Storm Emma brings driving snow and high winds to Bradley Stoke

Blizzard conditions at the Willow Brook Centre.

Bradley Stoke was hit by Arctic conditions on Thursday (1st March) as two meteorological features clashed over the West of England. As predicted by an earlier ‘amber’ weather warning, Storm Emma combined with the ‘Beast from the East’ to produce significant quantities of fine snow and biting winds from around midday. Temperatures hovered around minus 3C throughout the day, not to mention the additional ‘wind chill’ factor.

Most local schools ended up closing early, as did many stores at the Willow Brook shopping centre.

Driving conditions were poor, despite South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) attempts to keep the main roads clear. There were reports that the strong winds were blowing the grit off road surfaces, rendering it ineffective.

A notable troublespot for motorists was the new Stoke Gifford By-Pass, where vehicles struggled to get up the incline between Hambrook Lane and the railway bridge in the snowy conditions. Readers reported seeing cars skidding and sliding, with some drivers having to abandon their cars at the side of the road and walk.

First West of England suspend all its bus services from around 6pm and says they will remain suspended overnight and until at least 7am on Friday. A spokesperson said: “From 6am we will be assessing routes to determine whether we can run any services on this day.”

SGC announced the cancellation of kerbside waste and recycling collections that were due take place on Friday. No replacement collections will be made, although the council says that anyone who was due to have a black bin collection will be allowed to put out two sacks of residual waste alongside their black bin when it is next collected on 16th March.

All four of SGC’s Sort It recycling centres will also be closed until 8.30am on Sunday 4th March.

All Bradley Stoke schools have announced that they will not be opening on Friday 2nd March.

The current ‘amber’ warning of wind and snow lasts until 8am on Friday. Additionally, there is a ‘yellow’ warning of snow and ice for the whole of the day.

More photos: 2018-03-01 Snow (BSJ Facebook)

Met Office weather warning map for 1st March 2018.

Images: 1 Driving snow at the entrance to the Willow Brook Centre. 2 Met Office weather warning map for Thursday 1st March 2018.

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