Remembering the blizzard of 2010
This week marks 10 years since one of the worst snowstorms to ever hit the country brought Lanarkshire to a complete standstill.
A blizzard wreaked havoc in Hamilton as workers were stranded in offices overnight, cars were abandoned on blocked roads and people battled through freezing temperatures to get home.
The entire county was shrouded in a blanket of the white stuff following a massive snowfall on Monday, December 6, 2010.
Journeys that normally took a matter of minutes lasted for hours as the rarely-seen conditions proved chaotic for locals.
Temperatures plunged to a bonechilling minus-19 degrees in parts of the region, causing the snowfall to freeze, further compounding drivers’ misery.
It was the worst weather the area had seen in a century, and the scenes it caused were near-apocalyptic according to many.
Cars, lorries and buses were abandoned by drivers on roads around the town.
Many motorists on a snowbound M74, waiting in vain for the traffic to move, abandoned their vehicles and made for Hamilton and Motherwell in a bid to get home.
Stranded employees in numerous businesses – including the Advertiser – had to remain in their offices overnight.
Secondary school teachers and pupils also had to stay put. At Holy Cross High, 25 teachers and 17 pupils stayed in the building overnight.
Over at Hamilton Grammar, 30 teachers and nine pupils were stranded there and 10 Calderside Academy teachers spent the night at their school, as did three pupils and four staff at Hamilton School for the Deaf.
Motherwell College also put up students and teachers overnight.
A total of 67 pupils stayed the night at private school Hamilton College along with 15 parents and 41 staff. Their depute head teacher Archie Love recalled children as young as three from the nursery all the way up to S6 pupils camping out at the school – with mats from the PE department being brought out as mattresses.
Thirty people spent the night in the restaurant of Asda Hamilton and were given blankets from the store to keep warm.
All South Lanarkshire schools were closed from the Monday to Thursday that week and all planned operations for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Hairmyres, Wishaw and Monklands Hospitals were cancelled.
Around 500 South Lanarkshire Council employees were out on the roads to tackle the ongoing problem of compacted snow and ice.
The council’s Almada Street HQ in Hamilton served as a crisis centre for motorists and travellers left stranded.
On the Monday night, around 200 stranded staff and members of the public spent the night there, including two pensioners en route to Arrochar who were sheltered from the cold.
Workers from Roads, Housing and Technical, Community, Social Work and Education resources worked round the clock to combat the big freeze.
Councillor Chris Thompson, chair of the Enterprise Resources Committee, said the situation facing the council had been desperately bad.
“We had 500 of our workers making every possible effort to clear the roads,” he said. “Deep, hard compacted ice was the issue we were facing. Our staff made Herculean efforts.
“In the midst of it, I got a call for help from the neighbour of a woman who was due to go into labour. Her family and neighbours had been working all day to try and clear a route on the road should she need to go to hospital and I despatched a gritter in this emergency.
“What we had during that period was a situation way beyond anything seen before.”
Former council leader Eddie Mcavoy paid tribute to staff members who, he said, had pulled out all the stops to keep South Lanarkshire moving and ensure vital services were delivered.
He said: “The snowfall on that Monday at the beginning of December was astonishing in its severity and, in these type of conditions, many decisions had to be taken to maintain pubic safety, such as the closure of schools and nurseries.
“None of these decisions were taken lightly but when the weather is as extreme as it was, we had to put the safety of children, parents and teachers first.
“I am very proud of all employees who went above and beyond what is reasonably expected of them to ensure the vast majority of services were delivered.
“Their dedication was absolutely first class and I cannot thank them enough.”
The main route between Hamilton and Motherwell was awash with stranded motorists and people were forced to walk on the main strip of Hamilton Road and Motherwell Road.
However, despite the circumstances every main road in North Lanarkshire remained open as council staff worked around the clock to ease the disruption.
Clydesdale was also firmly in the grip of Arctic weather on this week in 2010 as temperatures plummeted to minus-24 in parts.
And while the district didn’t suffer the same heavy snowfalls that crippled the rest of the county, there were knock-on effects. A large part of southern Clydesdale was without water after a major mains burst and shops in various parts of the district ran out of some supplies, including bread, and daily newspapers were unable to get through.
What we had during that period was a situation way beyond anything seen before Councillor Chris Thompson