For last week’s Nostalgia, we looked back to when the snow last fell in Berkshire before Covid.

This was in February 2019, and it caused havoc up and down the land.

However, 12 months previously, there was a larger storm that created disruption all over the county and beyond, and this term maybe a blast from the past for you.

Today, we are reminding ourselves of when the Beast from the East came to town.

It was the end of February/start of March 2018 when one of the largest cold waves battered the British Isles with temperatures dropping to as low as - 14.2 °C.

Coming from the Russia Far East, snow began to fall in the UK on February 22 and on top of the arrival of Storm Emma, the Met Office started to issue red snow warnings which are considered rarities in the country.

In Berkshire, there were many issues as schools were shut, public transport was cancelled and people were injured due to the slippery conditions.

Overall, 95 died across Europe as a result of the freezing, icy, windy and frosty weather which included 17 people from the UK.

Things started to improve during the first week of March as Storm Emma had passed and the snow started to melt.

However, another heavy snow storm followed just two weeks later.

In the middle of March that year, the 'Mini East from the Beast' hit parts of the county and beyond, but the disruption was incomparable to what had happened a few weeks prior.

Collectively, around £1.8billion of damage was caused in the UK and Ireland, with the highest snowfall being at an incredible 57 centimetres.

This was recorded Gloucestershire whilst the coldest temperature of - 14.2 °C was in Kent.

Since 2018, heavy snow has only fallen in the Thames Valley on three occasions.

These were in February 2009, January 2021 and December 2022.