Deep freeze to continue (From Gazette & Herald)

Deep freeze to continue

10:52am Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

THE big freeze is set to deepen in North and East Yorkshire, with temperatures remaining below zero each day after severe overnight frosts.

Highways chiefs at North Yorkshire County Council warned that with road surface temperatures falling as low as -8C, there was an increased risk of icy patches even when roads had been treated.

A spokeswoman said salting was less effective than usual when temperatures fell below -5, and motorists should take extra care.

A bitter south-easterly wind is also likely to develop in the region by Friday, increasing the wind-chill factor, and scattered snow showers are likely to continue over the next three days, mainly affecting coastal areas. Weathermen have warned there could be further, more general snow by the weekend.

Snow showers were heaviest yesterday in coastal areas and over the North York Moors, including towns such as Pickering, although some reached as far inland as York.

The county council said several schools in the Scarborough and Whitby area were shut by the snow, including St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School in Scarborough, which was due to reopen today.

As our pictures show, some walkers remained undeterred by the cold weather, making tracks for snow-covered beauty spots such as the Hole of Horcum, high on the Pickering to Whitby road across the moors.

In York, cycle tracks and paths have been cleared of ice and snow as well as roads, said delighted Green councillor Andy D’Agorne.

“I am still pushing for these to be a priority once the main routes are covered,” he said, adding that he had also got a prompt response when he had highlighted the dangerously icy state of Butcher Terrace near the Millennium Bridge, which was used by hundreds of cyclists each day.