As the sun begins to melt away the thin layers of snow that have fallen in the last few days, London and Essex breathe a sigh of relief.
After a multitude of severe warnings and terrifying predictions, ranging from “persistent snow showers” to a veritable “polar vortex” springing up all over the news, residents have been preparing for the worst. However, it appears that their worries were for nothing, and the panic that set in this morning as residents regarded the brooding snowy sky was apparently unfounded.
As the Met Office had predicted a severe weather event the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2010, it is safe to say that most people were prepared for the worst. There was an added worry because of the current homelessness crisis, as we were expecting temperatures to drop as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
In fact, many railways services failed to run yesterday, as there were fears over the already unpredictable weather worsening suddenly and causing dangerous conditions for train passengers, although thankfully there were no accidents.
Fortunately, the weather appears to have miraculously improved this Tuesday afternoon after a worryingly gloomy morning, interspersed with sudden flurries of snow.
However, residents of Loughton, Brentwood and surrounding areas are still waiting with bated breath to see if we really have seen the worst of the weather.
Was it really a false alarm?
Experts have claimed that the unruly weather could persist throughout the week, and it seems unlikely that such dire warnings would be issued without sufficient reason.
Although it seems we have braved the worst of this wintry, pre-spring spell, for the time being at least, we should stay on our toes.
Amélie Ashton, Debden Park High School
