Deep & Crisp & Even

Deep & Crisp & Even

Snow to this extent before Christmas we haven't seen for, what, 10 years. It seemed to be a feature of our weather but not recently. Yesterday's snow was therefore something of a shock, with local schools closing and buses cancelled and not being able to climb Market Street.

Arriva buses returning to base out of service

I set out for Dinbych at 6.50 a.m. pausing as planned till 7.27 before travelling on to'r Rhyl, arriving 8.02. So far, so fair. The rain in Y Rhyl turned sleety, snowy then worse, something again almost unheard of. Having abandoned Y Rhyl at 9.00, it took 1¾ hours to get as far as Dinbych. Everyone had the same idea: parents collecting children and others abandoning work, all pulling on to main roads, abandoning side roads and rat runs in favour of salted routes. It took 29 minutes just to hack through Llanelwy/St Asaph.

Nascent snowperson

Meanwhile, schools had closed as had some town businesses. After lunch, county hall was all but deserted. Snow continued falling as showers throughout the evening.

Life returned near to normal this morning, as businesses thawed out and cleared snow. There were morning flurries but nothing else. Buses began running to Wrexham during the afternoon.

Makeshift snowplough at Wynnstay Farmers

As talk started of a repeat of Friday on Sunday, church authorities began cancelling Sunday services. Temperatures fell overnight as we awaited what Sunday might bring.

Great cars they may be but do BMWs perform in snow? This abandoned Beamer suggests not. It couldn't get up the pitch into Bryn Eryl

We have to blame someone. "Where are the gritters?" was something you frequently heard on the streets. The answer was that they were out spreading. D'oh. Odd, isn't it, that they cannot be everywhere at once and I think that this is a major failing : ) There were also calls for patient rescues (dialysis) and animal welfare (feed). And there was the knotty problem of ploughs simply stuck in the lemming-like traffic queues prettying up our main roads.