Thursday night’s heavy snowfall in Wales resulted in the closure of nearly 300 schools and major roads. Up to sixty homes in Merthyr Tyfdil have been reported without power by the National Grid, and significant delays are anticipated on the A55 and A470. Traffic Wales has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice until 14:00 GMT and salted 1,466 miles of roadway with 360 tonnes of gritting salt. Residents are advised to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary.
Thursday night’s heavy snowfall has caused widespread disruption in Wales, with nearly 300 schools closed on Thursday and more than 270 confirmed to be closed on Friday. Snowfall of up to 30 centimetres is expected to cause widespread delays on the A55 and A470, while the National Grid reports that up to 60 homes in Merthyr Tyfynil are without power.
Traffic Wales has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice until 14:00 GMT, and 360 tonnes of gritting salt have been spread over 1,466 miles of roadway. The A55 westbound between junction 36A and 35 in Broughton, Flintshire, the A542 Horseshoe Pass, Denbighshire, the A543 at Pentrefoelas, Conwy, and the A4086 from Capel Curig turn off, Caernarfon to The Royal Victoria Hotel in Llanberis, Gwynedd were all closed on Friday morning.
Katie Wilby, of the Flintshire council, stated, “The conditions are quite difficult. The entire night was spent by ploughing and gritting crews. We’ve deployed additional vehicles. Significant snowfall has occurred overnight. Locally, we’ve seen 20 to 40 centimetres of snow, especially on high ground, but I believe that the majority of Flintshire has seen snow this morning and will wake up to snow tomorrow. Currently, it’s falling as quickly as we’re clearing it, so it’s extremely difficult.”
Helen Kynaston from the Newtown Community Cafe in Powys stated, “Yesterday was a difficult day, and we only had a few customers, but our chef was able to make it in.” My neighbours and I spent approximately three-quarters of an hour digging ourselves out.” Due to the heavy snowfall, Brian Dulson of Tanat Valley Coaches stated that his company had to cancel its Powys services for a second day.
Due to the hazardous conditions, residents are urged to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary. Due to snow, the Met Office has issued a travel advisory for the A548 between Buttington and Middletown in Powys in both directions.
In the past 48 hours, heavy snowfall in central and northern Wales has caused severe disruption. As Storm Larisa hits the United Kingdom, schools have been closed, roads have been shut down, and power has been lost in some areas. The National Grid anticipates power to be restored in Merthyr Tyfdil by 10:30 GMT, while Traffic Wales has spread 360 tonnes of gritting salt over 1,466 miles of road in an effort to maintain road access. Due to the dangerous conditions outside, residents have been warned to remain inside unless absolutely necessary.
