Spring Would Be Nice For A Change

Spring has arrived here in the upper Midwest with temperatures hitting the mid to upper 70's today. Scotland and Ireland, however, haven't been so lucky:

Several days after the start of spring, Scotland and Northern Ireland were battered by snow, gale force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, leaving thousands of people without power and causing havoc on roads.

Scottish police said a teenager on a school trip was killed after the bus she was traveling in crashed into water near Biggar, 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Glasgow. A police spokeswoman said three others were seriously injured, and another eight had minor injuries.

TV footage on Sky News showed the bus turned over on one side on the snowy banks of a stream. Conditions in the area were described by police as "horrendous."

Britain's weather agency said the tough weather conditions will continue through much of Wednesday. High winds, snow in drifts up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) and blizzards are expected. The worst conditions were forecast for the Scottish highlands.

This follows one of Britain's coldest winters in decades.

It's been a bad year.