Transport chaos as snow grips North East

Dec 5 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

THE North East was plunged into travel chaos yesterday as heavy snowfall hit the region.

Up to eight inches of snow fell on higher ground in parts of County Durham, and in Northumberland up to five inches fell.

Many roads were passable only with care and accidents made the morning commute slow going for many.

Flights from Newcastle Airport were disrupted, with four outbound services cancelled and nine inbound flights diverted to other airports.

And thousands of homes were left without power in the south of the region for part of the day as engineers worked to repair power lines.

By lunchtime the worst of the weather was over, but not before nearly 100 schools in the region had been closed for the day because of difficult driving conditions.

Nineteen schools in Northumberland and 72 in County Durham kept their doors closed.

It was hoped they would be open again this morning, but parents are advised to phone their school before travelling.

And drivers have been warned the roads could be treacherous again this morning, as temperatures were forecast to drop below freezing overnight, potentially turning snow and slush into ice.

There were dozens of accidents on the roads yesterday morning due to the atrocious driving conditions.

County Durham was the worst affected area, with the A66 closed by the Highways Agency. Many other routes were only passable with care, and the A1 was closed between junctions 56 and 57 near Darlington after a lorry jack-knifed.

There were dozens of minor accidents as commuters struggled through the snow, although there were no major incidents.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: “Temperatures overnight are likely to have dropped below freezing and that could leave ice in the roads. Temperatures look set to rise this weekend in the North East, possibly up to 10 degrees, and there will be plenty of blue sky around.”