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More disruption as winter returns once again
WINTER returned to Aberdeenshire with a vengeance on Tuesday, after heavy snow, coupled with high winds, left more than 100 schools across the Shire closed.
The wintry weather at the beginning of the week took a turn for the worse on Tuesday, high winds resulting in drifting snow which left many roads passable only with extreme care. The Met Office had issued Amber Warnings, predicting the persistent snowfall with drifting affecting travel, and estimating between 5 to 10cm of snow. Wednesday saw continued snowfall in some areas, but thankfully, the winds were not as strong as earlier in the week. Commuters found travel difficult, with many heeding warnings to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Already dubbed “The Winter That Won’t Go away”, once again commuters found travel difficult, with many heeding warnings to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
The road between Inverurie and Oldmeldrum was notably affected, with drivers facing long delays at peak times.
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said that the local authority were doing everything in their power to clear the snow.
Aberdeenshire Council Head of Roads and Landscape Services, Philip McKay said, “Over the last few days our teams have been out daily, both early morning and evening, pre-treating our Primary Network, which stretches to almost 1000 miles of our main A and B routes.
“We have also been out on the remainder of the network dealing with a wide range of wintry conditions ranging from icy surfaces to “white out” conditions on our higher routes. In rural areas this work has been supported by our fleet of farmer and contractor ploughs.
“The fleet of footway gritters have also been out, ensuring that our urban network is as clear as possible
“As is our normal practice, we will continue to use our specialist weather forecasting service and information from our network of ice stations, to plan our winter treatment over the next 24-48 hours, to effectively address these wintry conditions.
“As always I would urge that before you set out on a journey, plan ahead and keep up-to-date with local forecasts. Once on the road, drive to the conditions, leave additional space to the car in front and generally allow extra time overall.”
Tuesday saw the worst of the disruption for the Shire’s schools with many closed completely including Inverurie Academy, Keithhall, Chapel of Garioch, Daviot, Old Rayne, Rayne North, Premnay and Rothienorman Primaries. By Wednesday the situation had improved slightly, but many schools still had no transport running to outlying areas, and pupils told to wait no longer than 15 minutes for buses.
More snow is forecast for the end of the week and over the weekend, which may yet cause further disruption. Organisers of Run Garioch, Inverurie’s largest community sporting event, due to take place on Sunday, have said that any weather-related information will be posted on the Run Garioch Facebook page and their website.
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Weather for Inverurie
Sunday 26 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South east
