THE winter of 1963 saw temperatures in Dorset drop to the lowest of the 20th century.

Blizzards and gales began just before Christmas of 1962 and lasted well into the new year. Roads across the county were impassable, with several towns and villages completely cut off and snowdrifts reported of up to 15ft deep.

At the beginning of January 1963, the meteorological office predicted no sign of a thaw, reporting: “Widespread snow is expected this evening or tonight over Southern England (South of Pembrokeshire to the Wash) giving heavy falls in places with considerable drifting.”

The Echo reported that a helicopter from Portland had been tasked to deliver bread to the isolated village of Abbotsbury, where residents had been completely stranded due to the snow. The helicopter landed on a cricket pitch, bearing enough bread to last two or three days.

New Year’s Day saw a slight rise in temperatures, and brought to an end Weymouth’s very own potato famine. According to the Echo: “First supplies were rushed into the town by a wholesaler yesterday afternoon as soon as the Ridgeway was opened. The town should also have its first supplies of fresh vegetables for some days tomorrow.”

Despite the big freeze, workers from Dorset Family Bakers, which supplied vast areas of the county, had walked to work in a bid to keep the supply of loaves flowing. As a consequence, few people went without bread during the Arctic snap.

Freezing weather reappeared in the middle of January 1963, with an Echo article on Saturday, January 12 reporting one of the coldest nights in history. Temperatures in Weymouth had dropped to -7 degrees celsius overnight, the lowest since 1947. Before then, such temperatures had not been recorded since 1881.

1963 in Poole saw the air become so cold that parts of the sea froze to ice. The coldest spot in Britain was recorded in Braemar in Scotland, where the temperature fell to -22.2 degrees celsius overnight on January 18.

Radipole Lake in Weymouth also froze over in January 1963, but would-be skaters were warned that there were several pockets where there was no ice at all. Yet despite the cautions and advice to parents not to allow their children to play on the lake, it became a popular sports arena.

Driving was equally treacherous, and a spokesperson for the AA was reported saying the following: “We have entered the 18th day of Britain’s little ice age, and driving on roads will call for great care. It is no time for joy-riding in the country areas, and although main roads are treacherous but passable, side roads are still extremely precarious, and motorists should not attempt them except in emergency.”

Approximately £150,000 was spent clearing country roads during the frosty period, with authorities relying on the use of 63 snow ploughs and 161 diggers.

Members of Weymouth football team were also said to be hard at work helping to clear the Rec of frozen snow, as sports games across the county were called off for the third weekend in a row.

Met Office reports say that much of England remained covered in snow every day until early March 1963, as clear skies and lack of cloud cover meant temperatures were stuck below freezing. Respite came when a mild south-westerly flow of air reached the British Isles at the beginning of the month, and before long the country had defrosted.

Despite fears that the thaw would result in severe flooding, life quickly returned to normal.

The next time Dorset was buried by blizzards was the February of 1978, where at least six inches of snow fell across the county. Once again, roads were rendered impassable and residents in towns and villages were barricaded indoors.