“The fleet of gritters treated main roads across the East Riding overnight and temperatures were down again around -10'C. It was a dry evening with no snow.
Throughout today the winter services team is out concentrating on ploughing and treating the secondary network, plus other key access roads across the East Riding.
Parts of this network have compact snow and ice and it will take time before such surfaces are free of snow and ice.
The council is however, penetrating further into local key roads to get more of the network moving with improved conditions. However, we cannot cover all areas and we are therefore, prioritising on some of the key local access roads.
Street sweeping and grounds staff are out removing snow from highly used pedestrian areas, using tractors where possible and filling salt bins. Council car parks are also being treated so motorists can park.
Numerous requests have been received for help and assistance and we are doing our very best to prioritise and respond positively wherever possible. Every effort is being made to respond to individual requests as swiftly as possible but there is a high level of activity in strategically managing service delivery.
Forecasters indicate that temperatures during the day and on an evening will not get above freezing until Thursday. The conditions we are currently experiencing today will continue with little sign of a thaw until Thursday and Friday. Ice on roads and footpaths will continue to be an issue for our residents to navigate. Indications for next week indicate a further cold snap.
Bin collections are taking place today and the workforce are making every effort to complete Tuesday collections. Around 80 per cent of collections were completed yesterday.
We will collect any surplus household waste from households that did not receive a collection service next Monday. Commercial waste collections to shops and businesses are being made on schedule.”

Issues over the next few days

As with previous notes, the main issues over the next few days is still cold temperatures, hazardous driving conditions on minor roads, an increased risk of slips and trips and some vulnerable members of the community struggling for supplies.

The key messages are therefore still to try and provide support to vulnerable people in your community, making sure people are keeping warm and encouraging “good neighbourliness”, such as checking on neighbours and helping clear drives and footpaths.  

Expected Thaw

We have received a couple of enquiries asking about the potential for flooding as a result of the thaw.  Both the Environment Agency and the MET Office have said that they expect the thaw to be slow and steady.  Rapid thaws have the potential to cause problems with flooding, but both organisations have confirmed that there is absolutely no indication that this will happen.  It is always sensible to keep an eye on areas that are prone to flooding, but to stress again – this is not forecast.  The key risk from the thaw is likely to be icy road conditions through wet roads refreezing when temperatures drop overnight.

“A full treatment of main roads was carried out across the East Riding last night and again in the early hours of this morning.

Road surface temperatures reached -11C and at 7am were still -7C across the whole of the East Riding.

Forecasters indicate that temperatures will remain below freezing all day and generally dry. Ice is currently the real issue together with compact hard snow on the minor roads which will continue to be difficult for motorists to navigate in the days to come.
 
The fleet of gritters has gone out again this morning to plough and salt the secondary network as required. This will help get more of the network accessible and get people moving.
 
Resources continue to be deployed digging out snow once again to get a road into some isolated villages which had become cut off: Sledmere, Kirkby Underdale and Huggate areas. We made good progress in other areas on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Street sweeping staff are out filling salt bins and removing snow from high use pedestrian areas.

Residents are reminded not to go near ponds and lakes as many are frozen and pose a real danger.

Overall we have a very steadily improving picture, but it is very cold and icy one.
 
View revised bin collection dates and news”

Issues over the next few days

As with previous notes, the main issues over the next few days is still cold temperatures, hazardous driving conditions on minor roads, an increased risk of slips and trips and some vulnerable members of the community struggling for supplies.

The key messages are therefore still to try and provide support to vulnerable people in your community, making sure people are keeping warm and encouraging “good neighbourliness”, such as checking on neighbours and helping clear drives and footpaths.  

There are lots of Town and Parish Councils making a real difference to their community by arranging for footpaths and minor roads to be cleared of snow and ice, and by providing support to vulnerable people during the extreme weather, such as delivering food and medicines.  East Riding of Yorkshire Council is extremely supportive of these initiatives, especially because the resources needed to keep the core network open means that it will not be possible for the Council to provide support to areas such as estate roads and footpaths.  This ongoing support will no doubt continue to be valued by the community over the next week.

Guidance notes for Town and Parish Councils, and for individual members of the community, on clearing snow from footpaths was circulated with previous update notes – if you would like them again please let me know.

Problems with Livestock

If you are aware of any farmers that are having major problems with feeding livestock because of access to their farm, please let me know and we will do our best to support where possible.

