Siberian storm
Baltic blizzards blast area for days as ‘Beast from the East’ strikes
The Beast from the East bared its teeth as normal life in East Kilbride and Avondale ground to a halt during the biggest snowfall to hit Scotland in two decades.
There were blanket school and nursery closures across South Lanarkshire from Wednesday to Friday with red and amber alerts warning the extreme weather posed a potential risk to life. It was the first time a red alert for snow was issued in Scotland.
A total of 47 centimetres of snow reportedly fell in East Kilbride as the Beast from the East and Storm Emma struck.
The advice from the Scottish Government and police was “do not travel” as heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures of -5C led to dangerous conditions.
EK, East Kilbride battened down the hatches on Thursday to ensure the safety of both staff and customers as the worst of the Siberian storm hit.
Nineteen road crashes were reported across East Kilbride and Avondale. Officers also dealt with a large number of abandoned vehicles and were called out to move vehicles stuck in the snow and blocking roads – including 4x4s.
Inspector Aidan Higgins said: “Despite the large number of calls requiring police assistance during the extreme conditions, the majority of people heeded the advice not to travel in the areas affected by the red and amber weather warnings.
“Police worked closely with our partners in order to
maximise public safety and minimise disruption to the community.”
Multiple roads were closed across South Lanarkshire due to drifting snow including some roads into Strathaven.
Cairnmuir Road in East Kilbride, Carscallan Road out of Hamilton towards Glassford and Strathaven and the A71 between Strathaven and Darvel, East Ayrshire were among those closed with reports of snow drifts of up to 10ft on exposed routes.
East Kilbride fire chief Eddie Kelly hailed his crew for going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the area had complete cover.
He said: “Some of our guys walked three miles to get to work to make sure our engines could get in and out of the station.
“We dealt with nine lowimpact road traffic incidents during snow drifts which caused cars to hit barriers or get stuck.”
Firefighters were also called out to remove a ‘taxi’ sign from the first floor of a building in the Village during high winds. Eddie added: “The biggest issue for us was Strathaven Road being closed off but we made sure firefighters were available at Strathaven fire station.”
NHS 24 revealed it was working at 50 per cent capacity with dozens of staff unable to make the treacherous journey to work.
Medical workers who did battle the elements, some on foot, answered a whopping 1730 calls overnight.
While supermarkets ran out of bread and milk as people began to panic buy, the petrol station at Morrisons Lindsayfield was without fuel for a spell.
In the past week, South Lanarkshire Council spread 6345 tonnes of grit bringing the total for this winter so far to 45,830 tonnes – a typical winter sees 35,000 tonnes spread.
A council spokeswoman told the News: “Our roads service worked around the clock. Conditions in exposed areas were particularly challenging with snow drifts and blizzards often blocking roads again as soon as they were cleared.
“By the weekend we maintained our 24-7 gritting and clearing regime, continuing to focus on areas hardest hit by drift and snow accumulation; by Sunday morning all roads were open.
“Teams were out in 4x4s delivering meals and care workers managed to get support to the most vulnerable in remote areas.”