Britain & Europe Face More Rain & Snow: Hard Winter 2010 By Arthur Martin

Iconic Red British Royal Mail Postbox in Winter

Outlook on February 23, 2010 Forecasters say the wintry weather which has cast a miserable spell over Britain since December will continue for at least another two weeks. Four walkers were hit by an avalanche in a remote part of the Lake District yesterday. The party got into difficulties as they made their way up St Sunday Crag in Patterdale, which has seen heavy snowfall for the past two days. Two of the group were airlifted to hospital in Carlisle while the other two were treated at the scene.

Grounded: Flights were cancelled at Luton Airport

Geographic Note Inserted: In a long period of precipitation, the ground becomes saturated with water and the additional rain or melting snow can’t sink into the ground, so it pools up in low places on the surface. This can lead to flooding in low-lying areas.

Flooded: Primrose Hill park in north west London was swamped after heavy rain

Up to three inches of snow fell across Wales, central England and East Anglia. Rain and sleet caused flooding in parts of London, the South East and South West. Met Office spokesman Dave Elliott said: 'It looks like this weather is going to stay over the weekend and into the week after - still very cold with overnight frosts and risks of further snowfall.’ Passengers flying in and out of Luton airport were severely delayed by snow in Bedfordshire which forced bosses to close the runway.

Soaked: Rain and sleet caused flooding in Horndean, Hampshire

Four flights were cancelled and four diverted to other airports as staff struggled to clear the snow off the runway. Treacherous driving conditions on many of Britain's major roads caused a series of accidents as millions of parents battled to get their children to school on their first day back after the half term break. The wintry conditions claimed a life on Sunday as a young father was killed and his cousin seriously injured when their homemade toboggan was hit by a car.

Cold comfort: Lambs in Catterick, North Yorkshire, try to keep warm

Snow plows working at night

Commuters travelling by train were hit by delays caused by overrunning weekend engineering work. Buses replaced trains on East Midlands Trains' services between Boston and Grantham in Lincolnshire and on the First TransPennine Express service between Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes

Weather-worn: A child battles against the wind and snow in Cambridge

A crop in a field in the county of Somerset, western England, lies partially covered with snow.

The A836 looking north in Altnaharra, Scotland, which became the coldest place in Britain this winter.

The Altnaharra bed & breakfast. Forecasters warned that the far north would record more -20C readings.

Altnaharra Primary School. The village is fractionally warmer than the South Pole, which is -22.9C

ELSEWHERE ON THE CONTINENT

A woman walks past a frozen fountain in the Retiro park in Madrid after a heavy snowfall.

Shadows of people are seen on street covered with frozen ice in the Basque city of Vitoria northern Spain.

People walk on a small cleared strip on a street covered with frozen ice and snow in the Basque city of Vitoria northern Spain.

People wait for a bus in a snow covered street in the Basque city of Vitoria northern Spain.

A man clears snow from pleasure boats in the Retiro park in Madrid,

A man clears the way as he tries to move his car, stuck between several cars covered with ice and snow by the cold temperature in the Basque city of Vitoria northern Spain.

People in Basque Spain wait in line for a public bus, right, as many cars and pedestrianized streets are covered with ice and snow.

A Bosnian man rides a bicycle on a pathway along a flooded river in Doglodi suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia.

A Bosnian man walks along a pathway of sandbags in the flooded river in the Doglodi suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia.

People paddle a boat, seen through a car window, after the Skadar lake flooded land near the village of Kurilo, Montenegro

A group of wild horses try to escape from the water after the Skadar lake flooded land near the village of Ponari, Montenegro

People paddle a boat at the flooded village of Ponari, some 10 kilometers south of Montenegro's capital Podgorica.

The frozen Moskva River and a power plant are seen through a widow of a footbridge in downtown Moscow, Russia

Snow covered branches seen at Peremilovo village near a small Russian town of Dmitrov.

A railway snowplow clears the tracks near Anklam, northern Germany, Monday, Jan. 11, Germany was hit by heavy snow over the weekend.

A car passes a wall of snow on a roadside near Eutin, northern Germany, as temperatures reach minus one degree Celsius

An emergency telephone is covered with snow beside the highway A1 near Fehmarn, northern Germany.

A regional train which was carrying 14 passengers, gets stuck in the snow near Anklam, northern Germany

Poland