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Highways Agency warns road users to stay alert as more severe weather forecast
WINTER: Icy blast.
WITH snow, wind and rain forecast today (Friday) and into the weekend, the Highways Agency is advising drivers to remain alert and take extra care as they set out on their journeys. The Agency has issued an amber alert for severe weather covering all regions of England.
The Highways Agency works closely with the Met Office, who are forecasting a further band of snow across the country on Friday and into Saturday morning. This is expected to reach Cumbria by midday before spreading south and east throughout the day. With strong winds in some areas, there is potential for the snow to drift and cause disruption to traffic. There is also a risk from snow on high ground in Gloucestershire and the north of England.
On Saturday night and into Sunday, wet and windy weather is forecast which, combined with melting snow, could lead to some localised flooding.
Steve Crosthwaite, head of the Agency’s National Traffic Operations Centre said: “We have been working hard to keep motorways and major A-roads running throughout winter, and particularly over the last couple of weeks. With another flurry of snow expected, we ask people to remain alert and continue to take care when travelling.
“As always, we ask people to give our winter fleet the space they need to do their job and, during periods of particularly severe weather, to consider delaying their journeys until conditions improve.”
Before setting out on journeys, drivers should check their local media for updated weather and travel advice If they are travelling they should keep up to date with this advice, heed warnings and electronic message signs and drive according to the conditions – leaving extra time for journeys and extra room for braking, and avoiding sudden manoeuvres such as braking or changing lanes suddenly. Incidents and breakdowns can prevent winter service vehicles from treating the roads, causing further problems.
Steve Crosthwaite added: “We are using salt to treat the roads and have ploughs and snow blowers on standby if necessary. Our traffic officers are working around the clock to monitor conditions, deal with any incidents and keep traffic moving. Despite forecasts of milder weather for next week, we will still be on standby to deal with severe weather at any time.”
Information about a winter driving kit and other advice to help motorists be prepared for winter is on the Highways Agency website at http://www.highways.gov.uk/winter
Up-to-date information on road conditions on England’s motorways and trunk roads is available on the Highways Agency website http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or by calling the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.
Traffic information is available on Twitter by following one of eight regional channels http://bit.ly/HAtwir with winter driving information on Twitter http://twitter.com/winterhighways and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/winterhighways
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Weather for Selby
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 5 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: North east
