Fog the latest worry as the snow clears
WORST OF WEATHER LOOKS TO BE AT AN END
Reporters THERE was a new weather peril to look out for today as the North East recovers from days of snow, wind and intense cold.
Fog cloaked parts of the North East last night even as the snow began to melt as the temperature at last edged above zero.
It means drivers should be even more alert than usual today.
Rural roads across the North East gradually reopened over the weekend as the snow began to clear.
But there were still high winds and high tides to contend with.
The old North Pier at Roker in Sunderland was damaged by the combination of wind and water at the weekend.
And it has been revealed that the severe weather saw mountain rescue teams in Northumberland respond to more than 40 incidents over three days.
This compares to 66 incidents In the whole of 2017 - which was in itself a yearly record.
The volunteer members of the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team provided a continuous service of 4x4 off-road capable ambulances to the statutory emergency services.
The teams operated a shift system to cope with blue light medical emergencies, urgent patient transfers, road traffic collisions and assisting many stranded motorists, some of whom had been stuck in their vehicles for more than 24 hours.
On Thursday the teams were called to rescue eight vehicles and 17 individuals stranded at Carter Bar on the A68.
Two mountain rescue 4x4 offroad capable ambulances made their way to the Carter Bar, at times having to manually dig the snow drifts to clear a route in what the teams decribed as “horrendous” conditions.
En route, the teams stopped to help several motorists who were stranded, moving them to Otterburn.
One of the families trapped in their vehicles was from the Netherlands. The teams had to battle through snow drifts over six feet high in places, with a windchill as low as -20oC.
It took the teams 10 trips before everyone was safely evacuated to Byrness Youth Hostel where the manager provided tea, toast, and accommodation.
A spokesperson for the teams said: “All members of mountain rescue are volunteers, and thanks must be given to the families and employers of those volunteers who without question, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, give them the flexibility to respond to incidents with little to no notice.”
The teams rely on donations and charitable grants and during the 60-hour rescue period, an estimated £2,000 was spent on fuel alone.
Donations can be made online via:
Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team – www.justgiving.com/nnpmrt
North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team - http://www.notmrt.org.uk/ donate
Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team provide a search and rescue service in an operational area of 2,159 square miles, which includes Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. They operate on a callout as a single body.