Met Office Warns of Icy Roads

On Monday morning, there were several areas of south and west Wales that were affected by snowy conditions, but all of the main roads were still open. Parts of south Wales were hit with up to 5 centimetres of snow, and similar amounts fell in parts of Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire. The snow, light rain and sleet were due to move from the area by the evening, but the Met Office warned that icy roads could be a problem this morning.

With a yellow warning, which means to be prepared, the Met Office said that icy conditions could be seen on the roads from Monday evening as the snow dissipates and the temperature drops to -5ºC. The public was advised to be aware that journeys could be made difficult. South Wales has been the worst hit in what is due to be the coldest week of winter thus fare. Traffic cameras have shown affected areas around the A465 Heads of the Valleys.

There have been reports from police of snow causing some issues in Dartmoor, Princetown and the Lynton area in Exmoor on Monday. Most of the nation has been enjoying one of the mildest winters in three-and-a-half centuries, but this is likely to fade. The Met Office has predicted that there’s only a one-in-three chance that warmer temperatures will return soon.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell says that they have a band of rain that will slowly move in and combine with a huge area of high pressure from Eastern Europe, which is know as a Siberian high. Cornwall will get rain from this, but Devon will get sleet turned to snow, which will probably begin to melt in the morning at lower levels. However, the moors could have to endure it for longer. There will be icy road conditions on those not treated, but trunk roads should be in pretty good condition – though there will some disruption.

From Sunday, gritting teams have been alert in some areas to prepare for the snow. Blaenau Gwent council is one of them, and it had encouraged motorists to be aware of difficult journeys. Devon County Council will get their first test from the weather after scaling down its gritting operation. The authority transferred 57 miles of roads to the secondary salting network as part of a winter weather strategy. It says that trucks started treating about 1,700 miles of the main salting network between 6pm and midnight on Friday.

Devon County Council has been accused by residents in Bridford, a village on the edge of Dartmoor, of leaving key workers, the elderly and school children isolated, which has put lives at risk. The cabinet member for highways, Councillor Stuart Hughes, says the mix of freezing conditions, rain and sleet means motorists need to be aware of icy road conditions on the county’s roads – including those that have been treated.