Piers Corbyn not only predicted the current weather, but he believes things are going to get much worse, says Boris Johnson, London's mayor

The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game

Well, folks, it's tea-time on Sunday and for anyone involved in keeping people moving it has been a hell of a weekend. Thousands have had their journeys wrecked, tens of thousands have been delayed getting away for Christmas; and for those Londoners who feel aggrieved by the performance of any part of our transport services, I can only say that we are doing our level best.

Almost the entire Tube system was running on Sunday and we would have done even better if it had not been for a suicide on the Northern Line, and the temporary stoppage that these tragedies entail. Of London's 700 bus services, only 50 were on diversion, mainly in the hillier areas. On Saturday, we managed to keep the West End plentifully supplied with customers, and retailers reported excellent takings on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
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We have kept the Transport for London road network open throughout all this. We have about 90,000 tons of grit in stock, and the gritters were out all night to deal with this morning's rush. And yet we have to face the reality of the position across the country.

It is no use my saying that London Underground and bus networks are performing relatively well - touch wood - when Heathrow, our major international airport, is still effectively closed two days after the last heavy snowfall; when substantial parts of our national rail network are still struggling; when there are abandoned cars to be seen on hard shoulders all over the country; and when yet more snow is expected today, especially in the north.

An increased frequency in extreme weather events, a cooling North Atlantic, and growing Arctic sea ice were viewed as signs of climate change. The odds of a warmer climate in the future, according to one scientist, were "at best 1 in 10,000″ (see below). That's what Der Spiegel wrote about in a 3700-word article back in 1974, warning the world of a coming ice age.

In that issue Der Spiegel described a series of "weather extremes" occurring all over the world, claiming they were unmistakable signs of a climate change to cooling: deluges of rain in West Germany, severe thunderstorms that uprooted trees and blew off roofs in Berlin, the worst storm in 100 years devastating much of Lower Saxony, hurricane Agnes inflicting 3 billion dollars in damage, floods in Japan and Peru, temperatures in Argentina, India and South Africa dropping to their lowest levels in 300 years.

"The central England Temperature (CET) from the 1st-7th of December is -1.9, making this the coldest opening week of December since 1879," says meteorologist Joe Bastrardi.

With 1879 being the coldest opening week on CET record, this week has been the second coldest opening week to December since CET records began in 1659.

Those records are for a one-week period.

When you look at the two-week period, says Bastardi, the last week of November and the first week of December, it's the coldest since CET records began in 1659.

This puts central England back to the temperatures of the Little Ice Age.

And there's more to come, Bastardi warns.

"Preparation for renewal of extreme cold from France to Scandinavia and west through the UK should be made."

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An hour-long hailstorm from space bombarded the Earth 13,000 years ago - plunging the planet into a mini-ice age, scientists claimed today.

The catastrophe was caused by a disintegrating comet and saw the planet sprayed by thousands of frozen boulders made of ice and dust.

The collisions wiped out huge numbers of animal species all over the world, disrupted the lives of our stone age ancestors and triggered a freeze that lasted more than 1,000 years.

The theory is the brainchild of Professor Bill Napier, from Cardiff University, who says it explains the mysterious period of extinction around 11,000 BC.

Scientists have long been puzzled by what caused a sudden cooling of up to 8C (14F) just as the Earth was warming up at the end of the last ice age.

The change in climate caused retreating glaciers to advance once again, and coincided with the extinction of 35 families of North American mammals.

There are many other factors involved, but the Deepwater Horizon explosion and disgusting handling of the oil spill probably was the tipping point that took the world into the Ice Age.

• Scotland is in the grip of the 'worst snow and ice conditions since the 1960s'
• Transport Minister blames weather advice for 'not meeting requirements'
• Snow forces 100 children to spend the night in their school
• At least 13 people have now died across Britain in weather-related incidents

Thousands of desperate motorists were left stranded in their cars last night after heavy snow and freezing temperatures brought much of Scotland to a standstill.

Some travellers were stuck in their vehicles for more than 15 hours as Scotland bore the brunt of a fresh wave of ice and snow which left several major routes - including the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh - impassable.

The AA said yesterday was one of the busiest days in its history with around 24,000 breakdowns attended - up from 10,500 on a normal Monday.

Scotland's Transport Minister today claimed that the weather advice the authorities had been working on yesterday 'did not meet the requirements'.

Snow and ice gripping the county is nothing compared to the mini-ice age heading our way, according to a county astronomer.

Philip Norton, a member of Lincoln Astronomical Society, forecast the current harsh winter conditions way back in the 1980s.

He also correctly forecast the weather this time around and last winter.

But he says this is comparatively mild - with far harsher winters to come in the 2020s.

Mr Norton, a development engineer of Thirsk Drive, North Hykeham, bases his predictions on sunspot activity.

Sunspots are visible as dark spots on the surface of the sun, where the magnetic fields from within have risen and broken through its surface.

When there are lots of sunspots, there are fewer clouds on Earth.

If there is a lack of sunspot activity, the Earth gets cloudy, lowering temperatures.

Mr Norton said: "This winter is mild compared to those of the 2020s."

"The sunspot activity is roughly following a 400-year trend.

"I predicted the last sunspot cycle would be the most active for a long time and it was.

"This would be followed by a long, deep solar minimum. We are just getting out of this.

Record low November temperatures are set to be broken again today with very cold easterly winds and further heavy snowfalls. Met Éireann said that a wind chill factor would combine with heavy snowfalls of up to 25cm (10in) in east Leinster by tonight, making travel difficult and reducing temperatures.

Met Éireann said the wind chill "will make it very much colder than recent days" and added there was no sign of a thaw this side of the weekend.

Water authorities have warned of disruption to supplies which they say would "almost inevitably" follow the current cold spell.

Record low November temperatures were broken at weather stations in recent days, while Dublin airport recorded the lowest November temperatures since 1947 on Sunday.

The heaviest snowfalls today are expected to be in Wicklow, Dublin and Louth but snow is also expected to be heavy in Ulster, Connacht and, by tonight, in Waterford and the south coast. Scattered snow showers are predicted for the midlands.

The Government's emergency planning taskforce met yesterday to co-ordinate information on public transport and travel arrangements as well as efforts to keep key national and strategic routes open and clear city footpaths of ice.

Quincy - Seventeen rare sea turtles suffering a variety of ailments are recovering at the New England Aquarium after being rescued over the past two days off of Cape Cod, Mass.

The turtles rescued by volunteers with the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary at Wellfleet Bay are being cared for at the aquarium's new animal care center in Quincy. They eventually will be released back to the ocean.

Most of them are Kemp's ridley turtles and are suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and malnourishment. The turtles usually migrate to warmer waters in the winter, but aquarium officials say strong northwest winds Wednesday drove the turtles to shore.

Many had body temperatures in the 50s, when they should have been in the 70s.

An aquarium spokesman says it's unusual for the center to care for so many at one time.

Collapse of Giant Ice Age Glacial Lake responsible for carving out the Bahamas.

Springfield, Missouri -- A team of researchers has uncovered evidence that a Mega-Flood, or series of megafloods, from beneath the Ice Age Laurentide Ice Sheet shaped the Bahama Islands. These Mega-Floods traveled down the Mississippi River Valley and into the gulf of Mexico.

These Megafloods entered the Gulf, rapidly raising the water level and forcing the overflow out through the many smaller Florida/Cuba Straits. This Glacial overflow then spread across the lower lying area known as the Bahama Mega-Bank. 12,000yrs. ago, (with sea levels at least 300 ft. lower than today) the Bahama Mega-Bank was an exposed land mass larger than present day Florida.