Ouch! Of course, the mains being frozen is only half the problem - since water expands as it freezes, there's the possibility you'll have to face a burst pipe when it thaws :(

Although it rarely gets cold enough for frozen mains in the UK (lagging bought from a DIY store is usually sufficient for internal pipes, while external pipes are buried deep enough not to be affected), in several areas of the UK the street mains are starting to show their age - my sister has experienced disruption to her water supply at least 8 times since moving in last January due to burst mains in the street. The water company have either turned off the water to fix the leak or reduced the pressure (on one occasion when a neighbour up the road discovered a pond and fountain had mysteriously appeared overnight in their garden!)

Of course, the real fun happens if the leak occurs between the road and a property (especially if several houses are fed off that main), as the water companies frequently dispute whether they're the owner of the pipe or not (apparently the section of pipe from the communal mains to your property is your responsibility, but communal shared mains are their responsibility)...

-oOo-

Meanwhile, the UK temperature is hovering between 0°C and 5°C and we've had the annual SNOW PANIC! Because it only falls for a couple of days a year, many drivers are clueless as to how to behave in snow. Added onto which, because the weather's often inconsiderate enough to rain immediately before the snowfall, any grit / salt laid down could be washed away. It can also cause disruption at airports for similar reasons - plus with Heathrow there's very little gap between planes, so making it difficult to schedule gritting / ploughing without disrupting lots of flights.