10 years on from the record chill that froze the county
WHILE nobody will ever forget 2020, this year also marks the tenth anniversary of another unforgettable event that brought the whole country to a standstill. Next week will mark a decade since some of the heaviest snowfall on record began to hit our area, bringing around a month of exceptionally low temperatures making it what is thought to be the coldest December for the country as a whole since at least 1659. Beginning on November 28 with more significant flurries in the days following, particularly on the night of November 30, the incredibly heavy snowfall had a similar effect to the coronavirus lockdown with the area left paralysed and many forced to stay at home.
While we’re used to an inch or so of snow every now and then, the barrage of white stuff in those few days was measured in feet in some parts of our area – and it didn’t take long to accumulate.
The first major night of snowfall was accompanied by an eerie silent thunderstorm in some places, the sky illuminated with lightning but with the blizzard conditions muffling the sound.
In a matter of hours, the area was swamped making travel incredibly difficult, if not impossible, and widespread chaos ensued with cancellations, closures and more hitting everything from shops to schools.
Just like it has for many office workers over the past few months, home working temporarily became the norm for some while others faced a treacherous battle to work in a desperate bid to keep essential services operating.
North East Lincolnshire Council’s band of gritters were doing 19-hour shifts, carrying out the daunting task of clearing major routes around the county that has seen more than 800 tonnes of salt dished out in just one week.
They said in 2009, 2,500 tonnes of salt was sprinkled over roads in the borough – but a third of that amount was used in just a week from late November 2010.
It was a similar story in North Lincolnshire where council gritting
We are comparing it with 1947. I have never known it this bad on these roads.
Barry Finch
lorry driver Barry Finch said: “This is totally out of the ordinary at this time of year and we are comparing it with 1947.
“I have never known it this bad on these roads and I have been with the council for 10 years.”
Meanwhile, among the many incidents reported was the collapse of a large section of canopy at Scunthorpe’s Tesco Extra store under the weight of snow. However, despite the inclement weather, Ian ‘H’ Watkins from Steps did manage to get to get to the Grimsby Telegraph’s old Cleethorpe Road office for a live web chat with fans on December 3, ahead of his appearance as Buttons in the Grimsby Auditorium panto production of Cinderella!
While temperatures climbed slightly by mid-December, it wasn’t enough for much of a thaw and some roads that were stuck in the shade began to essentially turn into glaciers as the deep compacted snow solidified.
Any reprieve wasn’t coming soon though. The mercury dropped even lower a few days before Christmas putting our region into a deep freeze. Temperatures a degree or two below zero aren’t particularly unusual but, all of a sudden, we were getting used to seeing thermometers significantly below the line, and well into negative double figures. Lows of up to -14C were widespread around northern Lincolnshire, and struggled to climb above freezing during many days around then.
Anyone who was out before sunrise on the morning of December 20 would have also witnessed another amazing sight – the blood red light from a total lunar eclipse bathing the snowladen fields of northern Lincolnshire a strange scarlet hue.