuly foggy and wet. Although I'll take wetness over freezing wetness.

[–]Ebers 6 points7 points ago

It's difficult to keep calm and carry on when the headlines read "FREEZE MAY KILL 60,000".

[–]Xorkrik 2 points3 points ago

Mr Freeze got out again ? Well let's hope Batman can stop him.

[–]C_M_O_TDibbler 26 points27 points ago

Speak for yourself! It won't stop the actual workers just the ones looking for an easy excuse for a day off

[–]whiterabbi[S] 7 points8 points ago

Definitely university student with life changing exams in the next few days, that I have been prepping for for the last month or so. So I need everything to go forward as planned. Nice UN btw

[–]C_M_O_TDibbler -2 points-1 points ago

They won't just cancel them they will just postpone them until the weather clears OR they will hold them and assume that if you really want to pass the course you will make it there in time, it's not like it is Siberia or Greenland

[–]tobyreddit 2 points3 points ago

Assuming people should put the effort in to make it there on time is rubbish. When there is bad weather and trains and buses are cancelled in am area, you cannot simply expect people to 'put the effort in' when they have no means of travel. If you want to raise an issue about the state of transport in the UK during snowy periods then fair enough (although it is worth bearing in mind the ridiculous sums of taxpayer funded money it would cost to sort these out - in a time when people aren't willing to pay for much at all) but there is no need to try and pass blame on to students, in my opinion.

[–]C_M_O_TDibbler 0 points1 point ago

Assuming people should put the effort in to make it there on time is rubbish

So what you are saying you feel it should all be handed to everyone on a plate? all gain no pain? it is that line of thinking why there are families who haven't done a single days work for 3 generations

[–]Fetchmemymonocle 0 points1 point ago

Let me just fetch the snowshoes for my commute...

[–]WNJohnnyM 0 points1 point ago

...or Winnipeg.

[–]whiterabbi[S] -1 points0 points ago

oh no, I know that some have already not taken place due to the snow. They will be postponed until they can be done again or until the next exam period. Just don't want that to happen to my exam.

[–]DaftPunk_Glasto 1 point2 points ago

Your lucky, Cardiff got snowed in and stopped providing transport to all the far out accommodations. No setbacks to exams...

[–]holyice7 0 points1 point ago

Oh well. Cardiff needed more chimney sweeps anyway.

[–]DaftPunk_Glasto 0 points1 point ago

That makes absolutely no sense. Im guessing it sounded better in your head....

[–]whiterabbi[S] 0 points1 point ago

You are right, you have it worse!

[–]C_M_O_TDibbler -5 points-4 points ago

You are in the hands of people who pilot desks for a living and have no concept of the real world... good luck

[–]formerwomble 2 points3 points ago

piloting a desk for a living is real work. we live in the 21st century and the world revolves around computers. Not harvesting corn with a scythe or digging coal with a pickaxe.

[–]whiterabbi[S] -2 points-1 points ago

yep

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

I live in Canada and in Calgary there are a startlingly large number of people bundling up for the first -5 Celsius snow day of the winter. Oh, I just love seeing this, it makes me think about what things are going to be like a month from now when it's -25 with wind chill.

That and half of the retards here ride their brakes when the roads are covered in snow. Fucking dipshits.

[–]C_M_O_TDibbler 4 points5 points ago

It has been -5 here I'm still in jeans, T-shirt and a normal hoodie.

I am wearing fingerless gloves to work though

[–]Tho76 1 point2 points ago

No idea what that is in F, but Connecticut-an here. 15° = sweatshirt and sweatpants.

[–]WNJohnnyM 0 points1 point ago

-5 C is about 23 F. Really not all that cold.

[–]WNJohnnyM 0 points1 point ago

Here in Winnipeg, it is already -25 C and the snow is blowing around a lot. I've had to shovel the driveway twice so far today. I'll be going out later to do it again. Just gotta keep in mind that the summers here are awesome and the beaches full of nice...um...views.

[–]vousetesbelles -1 points0 points ago

Edmonton here. I like to laugh at the people who are bringing out their ski jackets before the first snowfall even hits, and I'm still walking around in flats and a sweater.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

Word, homie. I eat like a motherfucking eskimo and I look like Brad Pitt. I love cold weather.

[–]TheTrunkMunky 0 points1 point ago

However it will stop transport an absolute inordinate amount of times.

[–]jamoseke 0 points1 point ago

Relevant username?

[–]PlyingBear 17 points18 points ago

I take it you're from England then OP. Scotland copes a lot better than England when it comes to heavy snow.

