Drivers urged to take care amid heavy spell of snow covering Calderdale

Snow sticking on the road at North Bridge, Halifax - drivers are asked to take care on Calderdale's routes

Light snow earlier on turned heavy by the early morning commute and is expected to last until around noon.

Calderdale Council prepared for the snow following the Met Office’s amber warning yesterday, with six gritters out treating known wet spots from 4pm yesterday and two more gritters patrolling and treating any hazards between 8pm and midnight.

From midnight last night all of the council’s gritters were out pre-treating roads on precautionary routes and have continued to take action as required into today.

Sticking point: Calderdale gritters will be trying to keep main roads clear at the times of heaviest snow. This is the route looking towards Northgate in Halifax town centre

The snow is expected to thin out through the afternoon, save for a potential further light flurry around 2pm, with the weather turning warmer and wetter and a slight rise intemperature through this evening.

The council has additional tractors with snow ploughs available to help clear snow if needed. During any snowfall, priority will be given to requests from the emergency services.

In periods this morning where it is not possible to clear snow quicker than it falls, gritters will concentrate on clearing the primary network to ensure the main priority routes which the majority of people use are kept clear, and access to emergency services is maintained.

Once primary routes are cleared, the remaining roads on the precautionary network will be cleared.

Early bird commuters have found their cars surrounded by show amid heavy mid-morning falls

Calderdale Council has also said that extra grit bins are now in place across the borough and refills can be requested on the council’s website section “request grit bin refill” (www.calderdale.gov.uk).

Drier and warmer with some spells of rain and drizzle is so far the forecast for the weekend.