Rainham and Kent in general were hit particularly badly by snow in 1987 and for some days were cut off completely. I recall milk being flown in by army helicopter due to roads being impassable and major roads being blocked for many days. As outlined below the weather station recorded 22 INCHES of snow in Jan 1987 in Gillingham (in 2010 the roads were brought to a standstill with less than 20cm!!)
At the time I was working at Rainham Co-op as saturday staff. As school was closed due to the snow and being one of the staff that could walk to the shop I worked many extra hours during the snow building up my savings! Later on in the year the great Hurricane hit Kent during October 1987 leaving many trees blown down.

A quote from the netweather website below " The cold spell of January 1987 was exceptional and was probably one of the coldest spells since 1740. The intense cold and heavy snowfalls hit the SE the hardest. Transport was gridlocked and the cold even affected Big Ben's chiming hammer. "

Snow covered High Street Rainham Kent Winter 1987

Rainham Snow 1987

Snow on Lower Rainham Rd,Kent looking to The Angel pub 12-1-87Frozen sea Rainham Kent 1987

Snow at Rainham Station

Rainham station in snow 1987

In 1987 the sea at Rainham (Motney Hill) even froze showing how cold the weather got. See the photo above of the frozen sea at Motney Hill.

Woodside Rainham Kent Snow 1987 outside Spyglass and Kettle pubMarshall Road Rainham, Snow drift 1987 Kent

Severe snow also hit the South East and Kent in 1991. This article from The Telegraph explains some of the recent snow events including the infamous wrong kind of snow quote from British Rail. The article says "During the 1991 event level snow lay 12 inches deep in central London, and on January 12-13, 1987, the deepest snow was in south Essex, Kent, Surrey and south London with 22 inches reported in the Maidstone and Gillingham areas. "

Video of the snow from Thames News 1987 BBC News Great Storm Oct 1987

 

More photos of the 1987 severe snow that affected Kent and South East England

Snow in Kent-Photos

Photos on this page are clickable to view higher resolution versions. These snow photos were kindly supplied by Steve Murdoch.

 Frozen Sea,Rainham Kent 1987

Frozen Sea at Rainham Motney Hill 1987

Rainham Station Kent Snow 1987

Rainham Station in Snow Jan 1987

Army & Navy Pub Snow, Rainham Kent Jan 1979

Lower Rainham Road Army & Navy Pub Snow Jan 1979

Snow in Rainham Kent 1987

Snow in Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James

Snow in Darland Banks Kent 1987

Snow in Darland Banks Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James

Snow in Marshall Road Rainham Kent 1987

Snow in Marshall Road Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James

Snow in Woodside Wigmore Kent 1987

Snow in Woodside Wigmore Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James

  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987
  • Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers