Update: Amber warning in place as weather hits Harrogate services, schools and road network

The Met Office amber warning for snow is in place until 10am on Friday.

The warning states: "Frequent and often heavy snow showers are expected to continue through Thursday and overnight into Friday morning with further significant accumulations likely.

"Long delays and cancellations on bus, rail and air travel could occur.

"Roads may become blocked by deep snow, with many stranded vehicles and passengers."

Motorists have been urged to travel only when necessary.

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: "Please take care on rural, open roads. The strong winds may cause snow drifts. If you don't need to travel today, consider postponing your journey."

Residents are also warned that interruptions to power supplies and services such as telephone and mobile networks could occur.

Side roads in Harrogate are tricky, with compacted snow, and wind drift making them worse.

Sport fixtures have begun to be postponed, with Saturday's National Three North clash between Harrogate RUFC and Pocklington RUFC called off due to the snow.

The match will now be played March 17.

This morning, traffic seemed to be flowing well on main routes in and out of Harrogate.

With more than 150 schools closed across the county, including many in Harrogate, and people choosing to work from home, there were much fewer cars on the road compared to Wednesday when every main road into Harrogate was jammed.

Several inches of snow fell overnight.

The Royal Pump Room Museum, Mercer Art Gallery, and Knaresborough Community Centre are also closed today.

Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) has reported “significant disruption” to some of its services due to the weather conditions.

A statement on the council’s website reads: “We’ve suspended today’s (March 1) household waste and recycling collections because of the bad weather. If conditions improve tomorrow, we will prioritise emptying black bins/black bags and will do our best to catch up on the collections we should have done today.

“Any collections we miss tomorrow because of the weather will be attempted on Saturday. We also hope to empty any bins we may have missed earlier this week over the next two days.

“Please leave bins/bags out for us, but make sure they don’t block any pavements or cause an obstruction. Recycling collections due this week have now been abandoned. Please put your recycling bins or bags away for the time being. These will be emptied on your next collection day.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

An update from HBC on the condition of footpaths, reads: “With the current bad weather Highways England have commandeered all grit deliveries for highways and as a result we have now run out of grit and are unable to grit footpaths in parks and on housing sites. We are trying to source salt locally so if there is a real health and safety issue at one of the council’s housing sites please contact 01423 500600 and we will see if we can resolve it.”

There is also disruption to trade waste collections and pest control.

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IN PICTURES: N-ice day to enjoy the snowA number of schools remain closed today as a result of the weather. Click here for the updating list.North Yorkshire Police has pulled together a guide on what to do if you get stuck in snow. Check the tips out here.More to follow