Snow and freezing cold which have already caused chaos in Britain still look set to last until the next month, according to weather forecasters.

Britain's "Miserable March" could be the coldest one in half a century, leading to an increased number of deaths reported in the country.

In the second week this month, 11,180 deaths were registered, which was 1,300 more than the average for the past five years. The number included 9,500 pensioners.

Thousands of households are still left without power and many main routes across Britain remain impassable due to deep snow drifts. More than 1,000 schools around Britain were closed.

Bad weather also forced the closure of airports and even a nuclear plant on the northwest English coast. The operator of Sellafield nuclear plant said the closure was a precaution due to the weather. Staff were sent home from the reprocessing and waste storage facility but there was "no evidence of any safety issues."

The Met Office national weather service said it was not unusual to see that much snow in March. "We have had reports of around 15 centimeters of snow in Northern Ireland and northern England and Wales," said forecaster Helen Chivers of the Met Office national weather agency.

But according to the Met Office, Britain's freezing weather looks to set to last over the Easter weekend, with forecasters warning that there might be no near end in sight until April.