Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow…again!

Exactly 2 months since the North West was last widely affected by heavy snow fall, more snow has fallen in the area, severely affecting travel across the North West. Heavy snow has caused treacherous driving conditions causing parts of the A62, A635, A66, A6024, A640, A57 and M62 to be closed and caused long delays on the M6 in the area. Drivers can check out the latest news regarding road closures on the BBC website. Domestic flights from Manchester Airport have also been affected due to cancellations at London Heathrow, also caused by the heavy snow, so passengers hoping to make domestic flights today are being told to expect 'cancellations and significant delays' . As reported in the Manchester Evening News, actress Julia Roberts was one of the thousands stranded at the airport, as her flight from India to Gatwick was diverted to Manchester.

Many schools have been forced to close today nationwide, especially in Oldham where 40 schools alone have closed down. However, Oldham City Council has been praised in their work in gritting the roads in Oldham, which helped enable drivers to travel safely across Oldham today. Oldham City Council has reportedly spent £540,000 on a large scale gritting and snow plough operation over the winter to ensure such safe travel. Mark Alcock, cabinet member for infrastructure and the environment praised the work of Oldham City Council, “They have done a terrific job and I am really proud of them”, but criticised the lack of work done by neighbouring areas, “I am really upset that, for whatever reasons, there have been problems on roads at the Rochdale and Kirklees borders”. However, this photo showing 3 cars which have slid back down a hill near our office and banged into another stationary car, suggests otherwise about how well gritted the roads in Oldham are.

Compared to the South East, the North West has appeared to come off more easily from the snow, with the South East supposedly having the worst snowfall it has had in the last 18 years, with all flights and buses being cancelled for the day. A plane from Cyprus to London Heathrow slipped off a taxiway shortly after its arrival due to the heavy snow. A BBC news broadcast about today’s snow can be viewed here. It wasn’t just Britain either, large parts of France and Italy were affected by snow too, as this news broadcast shows.

Have you been forced to stay at home due to the weather? Has this consequently affected your business? Plum Communications can help you and your business to work remotely so no valuable business time and money is not lost today.