“During this morning the fleet of gritters have been focused on keeping the roads open on the snow clearance network covering all ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads which is  around 800km of main roads across the East Riding.  Garrowby Hill and the higher parts of the wolds continues to be a massive challenge for us as we continue to get snowfall and drifting caused by strong winds.  The main roads are passable with extreme care. However, there are very difficult driving conditions in rural locations on the high ground.

Wind blowing snow around has been the biggest problem this morning. We have been constantly ploughing along the A165 Bridlington to Hull road, problems in Withernsea which has been the feature of continued ploughing and on the higher ground, particularly across the Wolds where we have had seen extensive drifting this morning.  For example, one road was ploughed through clear and 30 minutes later there was a 3 ft drift back across the road which gives you an idea of some of the issues we face.  We have engaged a number of farmers to get a road into some villages which became cut off around Sledmere, Garton, Huggate, Warter, Bempton, Flamborough, Swinefleet.

Scattered snow showers continue to blow in from the North Sea and with the swirling wind this has meant concentrating on the main road network.

Staff deployed from bin collections, street sweeping and gully emptying have been out removing snow in Town Centres and areas of high pedestrian usage. Car parking wardens have also gritted many  car parks

A decision will be made at 6.45am in the morning on whether bins will be emptied on Friday. 

The latest forecast is that there will still be snow showers off the North Sea this evening but the keen wind will die away later with less showers moving inland and these will be confined to the coastal strip.  In rural areas, temperatures will plummet to -10oC  so residents will notice a penetrating cold night. 

It is expected that snow showers will become light tomorrow but there will be little thaw because temperatures will struggle to get above freezing throughout Friday.  A similar picture is expected on Saturday.

We continue to work excellently with the Police and we have a police officer in our control room so we have direct linkages and we can take action to support our communities.

The situation is changeable and staff continue to do their very best in helping East Riding communities.”

Supporting Vulnerable People

The cold weather and the icy conditions will continue to provide people with a challenge when travelling, and will be a particular problem for vulnerable people who will be better staying in the shelter of their own home.

The Council applauds the actions of Town and Parish Councils during this difficult period in providing support to residents, and in particular, vulnerable people.  Continuing support over the next week will be essential, and these issues may be helpful over the next week:

• Providing assistance / support to people who can't get shops for essential food items.  (If the East Riding of Yorkshire Councils receives specific requests for issues like this, we will look initially to work with Town and Parish Councils to fulfil these requests)
• Providing assistance / support to people who can't get to pharmacies for essential medication
• Encouraging all residents to be "good neighbours"
• Promoting advice on keeping warm during cold conditions
• Advising people to take extra care and wear boots or shoes with good grips on the soles when they go out. (Some outdoor shops sell ice grips that can be fitted onto shoes.)

Some hotels, catering organisations etc have made food donations to Parish Councils and voluntary organisations because guests have cancelled, and prepared food has already been bought in.  If you have a similar business in your parish they may be able to offer support.

Finally, the local media are on the look out for stories of people that have gone "above and beyond the call of duty".  If the media pick up on the story, it may be a good way to celebrate local effort. If you would like to nominate anyone, please email the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

"Scattered snow showers have again hit the East Riding overnight. Gritting operations have been non-stop again on Wednesday night.
The fleet of gritters has been focused on keeping the roads open on the snow clearance network covering all ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads which is around 800km of main roads across the East Riding.
Garrowby Hill and Harras Hill have been kept open all night but some of the higher parts of the wolds, for example roads in the Langtoft area are closed and we are digging out the snow using JCBs.
The weather continues to be a massive challenge as we get more snowfall and drifting caused by strengthening winds together with the wind-chill factor.
The main roads are passable with extreme care, but the local roads are extremely hazardous and there are very difficult driving conditions.
During this morning the fleet of gritters will continue to work on the main routes across the East Riding.
Bin collections, street sweeping and gully emptying services were again suspended today and staff deployed onto snow removal this morning
Teams of staff are now snow clearing in the Market Weighton, Hedon, Preston, Goole, Cottingham, Hessle, Anlaby, Brough, Beverley, Willerby and Bridlington areas. Staff are concentrating on areas which see the highest numbers of pedestrians and we will keep the areas we are treating under constant review.
Thursday’s collections will be completed next Thursday as part of a double collection and a decision will be made at 6.45am tomorrow morning about Friday’s collections.
The situation is fluctuating, very challenging and staff are doing their very best."

East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Emergency Control Centre