March and it's snowing and feeling like minus 10! (From Daily Echo)

March and it's snowing and feeling like minus 10!

7:59am Monday 11th March 2013 in News

JUST when you thought spring had finally arrived, it’s time to batten down the hatches and grab those winter woollies – the Siberian blast is back.

Temperatures are set to plummet below freezing again today as sleet, snow and bitterly cold winds return to Hampshire.

And some parts of the county could be hit by up to 5cm of snow this week with severe weather warnings in place across the south, as Arctic winds leave temperatures feeling as bitter at -10C.

The chilly conditions come just weeks after bone-chilling blizzards wreaked havoc across Hampshire, with roads closed, public transport services cancelled and schools shut up and down the county.

 

That prompted the Daily Echo to launch its Stay Warm camping, urging residents to look after their elderly and vulnerable neighbours, friends and relatives during the big freeze.

The latest bleak forecast is in stark contrast to this time last year, when residents across the county basked in the glory of a 20C heatwave.

 

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Hundreds soaked up the sun on Southampton Common and in the New Forest, as temperatures equalled those recorded in Madrid and Paris.

But the sun hats and bikinis will be replaced by woolly hats and fur coats today as the mercury drops to lows of -3C – with the wind chill factor making it feel as cold as -10C in Southampton.

 

It will be a similar story across Hampshire, with freezing 50mph gusts of wind also set to batter Winchester today.

And although the county is set to escape the worst of the snowfall, Met Office forecasters have warned that the cold snap could maintain an icy grip on the south well into next week.