[–]twelfthmillion 11 points12 points ago

The BBC weather map showed snow everywhere apart from Scotland. WHAT ARE YOU DOING NATURE, WE HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR YEARS!

[–]PlyingBear 0 points1 point ago

The last time it snowed heavily was last monday. There was supposed to be 8 inches of snow falling on Friday but it didn't happen. There has been short spells yesterday and today. But its been below freezing for most of the week so the snow hasn't melted.

[–]glasgow_girl 2 points3 points ago

ha ha, Snow in Scotland this year

[–]doadfish 2 points3 points ago

Came here to say that. From all ive seen on the news and in pictures the snow wouldnt even go over your boots and if it does it would barely

[–]BaconBiscuits 0 points1 point ago

Was thinking this as soon as I seen "British". I remember a couple of years ago we had a few feet of snow, London had a dusting of and the entire city shut down.

[–]nysmoln 1 point2 points ago

Heavy snow

As a Swede. Heavy snow doesn't happen over the pond.

[–]rrrx -1 points0 points ago

And what would you consider a really heavy snow in Sweden, in terms of accumulation from a single storm?

[–]nysmoln 1 point2 points ago

Hmm. This was from december 5th last year

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhD6ro7I9io/UL-e1q_FFqI/AAAAAAAAFr0/oB6qRSqXPbM/s1600/sn%C3%B61.jpg

And that's in stockholm which is in the middle of Sweden. It gets worse in the north!

[–]rrrx 0 points1 point ago

Interesting. Here's a few from a storm we got back in 2007. That doesn't quite show the worst of it, though; all told we got about 150 inches in ten days.

[–]nysmoln 1 point2 points ago

That's crazy! I live in southern Sweden so the most I see here is maybe 2ft. We can have really heavy snowfall. But usually it melts pretty fast down here, turns into water and then freezes. We usually have solid ice roads until the middle of march. Dangerous times. Just read an article now that the record in Sweden is 10,7ft of snow in the most northern town.

[–]rrrx 0 points1 point ago

Yeah, this whole area is situated directly east of Lake Erie, which constantly sends warm, wet air in our direction. When it meets the mass of cold air that's over the land it causes huge amounts of lake effect snow. The biggest storm in recent memory was back in 2007, when we got 13 feet of snow in ten days. Then there was the 1997 storm, which only dropped 6 feet of snow, but all of the snow fell in a single day.

[–]GlassGun 0 points1 point ago

Was going to say exactly that. Watching the news England is getting 'heavy' snow, an equivalent of a light dusting to Scotland's standard. London seems to stop to a stand still at a mere couple of inches.

[–]Harkaen 3 points4 points ago

"England is suffering from a grit shortage" It snows every fucking year, why do we never get enough road grit or some god damn snow plows?

[–]thornsap 3 points4 points ago

i think it's because all the snow clears in like 2 days anyway so it's not worth investing that much money into anti snow measures

[–]GlassGun 1 point2 points ago

Well after the bad winter in Scotland 2 years ago (2 feet of snow and -14C, cold by UK standards) we decided to invest in some snow plows. They haven't been put to good use yet and don't think England would need them. But there shouldn't be a shortage of Grit. For about the past 5 years there has always been some snowfall / ice around January and February, even into March last year.

[–]PlyingBear 2 points3 points ago

I would say there is 2-3 inches of snow outside my house justnow and everyone gets on with it. If it was like that in England, schools would be closed, buses wouldn't run, etc...

[–]Pweaches 0 points1 point ago

North East England here, we have that amount here. Pretty sure everything is running fine ye dafty.

[–]PlyingBear 0 points1 point ago

I was thinking more London. It went into meltdown a couple of years ago when it was about an inch of snow.

[–]SittingAnteater 0 points1 point ago

It was far more than an inch, at least on the outskirts. Pretty sure it was getting on for a foot, possibly more, where I live.

EDIT: Wait, that can't be right. Maybe 6 inches?

[–]Higeking 10 points11 points ago

https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson/status/290892684648914948 clarkson sums it up pretty well.

[–]mitchattitude 6 points7 points ago

Haha not Brits, more like English. We're used to it in Scotland.

[–]geusebio 0 points1 point ago

Manchester reporting in here. Nary a drizzle. Juuust enough of a sprinkle of icing sugar to make the pavements white.

Rubbish.

[–]DaftPunk_Glasto 0 points1 point ago

You forgot about Wales

[–]glasgow_girl -1 points0 points ago

I feel like I'm repeating myself in this thread,BUT I'M STILL WAITING ON MY FUCKING SNOW!

