Sedulous said:
A typical winter is usually just wet, damp and with temps around 6-10 C most of the time. Just cold enough to justify putting on a thick jumper/coat and just about enough to need some non-thermal gloves. Usually around Jan/Feb, we get a cold snap where it drops to nearer freezing and there's a possibility of some very light snow in London (heavier in other parts of the country; Scotland, Wales, Northern England get several inches, occasionally a foot or more). The snow in those areas will rarely be mentioned on the news. Half a flake in London will make the national headlines and as others have mentioned, shut down most of London's transport system.
The current weather is colder than usual for November; this is more like we get in Jan/Feb briefly - and it feels worse after a relatively mild autumn. Coming from New England where I've watched people watching football with a windchill around -30C and enjoying it, it's probably fairly warm!
Skiing - your options are cheap flights to Europe (book early and odd times) or if it really is a bad winter and you're desperate, going up to Scotland but it can get really cold/wild/windy at Glenshee/Cairngorms. The Continent is far more civilised and comparatively warm.
