Heavy snow leads to school closures
By Nina Swift
NIDDERDALE suffered disruption this week with heavy snow – and a hard freeze and icy conditions are set to continue into the weekend.
Schools, including Nidderdale High and St Cuthbert’s in Pateley Bridge, closed as the wintry weather hit home.
Nidderdale High shut its doors on Monday afternoon and did not reopen until Wednesday and St Cuthbert’s was closed all day on Tuesday.
Graham Butler, the Met Office's adviser for Yorkshire and the Humber, said yesterday: “The big problem will be the snow freezing, creating a hard frost. The snow will be gone but it will be very icy.”
Mr Butler said the area should stay dry throughout the weekend but would be extremely cold.
Next week there was a risk of further significant snow in England and Wales. “So we are definitely not going to get rid of winter just yet,” he said.
Mr Butler said: “I don’t think the major roads will be particularly disrupted, but no doubt the side roads will be quite affected. The ice will be the main problem.”
At an emergency meeting on Wednesday, Harrogate Council said it will not grit residential streets because it fears supplies will run out.
Afterwards the council's chief executive Wallace Sampson said a decision had been made to grit main roads and bus routes at the expense of residential streets to conserve grit and salt supplies.
He said: “We are currently receiving daily supplies from the only local supplier but we need to make sure that sufficient is available to keep the Harrogate district open for business.”
Mr Sampson said crews with flat-back lorries loaded with sand would man some of the hillier local routes to help motorists who may get stuck.
On Monday snow, labelled the worst in 18 years, fell across the district causing school closures, bad driving conditions and road blockages.
Other schools in Nidderdale which closed included both primary schools in Bishop Thornton, Burnt Yates, Dacre Braithwaite and Hampsthwaite.
nina.swift@ypn.co.uk
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Weather for Harrogate
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