[–]bobthefish 0 points1 point ago

We were up by Loch Lomond about a month ago and there was a wee bit of snow. I think it's all melted now.

[–]xTAKeItSeRiOuSx 2 points3 points ago

You should see Canada.

[–]WNJohnnyM 4 points5 points ago

I'm in Canada. I can't see anything because of the blowing snow.

[–]xTAKeItSeRiOuSx 1 point2 points ago

Same

[–]Loonilum 3 points4 points ago

Laughed then became disappointed as I realised the accuracy of this...we cannot handle snow...

[–]SikhGamer 0 points1 point ago

Couple of inches and the country comes to a standstill. TWM cancelled all their buses in Birmingham, and the Metro was useless as well. Jesus, let's get our shit together already.

[–]N0Treal 0 points1 point ago

Ooooooh nooooooo!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAfeJmlwWnE

[–]Althekiller 1 point2 points ago

Charlie Brooker would like to have a word with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO52SMQB7tE

[–]ZombieGadaffi 0 points1 point ago

It doesn't snow often in Britain?

[–]epsilonbob 0 points1 point ago

The southern most bits (like where London is) don't seem to get snow regularly or in substantial quantities. the further north you go the more common it gets and Scotland can get like Narnia under the white witch.

[–]insideoutduck 0 points1 point ago

Not really... about once a year, depending which bit of Britain you're in (less often/heavily in the South, more often in Scotland). It's rare enough that we haven't worked out how to deal with it very well, so it does screw things up a bit. The media always makes it sound 1000 times worse though.

[–]Frozen_Wave 0 points1 point ago

And they wonder why people in Canada and the States own vehicles.

[–]lmpervious 0 points1 point ago

Is that Bread Dog?

[–]shit-head -1 points0 points ago

I had a layover in Heathrow once when there was 1/2 inch of snow. I think they closed the airport. Flights were canceled, after some 4 hours they got hotels for everyone since Heathrow was closed, buses floundered, cars slid around, brits looked confused and frightened in general. I almost felt like reaching out and telling them "it will be ok, just try to stay calm", except I'm a really poor liar.

[–]Meanest_Phlebotomist 0 points1 point ago

Cars sliding around in a half inch of snow? That's hilarious and weird...

[–]Ash29k -1 points0 points ago

Haha, so true.. I was watching you lot panic on on the news yesterday... Greetings from Finland

[–]ryan_morland 0 points1 point ago

Should be "Us English and Welsh when it comes to a bit of snow". Don't bring The Scots into this, we deal with snow like Men!

[–]jazxfire 0 points1 point ago

Nah it's just you posh southerners who are afraid of the cold.

[–]coolbeaNs92 0 points1 point ago

It is pretty shameful we cant deal with the snow in the UK. Even a hint of it and trains and buses are cancelled. Pretty much every other country seems to be able to deal with it.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]coolbeaNs92 0 points1 point ago

We in the UK get snow pretty much every year. We know we're going to get it, and we normally always know several days in advance when it's going to happen. Yet we can't seem to deal it with despite this. Personally I wouldn't say it's a handful. Most countries who get snowfall every year generally deal with it better than we do.

[–]BelGaraath 1 point2 points ago

I walked 7 miles in the strongest of the snow weve had yet the other day. I couldnt not visit my nan on her bday.

[–]Seitofox 0 points1 point ago

I wish I had snow =(

[–]WNJohnnyM -1 points0 points ago

I'll FedEx some to you if you'd like.

[–]Fallen92 -1 points0 points ago

lol "Brits" Try coming up to Scotland sometime.

[–]mikecampaul -3 points-2 points ago

unless there trying to be first to a pole , oh right they all die

[–]Kevaughn 0 points1 point ago

How much has it snowed?

[–]CummingEverywhere 0 points1 point ago

We got about 5 inches where I am.

[–]RtardDAN 0 points1 point ago

where i live 5-6 inches, in my old house we would've got maybe a foot of snow as i lived in the north yorkshire dales

[–]glasgow_girl -1 points0 points ago

It's not.

[–]ghost20 0 points1 point ago

Where I am we got about an inch, the roads were completely clear though so no one had any real problems.

[–]Meanest_Phlebotomist 0 points1 point ago

Even if they weren't, an inch of snow shouldn't be enough to stop people from driving fairly normally (maybe a little slower than usual).

[–]Arbennig 0 points1 point ago

Not me my friend . I jumped on my bike and cycled that shit!

[–]GoTzMaDsKiTTLez 0 points1 point ago

It's freaking Springtime For Hitler where I'm living! (U.S.A)