But these photos, capturing striking scenes during some of the UK’s most extreme winters ever, show it could have been much worse.
This retro photo gallery will bring back memories for anyone who shivered through the bitter cold in 1946, 1963 or 1982.
These remarkable images show steepling snowdrifts and frozen waterfalls as Arctic conditions transform the landscape into a beautiful yet brutal winter wonderland.
They also capture communities pulling together, whether that’s strangers giving a stranded motorist a push, people grabbing a shovel and clearing the streets or a resourceful milkman ensuring customers don’t go without.
From children skating and sledging to a dog bounding through the snow, they also depict joyous scenes amid the freezing cold.
As we wait to see what this winter brings, why not snuggle up warm and enjoy these extraordinary images from years gone by.
If you enoyed this trip down memory lane, you might like our photo gallery looking back at the best of the 60s.
25. Hard work
PC Ian Dover keeps himself warm by shovelling snow from the roads near the front at Lytham in 1982 | Submitted
26. Feeding the swans
Feeding the swans beside Town Bridge, Bedford, in 1947 | Bedfordshire Times
27. Igloo
An igloo and its proud owner during heavy snow in Bedfordshire in 1962 | Bedfordshire Times
28. Dashing through the snow
A dog enjoying the snow at Peatlands Park, Dungannon in 2010 | Submitted Photo: Victor Hazelton
29. Getting stuck in
Pompey secretary Bill Davis and commercial manager Les Allen clearing snow at Fratton Park in 1982 | The News Portsmouth
