The weather outside is frightful!
Well, it is about to be for Britain, who will be facing its coldest winter in over 50 years. In Britain, the start of the winter begins once the migration of Siberian swans pass through, and they have arrived an entire month early, according to Travel AOL.
The Siberian swans, also known as Bewick's swans, migrate 2,500 miles from chilly Arctic Russia to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, the cold weather nipping at their heels as they make their migration, reported The Telegraph. The Bewick's arrived on Sunday, Oct. 11.
The last time that the swans were seen this early was back in 1963. The earliest arrival of the swans was made by two Bewick's, called Tomato and Ketchup, who arrived in Slimbridge on Oct. 12, 1980.
"Apparently there's a Russian saying that 'the swan brings snow on its bill', because they tend to move just ahead of the cold weather," said Julia Newth, WWT's expert. "It's only a year old and, because it's made it all the way here on its own, we assume that it must have come to Slimbridge last year as a cygnet with its parents. We record all the Bewick's swans that come to Slimbridge each winter by their unique bill pattern as part of our study and give them a name. This one needed a name, so we've called him Record Breaker."
Currently, temperatures in Russia are five to 10 degrees below average, which has caused the early migration. As El Niño makes its descent on the Pacific, it is going to make the winter in Britain a very long and cold one.
"The chill continues across the UK - with only minimal rainfall amounts in the forecast. High pressure is set to stay in control of the weather through the coming week. This brings plenty of dry weather but cold conditions too. Coats will be needed by most of us this week, although the brollies can probably stay in the bag for the time being - at least away from the east," explained Richard Chapman, from BBC's Weather Network, according to Mirror.
