WE’RE ON THE ROAD TO SNOWHERE
Transport chaos as drivers battle deep drifts while fear of falling ice causes closure of £1.3billion bridge
STORM Christoph caused transport chaos across Scotland yesterday with vehicles stranded in snow and major transport links shut.
A fleet of tractors was needed to haul vehicles out of deep drifts on the A9, the main route to the Highlands.
One person at the scene described the disruption as ‘the worst I’ve seen in ten years’.
Further south, motorists faced a 26-mile diversion through Fife after the £1.3billion Queensferry Crossing was closed because of ice falling on the carriageway.
Last night, forecasters warned of more disruption from Christoph as they issued a succession of weather alerts for snow, ice and rain for today.
Once the storm has drifted out to the North Sea, colder air from the Arctic will descend on the country.
Many areas had been given yellow and amber warnings for snow overnight Wednesday into yesterday morning.
The Met Office said that the UK’s highest volume of snow was recorded at Aviemore, in Inverness-shire, where four inches (10cm) of snow fell.
But rescue workers were seen knee-deep in drifting snow on the A9 between Slochd, south of Inverness, and Tomatin after lorries jack-knifed across both lanes.
A snowplough had to be dug out of drifts and queues of stranded vehicles stretched for many miles in both directions.
The Scottish Government had earlier
‘Ice problem could have been predicted’
asked drivers only to set out if their journey was ‘essential’.
Queensferry Crossing operators said they became aware on Wednesday night that there was a heightened risk of ‘ice accretion’ on the bridge across the Forth.
This has happened before, when ice forms high up on the structure, posing a threat to traffic below.
Roads maintenance agency BEAR Scotland said there were no ‘clear levels of certainty’ this would happen and by the time it did, at 6am, there was insufficient time to switch traffic to the Forth Road Bridge.
Manager Chris Tracey said: ‘The specific bridge forecast for heightened risk of ice accretion came in yesterday evening.
‘We’ve been monitoring all such forecasts very closely and on this occasion there weren’t clear levels of certainty to close the bridge in advance.
‘The severe weather was forecast for a relatively short duration.
‘Once we witnessed ice falling, we immediately set processes in place to close the Queensferry Crossing and divert via Kincardine Bridge.
‘Due to the relatively short duration forecast for this weather event, there was insufficient time to open the Forth Road Bridge as a diversion route.’
In the Highlands, the snow gates were closed on the A93 between Braemar and the Spittal of Glenshee as well as on the A939 Cockbridge to Tomintoul road in Moray. Highland Council shut 11 primary schools and ten nurseries being used to teach the children of key staff. Grantown Grammar and Kingussie High were also shut.
Borders Council warned parents that school transport had been suspended.
Highlighting blizzards that hit the North of Scotland, the BBC’s weather team said such conditions were fairly rare. Their posting added that the Met Office definition is ‘moderate or heavy falling snow (either continuous or in the form of frequent showers) with winds speeds of 30 mph or more and a reasonably extensive snow cover reducing visibility to 200 metres (650ft) or less’.
Three weather warnings give an indication of the difficult conditions continuing today.
The central Highlands can expect prolonged showers of heavy snow, with up to 8ins (20cm) on ground above
650ft (200 metres). This will continue until noon and could put drivers at risk of being stranded in their vehicles.
It was feared wet surfaces freezing overnight would pose an ice hazard for the entire west coast until 10am today.
This could lead to icy patches on untreated roads and a slip risk for pedestrians on icy pavements.
A warning for heavy rain for the North-East of the country expired at 4am. Oliver Claydon of the Met Office said: ‘The last few days have seen multiple hazards presented by a single weather system.
‘Things remain wintry on Friday and into the weekend. That’s because Storm Christoph is replaced with cold air from the Arctic. Monday looks a quieter day, weather-wise, but it will still be feeling cold.’
Milder air may move in by midweek but that will only signal the arrival of wind and rain moving in from the Atlantic. STV weather presenter Sean Batty yesterday said that there would be ‘wintry showers’ in some areas today, with the weather due to become ‘quieter’ across most of Scotland tomorrow and Sunday.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: ‘The problem of ice on bridges is hardly new and could have been easily predicted here.
‘Action is needed now so hard-hit drivers don’t have to put up with the delays that closure causes.’