American and British storms are 'holding hands' over Atlantic: Systems that wreaked havoc on two continents are COMBINING

Incredible satellite imagery shows the monster storms swirling 'arm-in-arm' across the Atlantic

The Stateside storm, the latest of many this bitter winter, brought with it heavy snow, sleet and icy conditions that saw thousands of flights cancelled and left 21 people dead, mostly from car crashes

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Friday's storm caused heavy rain and winds up to 80 mph in Britain's southern counties, aggravating areas already flooded following the wettest January since records began in 1776


Devastating storms that have dumped as much as 40 inches of snow on parts of the United States and caused widespread flooding in the UK are combining over the Atlantic, weather experts have revealed.

Incredible satellite imagery from NASA's Worldview shows the monster storms swirling 'arm-in-arm' across the ocean.



The storms in the US have left 21 people dead and caused thousands of flights to be cancelled, bringing the east coast to a standstill.



Meanwhile, in Britain, heavy rain and winds up to 80 mph devastated parts of the south, aggravating areas already flooded after the wettest January since records began in 1776.



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Holding hands: A storm that dumped heavy snow and ice across the east coast of the United States this week is the very same weather system that battered southern parts of the UK on Friday, meteorologists have revealed in incredible satellite imagery

Floods have drenched the low-lying Somerset Levels in the south west and the Thames Valley west of London, where hundreds of properties have been swamped after the River Thames burst its banks.



The situation is also set to get worse as torrential downpours forecast for this weekend could see rivers reaching dangerously high levels.



The Thames Barrier, a structure made of 10 steel gates each weighing 3,300 tonnes that shields central London from tidal flooding, prevented widespread damage in the capital after the downpour.



This winter's rains saw the Thames record some of its highest levels for 60 years.

Water up to here: A resident pulls a boat towards his house in a flooded street on Friday near Staines-Upon-Thames, England. Flood water has remained high in some areas and high winds are causing disruption to other parts of the UK with the Met Office issuing a red weather warning

Deep snow: Motorists find themselves stranded in deep snow as blizzards trap their cars along a Pennines road overnight Thursday. A number of cars became stuck during heavy snow and gale force winds on a road between Cumbria and County Durham, England, and had to be rescued by a farmer

Darkness at noon: The M27 passing Portsmouth was clothed in a near-black fog today

Destruction: A tree which was uprooted in Chorlton, a suburb of Manchester, by high winds and storms

Wild waves: Wind, rain and waves batter the Cornish village of Kingsand in England on Friday as the environment agency warns hundreds more homes will be flooded this weekend

Royals to the rescue: On Friday, Prince William and Prince Harry helped flood-hit Brions protect their homes, unloading sandbags alongside soldiers in the village of Datchet in Berkshire, England

On Wednesday, the UK Met Office, the country's weather service, issued a report that linked this winter's extreme weather to global warming.



The Atlantic storm system brought another bout of gale-force winds to Britain on Friday, with large waves battering coast lines and up to 1.6 inches of rain causing flood levels to rise.



As winds gusted at up to 80 mph, landslips and fallen trees caused havoc on the rail network, and some arriving flights were diverted from London's Heathrow to other airports amid fierce bouts of wind.

Motorists were also advised not to travel on the roads this weekend as families tried to escape the south during the half-term school break.



Peter Willison of the Environment Agency said Friday's rainfall would send waters on the Thames and other rivers even higher, flooding hundreds more properties.



He said it would be 'many days,' and possibly weeks, before flooded rivers receded.



Love is in the (freezing) air: Gene Luckabaugh, of Hanover, Pennsylvania, shovels his walk on Valentine's Day

Snowed in: A parked vehicle is buried by snow on South High Street in Hanover, Pennsylvania on Friday

Not all bad: Lucy Linton, left, and Amelia Linton, right, sled in the snow at Oval Park in Durham, North Carolina on Friday

Chilly Valentine's: People dig out vehicles buried in snow in downtown Albany, New York on Friday after more snow was dumped on the Northeast

Brutal: Pedestrians cross the street through blowing snow near the state Capitol in Albany, New York. Schools are closed across a swath of eastern New York from the mid-Hudson Valley to the Albany area as the region starts to dig out from 12 to 20 inches of snow dumped by the latest winter storm

Treacherous driving conditions: Vehicles are piled up in an accident in Bensalem, Pennsylvania on Friday after traffic accidents involving multiple tractor trailers and dozens of cars

UK authorities have asked Sweden and the Netherlands for additional flood defenses as teams work to remove blockages from rivers and deploying sandbags.

On Friday, Prince William and Prince Harry helped flood-hit Brions protect their homes, unloading sandbags alongside soldiers in the village of Datchet in Berkshire.



Meanwhile, the US is bracing for more snow in the Northeast between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, ruining the plans of people looking to take advantage of the President's Day weekend.



The relentless snow and ice storms battering the US this winter have led to the highest number of flight cancellations in more than 25 years, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

