Snow brings chaos to Bristol
Snow has brought chaos to the Bristol region today as schools and colleges were closed, bus services suspended and trains disrupted.
More than 100 schools and colleges in Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset have been closed or opening later due to bad weather.
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Bus operator First said early buses were not operating but a few are now out on the roads, on the main routes only.
Park and ride services were cancelled early today.
South Gloucestershire buses said there would be “no services whatsoever” because of the treacherous conditions.
Bristol City Council said its gritting teams were out three times overnight. “We have been ploughing the main routes since early this morning, including the most major bus routes,” said a spokesman.
Street sweeping crews were clearing snow on pavements outside shopping areas and other key spots.
Main roads were relatively clear and traffic was moving relatively freely, said the council.
The council has more than 200 tonnes of “grit” left – about a third of the total amount normally needed for a whole winter – and it has a further 200 tonnes on order.
Waste contractors SITA’s lorries were having problems getting down residential streets and were unable to make some collections this morning.
The council said Sita would return to collect waste this afternoon and tomorrow and would work through the weekend to catch up if necessary.
Residents were asked to leave their waste and recycling out as normal.
Train services on the Severn Beach line were cancelled and there were no buses laid on for an alternative service.
Staff worked through the night to keep Bristol International Airport open and the first flight took off normally today.
Ferries in Bristol docks were also running normally today.
The City of Bristol College was closed to students but Soundwell College, Bedminster and Ashley Down campuses were open to staff who could travel.
Two lanes on the M5 between Aztec West and Cribbs Causeway were closed early today because of a lorry which had jacknifed.
In many places of the M4 motorway it only one lane open West-bound between Reading and Cardiff.
Snow settled overnight in south Wales, western England, the Midlands and counties to the north of London.
The new falls after the heavy snow earlier this week added to concerns about dwindling salt supplies.
Some councils said they were now only using salt on major routes, and Britain’s biggest salt supplier, Cheshire-based Salt Union, said staff were working round the clock but still could not meet demand.
On Friday the country will see a mixture of rain, sleet and snow, forecasters said, with Saturday expected to be cold but sunny. Sunday could bring more sleet and snow.
Got any pics of the snow? You cam email them to us and we will add them to our readers' picture galleries. Thanks to all those who have already sent us lots of pics.
And you can upload any videos directly to this site.
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by daren, bristol
Friday, February 06 2009, 8:49AM
“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
It doesn't show signs of Pauseping,
And I've bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
When we finally kiss goodnight,
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.
The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
by Chris, Bristle
Friday, February 06 2009, 7:27AM
“Come on ...., bristol, get off the fence and tell us what you think.”
by Chris, Bbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrristle
Friday, February 06 2009, 7:15AM
“Oooops, sorry, left the snow on last night.”
by ...., bristol
Friday, February 06 2009, 7:03AM
“We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the planet?
I'm getting tired of that stuff. I'm tired of Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a damn about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.
Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are nuts. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!
We're going away. Pack your stuff folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.
You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.
The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical questio”
by Paul, Avonmouth
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:54PM
“Anyway, all this global warming speak. It's a bit late for reversing damage, we can only try and sustain what little resources we have and switch to alternative power.
As far as I'm concerned, nuclear weapons will kill us all off before the planet does”
by Paul, Avonmouth
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:48PM
“I want pink bees with green stripes!!!
Rog, this is the first story I've commented on, may it not be the last lol
Bring on the snow”
by daren, bristol
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:25PM
“blow me lol lets have some snow”
by Chris, Bristle
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:20PM
“Slow day in work Rog, something to do with the weather but don't understand the 'like every other one posted lately.'
As for sunshine, how much you offering daren?”
by GingerRog, Bristol
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:08PM
“I see Paul and Chris have the monopoly on this story like every other one posted lately.”
by daren, bristol
Thursday, February 05 2009, 7:07PM
“nice job chris can we have some sunshine very soon please ?”