During major snow events in 1981, 1987 and 1991, people just got on with things, writes Guy Mowbray . Plus other readers respond to the ‘beast from the east’

On Monday in the north Midlands and parts of South Yorkshire, we were told to expect heavy and disruptive snowfall overnight with amber warnings. By 10am on Tuesday, there was a grand total of about half a millimetre. There seems to be a rather over-hyped, sensationalistic approach at times to forecasting, with warnings about the “beast from the east” and officials telling people to wrap up warm and wear sensible shoes. What would the forecasters have made of major snow events in 1981, 1987 and 1991 – far worse than this? People just got on with things. There needs to be a rethink about what actually constitutes weather warnings, in particular yellow, amber and red.

Guy Mowbray

Chesterfield

• During the second world war, trains travelled from Euston to Carlisle often hauled by two steam locomotives through appalling weather conditions, not to mention coping with frozen points (presumably) and intermittent bombing raids en route. I also remember trudging to school through 4-6ins of snow. At the first sign of a flake nowadays, everything shuts down with the school authorities invariably breaking all records in their response to the “crisis”.

Frank Hodgson

Fordham, Cambridgeshire

• Please could we try to maintain a little perspective on the current spell of wintry weather (UK braces for extreme weather as Met Office warns of snow, 27 February). My 83-year-old mother-in-law lives in north Idaho. She regularly shovels 15cm of snow from her footpaths, sidewalks and driveway, sometimes in temperatures of -10C or colder.

Dr David Harper

Cambridge

•Please revert to Berliner pages during winter. These small pages simply don’t hack it in the hall when big snowy boots come trampling in. They scrunch up and stick to your wellies. Rubbish.

Cathy Pearcey

Macclesfield, Cheshire

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