Shropshire weather: Blizzards warning as schools closed and transport hit
More than 130 schools across Shropshire and Mid Wales were closed by the snow today, with blizzard conditions forecast for this afternoon. Train services were severely hit and motorists were urged only to make essential journeys.
An amber warning for snow and ice remains in place for Shropshire as numerous crashes were reported to West Mercia police.
A red warning - the most severe that the Met Office issues - is in place for parts of south Wales, heading towards Mid Wales. Forecasters are warning of potentially very heavy snow in some areas, with 5-10cm likely by early evening Thursday, double that in some places and 30-40cm on high ground.
The Met Office said that after scattered snow showers in Shropshire this morning, more persistent snow would arrive from the south this afternoon.
It said: "A spell of heavy snow is expected. The snow will be accompanied by very strong easterly winds leading to blizzards and considerable drifting.
"From Thursday evening some places could also see ice build up due to freezing rain. Long delays and cancellations of public transport seem very likely.
"Some roads may become blocked by deep snow, stranding vehicles and passengers. Long interruptions to power supplies and other utilities are likely to occur, along with possible damage to trees and other structures due to heavy snow or ice. "
More than 40 schools in Shropshire were shut today as well as over 90 across Powys, with many starting to announce further closures for tomorrow.
For further updates click on the following links to check for school closures in your area:
Earlier, the Shropshire Council school closures website page was hit by technical problems this morning as parents tried to check the status of their schools.
Chaos continued for commuters this morning as they faced further disruption on train services.
A number of journeys were cancelled outright or were missing certain stations as Arriva Trains Wales reacted to the snow.
The company urged passengers to make sure they completed their journeys by 2.30pm.
Trains between Shrewsbury and Birmingham and Shrewsbury and Manchester were cancelled.
Journeys between Shrewsbury and various parts of Wales were still going ahead.
Train station almost deserted
But Shrewsbury Railway Station, normally bustling with commuters heading to work at rush hour, was virtually deserted this morning. The platform was like part of a ghost town, with only a handful of passengers coming in or out of the station.
Three replacement Arriva Trains Wales buses were parked outside the 19th century building yesterday – with no passengers on board or nearby. The doors were shut, engines and lights were off and the only person on board was one driver.
There were no taxis waiting outside and only a few cars in the car park which is normally rammed with drivers dropping off and pickling up passengers. Inside the station, the word ‘cancelled’ was glaring from the departure boards next to the vast majority of morning services.
Two customer service assistants sat at the counter behind protective glass waiting for customers.
There are usually trains waiting, the noise of engines as they arrive and depart, but yesterday morning there was silence and not a train in sight, it was like being on a train platform at midnight. Some limited services remained unaffected and as one train pulled into the station, a handful of commuters rushed into the town centre wrapped up in their woolly hats and gloves.
Nearly all train operators across the UK are warning of cancellations and disruption.
Bill Kelly, Chief Operating Officer for Network Rail and Bethan Jelfs, Customer Services Director for Arriva Trains Wales, said: “The safety of our customers and staff is a key priority, and with the extreme weather warning extended to red across South West England and Wales, we are expecting a considerable increase in disruption to services across the majority of our network from midday today.
“Our teams are working tirelessly to prepare for the challenging weather conditions and keep services running, but we are asking people to travel only if absolutely necessary. We expect some services to be considerably limited and customers should ensure that they check their journeys before they travel at arrivatrains.wales/check
"Customers should also make any necessary journeys as early as possible before the weather worsens.”
Virgin Trains advised anybody travelling to Scotland today to stay at home.
Lewis Maddox, events co-ordinator at the Severn Valley Railway said: "At the moment it's business as usual! Our hardy volunteers and staff have wrapped up warm to continue maintenance on the tracks, including testing of ‘Royal’ visitor No. 6023 King Edward II, which is one of the stars at our up-coming Spring Steam Gala."
Council website crashes
Parents keen to find out which school their children will attend in the next academic year, combined with freak weather conditions, brought Shropshire Council’s website to a halt today.
The website crashed this morning as parents logged on to see if they had been successful in securing a place for their child at their preferred school and to check if the schools would be open following the overnight low temperatures and snowfall.
Andrew Boxall, Shropshire Council’s technology and communications service manager, said: “We have fixed the problem with our website, created by unusual circumstances. We are also investing to ensure that this kind of failure won’t happen in the future through our Digital Transformation Programme.
“We know how important it is that our IT provides the service that the public expects. Increasingly people want their information directly through our web channels and we recognise that the media are also dependent on the information we provide. We are grateful for the support in getting the message out this morning.”
