Buckinghamshire roads to freeze further when rain hits

11:01am Wednesday 23rd December 2009

By James Nadal

RAIN will hit south Bucks this afternoon but will turn instantly to ice, causing more hazardous conditions on the roads, the Met Office has warned.

The heaviest rainfall will come in rush hour, around 6pm, and motorists going away for Christmas tomorrow morning also face perilous conditions.

Met office spokesman Sarah Davies, based in Maidenhead, said: “We have got some showers coming up from the south, they will be falling as rain but the problem is it will fall on to cold road surfaces.

“There might be a little bit of snow on the usual places over the high ground but it's not the snow that's the problem, it's the ice.

“Because the roads are very cold and still have snow and ice the rain freezes instantly."

Although air temperatures may be above zero degrees Celsius, the rain could freeze due to the lower road surface temperature.

Mrs Davies added: “Rush hour today could be interesting and tomorrow as well could be nasty.”

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Many parts of Buckinghamshire have been as low as minus seven degrees Celsius this morning.

However, temperatures are expected to rise, with drier conditions and a grey day forecast for Christmas Eve.

Hopes of a white Christmas look dim and most of the remaining white stuff is expected to have melted come the big day.

“It will slowly get milder and the roads will warm up during Chrismas day. The snow will probably have melted by Christmas day,” she said.

Meanwhile, drivers have been assured there is “sufficient” grit left in the reserves.

Buckinghamshire County Council's transport localities team leader Si Khan said gritting had taken place on primary routes last night at 7pm and at 4am this morning, while secondary roads are currently being done.

The latest weather forecasts will be evaluated before a decision is made on further gritting this evening, she added.

The council said there is in excess of 1,000 tonnes in each of the four Buckinghamshire depots – Handycross, High Wycombe, Amersham, Gawcott and Griffin Lane, Aylesbury.

Val Letheren, Cabinet Member for Transport said: "Our teams have worked tirelessly and are doing everything humanely possible to keep roads open.

"We are literally battling the elements as gritting is not effective below -8 degrees and less effective between -4 and -8 degrees and we are recording levels as low as -10 degrees.

"Abandoned cars are also making it harder for us to clear roads - both we and the Police are urging people not to just abandon their vehicles but to find a safe place and to leave their contact details with the vehicle."