ICE WARNING AS TEMPERATURES PLUNGE AFTER SNOWFALL
THE MAJORITY of Wales will be waking up to icy conditions today as a Met Office severe weather warning remains in place following a weekend of snow.
The wintry blast has seen families and children make the most of the snow over the weekend, but there has also been widespread disruption.
Schools across the country are set to be closed today for the second consecutive day, while work to reopen roads continues.
A Met Office warning for ice has been in place since 4pm yesterday and lasts until 11am today, covering the majority of Wales.
Ice was expected to form from late yesterday afternoon, lasting overnight into this morning.
“There will probably be icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths with some injuries possible from slips and falls”, the Met Office said.
It warned of icy stretches, particularly where snow melt has occurred during the day, or where a mix of rain and snow has fallen.
Emergency services have warned motorists to drive with caution, even on motorways, while Western Power Distribution said engineers had worked to restore power to 99,500 homes in south Wales, south-west England and the midlands.
Hundreds of schools in Wales were closed yesterday, including 71 in Flintshire, 11 in Wrexham and 49 in Denbighshire – with plenty set to remain shut today.
The wintry blast has also proved a challenging time for emergency services. On Sunday, a man had to be airlifted to hospital after sustaining “serious injuries” while sledging on a snow-covered Rhondda hillside.
Emergency services were called to Dinam Park in Ton Pentre, after a 21-year-old man had come off his sledge after falling into a steep ravine.
Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team said they were called to the scene by South Wales Police, before the man was freed from the gorge with the help of a stretcher and ropes, before he was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
A spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “One man was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales with injuries which are thought to be serious, but non lifethreatening.”
Hazardous driving conditions also prevented people being able to get to school and work over the weekend and yesterday, prompting a group of drivers made use of their 4x4s by offering free lifts to hospital staff and patients.
The self-titled “4x4 club” used social media to put the word out that they could provide lifts to staff working at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
Roger Jones, from Aberdare, Gareth Price from Merthyr Tydfil, and Terrance Jones, from Mountain Ash, loaded up their Land Rovers and hit the road by doing dozens of trips to the hospital.
The trio helped around 60 people over two days, mainly nurses trying to get to and from shifts, as well as two patients needing to get to appointments.
In Caerphilly county, council workers gritting roads and ploughing snow on Sunday were praised for their work after helping emergency services reach a woman having an epileptic fit.
Members of Caerphilly council’s gritting and snow plough teams ploughed through snow to allow emergency services to reach a woman in Fochriw, near Pontlottyn.
Deputy leader of Caerphilly council, Sean Morgan, said, “It’s pleasing to hear the team, together with the telephone operator, were able to assist the emergency services in ensuring this resident could be transported swiftly to hospital for treatment.”