Snow and ice cause spate of crashes as gritters deployed

Snow and ice brought a second day of disruption to roads and schools in North Wales. More is on the way tomorrow as overnight temperatures plunge again, with the wintry spell due to come to an abrupt end at the weekend. On the roads today (Wednesday, November 20), there was no repeat of the chaos seen on Monday night and Tuesday morning when scores of drivers became stranded in Flintshire[1] and Wrexham[2].

But black ice, untreated surfaces and uncleared roads posed a different kind of threat. The focus switched to Gwynedd, where icy conditions turned sections of the A5 into an icy rink and the A470 was declared "impassable" for a while. A morning crash on the A55 near Llandegai was swiftly cleared but queues lingered because an HGV became stuck on slip road ice. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter[5] sent twice daily to your inbox.[3][4]

Drivers in Dolwyddelan and Blaenau Ffestiniog described difficult conditions on the A470 with "lots of cars" unable to climb the "impassable" Crimea Pass. The A4212 between Trawsfynydd and Bala[6] was labelled "awful". Elsewhere, a lorry stuck in snow near Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham county, blocked part of the A525 in both directions.

Social media photos also showed A494 sections near Ruthin[7], Denbighshire[8], still covered in snow and ice early this morning, posing difficulties for the Clwyd Gate ascent. With Wrexham seeing more overnght snow, the county saw the largest number of the region's 30 school closures. Schools also stayed shut in Flintshire and Denbighshire.

Six more closed in Gwynedd as teachers struggled to get to work. Road conditions were mostly to blame but traffic collisions hindered others. This morning, North Wales Police said its control room was "experiencing a high level of calls due to the icy weather.

Officers across the region were assigned to deal a number of minor crashes. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone[11][9][10]

Online, one woman said: "Imagine if the gritters had been out, all these slip and slide accidents might not occur." Agreeing, a Mold[12] woman added: "Gritting would be really really helpful, I've been stuck for two days. Roads are so bad, people should stay home".

At 9am today, Denbighshire Council[13] reported all main routes in the County were open and "passable with care". The local authority added: "Our gritting teams have worked hard throughout the night to keep the road network clear." Wrexham Council relayed a similar message, saying teams were working "round the clock. Flintshire Council[14] this morning revealed its 13 plough gritters, and three tractor gritters, had so far spPadme, a snow leopard at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, looks perfectly at home (Image: Welsh Mountain Zoo)

Transport for Wales said 13% of its services had been disrupted by the weather on Tuesday.

Today, buses replaced trains between Llandudno[15] and Blaenau Ffestiniog for a third day running. Among those enjoying the conditions are some of the animals at Colwyn Bay[16] 's Welsh Mountain Zoo. Its penguins are loving the cold while the zoo's snow leopards have been taking a break from parental duties to wander their snowy enclosures.

Another Met Office yellow alert is in place for tonight, warning of more ice[17]. Temperatures are expected to fall to -3C in parts of the region. The cold spell is due to continue until the weekend when strong winds and torrential rain are predicted.

The Met Office has published a yellow alert for this too, warning of flooding and road closures - there's more on this here. [18]

Find the weather forecast where you live

References

1. ^ Flintshire (www.dailypost.co.uk)
2. ^ Wrexham (www.dailypost.co.uk)
3. ^ Gwynedd (www.dailypost.co.uk)
4. ^ A55 (www.dailypost.co.uk)
5. ^ Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter (www.dailypost.co.uk)
6. ^ Bala (www.dailypost.co.uk)
7. ^ Ruthin (www.dailypost.co.uk)
8. ^ Denbighshire (www.dailypost.co.uk)
9. ^ North Wales Police (www.dailypost.co.uk)
10. ^ weather (www.dailypost.co.uk)
11. ^ WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone (www.dailypost.co.uk)
12. ^ Mold (www.dailypost.co.uk)
13. ^ Denbighshire Council (www.dailypost.co.uk)
14. ^ Flintshire Council (www.dailypost.co.uk)
15. ^ Llandudno (www.dailypost.co.uk)
16. ^ Colwyn Bay (www.dailypost.co.uk)
17. ^ warning of more ice (www.dailypost.co.uk)
18. ^ there's more on this here (www.dailypost.co.uk)