Leading article: Once again, Britain makes heavy weather of the snow

Few lessons have been learned on how to minimise widespread chaos

No form of weather lifts British spirits quite like a generous snowfall. The heaviest falls in almost two decades have injected some joie de vivre into what would normally be a somewhat gloomy time of year. Many people, particularly children, will look back fondly on the past five days of snowball fights and sledging.

And yet, as well as cheering many of us up, this week's unusual weather has also exposed some depressing national failings. In particular, the snowfalls have drawn attention to the negative mentality that prevails in certain sections of the public sector. The closure of thousands of schools on account of the snow was inexcusable. Too many head teachers have failed to take their responsibilities seriously, making little apparent effort to open their gates. They made life needlessly difficult for many parents in the process.

The postal service has been patchy too in recent days, leaving many businesses frustrated; the last thing they needed in the present difficult economic conditions. The widespread suspension of train and bus services throughout the week also made it difficult (if not impossible) for many people to get to work. The disruption caused by heavy snow is relative, of course. A foot of snow is clearly a severe problem in the countryside. But it ought to be manageable in urban areas after the first falls.

In places such as London, the difficulty faced by many public sector workers in getting to their jobs through the snow has served to highlight how they have been largely priced out of the areas in which they work. If there is to be a silver lining to this recession, it might be that the deflation of the housing market will allow more key public sector staff to live nearer to their workplaces, which would benefit everyone.

Should the authorities have been better prepared? It is going too far to argue, as some have, that local councils should have had fleets of snowploughs ready to swing into action at the first indication of a falling snowflake. Britain is not Alaska or Siberia: we cannot plan on the basis of expecting such conditions every year, even if climate change is going to make our weather more changeable.

And it was right that councils put the safety of passengers and pedestrians first when deciding on which transport services to keep open. Square-metre sheets of ice were reportedly falling on car windshields on the Severn crossings yesterday. If roads are unsafe, they obviously have to be closed. Similarly, if runways are particularly icy, it would have been lethally irresponsible for airport authorities to allow planes to land or take off.

But the shortages of grit and salt to spread on the roads was unimpressive, especially given that we all had ample warning of the bad weather. The argument of the London Mayor Boris Johnson at the start of the week that the grit went down but that snow then fell on top of it does not really hold water. Most disappointing of all is the fact that, as the snow spread across the country, each regional authority revealed itself to be just as unprepared as the previous one. No lessons were learned and no contingency plans seem to have been put in place.

The snow has, in many ways, been an enjoyable diversion amid the economic gloom, a rare shared moment for the nation. But it should not be asking too much for us to be able to enjoy the unusual weather and still carry on with our normal lives at the same time.