Frozen in Time: The Worst Winters in History

In "Frozen In Time", TV weathermen Ian McCaskill and Paul Hudson take you back to the days when snowdrifts were as high as houses, 'below zero' meant below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and when the onset of Spring was heralded not by the dawn chorus but the sound of bursting pipes. "Frozen In Time" explains why such winters happen and why they might return. It journeys back into history to 'The Year of No Summer', 'The Famine Winter' and the years when 'Frost Fairs' were held on the frozen Thames, and it tells the stories of the three worst winters of the twentieth century - arguably the worst winters ever: 1947 - the snowiest winter ever recorded, when blizzards raged for days and weeks on end, snowdrifts cut off large parts of the country and when the thaw finally came, it brought with it the worst floods ever recorded; 1963 - the coldest winter ever, when icefloes choked our rivers, the sea froze for 100 yards off shore, and millions of farm animals and wild creatures froze or starved to death; and, 1979 - 'The Winter of Discontent', when the savage snows and frosts were made worse by the strikes that paralysed Britain, causing power cuts, fuel shortages, transport snarl-ups, and left dustbins unemptied, hospitals unstaffed and bodies unburied for weeks on end. Ian McCaskill brings a unique perspective to these three severe winters, having experienced as a child the severe conditions of 1947 and then as a meteorologist and BBC weather forecaster reporting on the severe winters of '63 and '79. His personal recollections will strike a chord with anyone who lived through these periods. Paul Hudson, one of BBC Look North's most popular presenters and famous for his cheerful presenting style and studio banter, explains the implications of global warming and its direct relation to severe weather conditions.

About the Author :
Ian McCaskill Ian McCaskill was born in Glasgow. Following a stint in the RAF, he joined the Met Office in 1961 and became a member of the BBC's forecasting team where he remained until his retirement from the Met Office on 31 July 1998. As a BBC weatherman, Ian was hugely popular for his cheery, sometimes eccentric and always entertaining style. Since retiring from regular weather forecasting duties, he has been a guest on numerous TV programmes, including Masterchef, Style Challenge and Fit Club. His distinctive style has made him the most imitated BBC TV weather forecaster, culminating in the ultimate accolade - his own Spitting Image puppet. Paul Hudson Before joining BBC Look North, Keighley born, weather presenter Paul Hudson was an international forecaster at the Met Office in Bracknell where he was on hurricane and cyclone watch for places such as Miami, South Australia, the Pacific Islands and Singapore. But Paul believes that dramatic weather is not only found in far off places. He has already produced two best selling books featuring some of the extreme weather conditions that have occurred over the years in his home patch of Yorkshire Paul is one of BBC Look North's most popular presenters, much loved for his 'cheeky' banter with the programme's regular presenters. There is also a serious side to Paul, he has long argued that carbon dioxide emissions must be curbed if we are to tackle the ever increasing problem of climate change.