Soldiers helped rescue stranded drivers Wednesday as Britain's most brutal winter in decades caused chaos for travellers, and bitterly cold temperatures cloaked much of Europe. Millions of people in London and the south east of England woke up to heavy snow after storms spread overnight from Scotland and the north of England, where they have caused problems for days. “The current cold weather started in mid-December and it has been the most prolonged spell of freezing conditions across the UK since December 1981,” forecasters in the Met Office said. “Bitterly cold and wintry weather is forecast to continue for the next couple of weeks with further snowfall expected at times.” Southern counties could be hit by to 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow, the Met Office said. Much of the rest of Europe was also in the grip of freezing temperatures due to a weather front from Siberia. Norway was among the coldest, with temperatures in the central town of Roeros falling to -41 degrees Celsius. In the Netherlands, the ice was thick enough for the year's first natural skating event to be held. Up to 1,400 people were expected to take to the ice at the Henschoter Lake in Utrecht Wednesday to enjoy a two-kilometer (1.2 mile) circuit. Snow and ice in France caused traffic problems in the west and southwest, including in Bordeaux. Forecasters expected more snow later and Normandy in the northwest was expected to be hardest hit. Hungary was covered in snow, and motorists in the capital Budapest were warned not to use their cars.
