Extreme winter in great britain: emergency operation at the sellafield nuclear plant

Parts of the sellafield nuclear plant have been put into emergency operation due to a severe winter in england. This is a precautionary inspection, and there is no danger to people or the environment around the plant, the operator said. All employees whose presence was not absolutely necessary were sent home on friday. Buros were also affected. In addition to a nuclear reactor that has been shut down in the meantime, sellafield also includes a fuel element plant and a reprocessing facility for spent fuel.

Heavy gusts of wind, snow and rain had caused obstructions in many parts of great britain. In cornwall, a house collapsed in a landslide, a woman was reported missing. More than a thousand schools across the country remained closed. In northern ireland, more than 30.000 homes without electricity. In the northwestern english county of cumbria, too, thousands of people had to live without electricity for hours on end.
The runway at belfast airport had to be closed and deiced several times. There were also problems at leeds airport. In devon, the fire department freed people from their cars, which were stuck due to flooding. The AA car club warned of "conditions like in a witches’ cauldron on parts of the roads, where wind, rain and snow were mixed.

While up to 40 centimeters of snow fell in some places in scotland and northern ireland, flood warnings were in effect for the southwest of england. More snow, rain and storms expected over the weekend.

Weather service warns motorists in wales, central england, scotland and northern ireland of driving on the roads. Over the weekend, the weather should continue and possibly reach london. Meteorologists predict that winter will last until the end of march.