Roads and bus services have been affected as snow flurries hit the Bradford district this afternoon. As much as 10cm predicted for parts of West Yorkshire tonight and tomorrow.

 

Buses are now only operating on main roads across Brafford, according to Metro. The latest snowfall has prevented bus services 253 and 283 from reaching Bradford Interchange and East Bierley, and services 281 and 282 are not serving Fieldhead Estate or Howden Clough.

Transdev Keighley has warned that services we are encountering major delays to services - including school services - of up to an hour due to heavy congestion and weather conditions in Bradford.

There are reports of traffic being gridlocked all around the city and in the surrounding districts, with Manchester Road, Shipley Airedale Road, the A629 Keighley Road in the Queensbury area, and many others being hit by traffic gridlock.

The operator has said service 697 is not serving James Street and Hill Top, and service 664 is not operating to Stanbury.

Bradford Council started a full snow grit at 1pm and the night patrol will grit as needed from 6pm. Kirklees Council gritters are also out on the region's roads.

The Met Office has issued an amber 'be prepared' snow warning.

Heavy flurries are predicted to continue from 6pm this evening through to about 6pm tomorrow.

The Highways Agency said drivers across the north are being urged to take extra care on motorways and major A roads this evening, into tonight and throughout tomorrow morning.

Following Met Office warnings for sleet, snow and high winds across the north the Highways Agency has now issued an Amber ‘be aware’ alert for snow lasting from 5pm today until 11am tomorrow.

Commuters in particular are being warned to take extra care through this evening’s and tomorrow morning’s peak travel periods and to check weather and travel conditions before setting out on journeys.

The alert has been issued with a Met Office forecast of snow showers spreading across the North West, Yorkshire and the North East tonight.  The showers could become frequent in bands - with higher routes likely to have in excess of 10cm on the ground.

Combined with strong northerly winds gusting between 40mph and 50mph the snow showers could cause drifting in places – potentialy leading to poor visibility, difficult driving conditions and traction issues for some vehicles.

The Highways Agency, in conjunction with the Met Office, is strongly advising that journey times in a number of areas is likely to be extended with journeys possibly disrupted.

 

Higher sections of the trans-Pennine routes are most at risk including parts of the M62, A69, A66, and A628. However,  other routes around Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and Doncaster and Manchester could also be affected by smaller accumulations of snow.

Road users should heed messages on overhead signs and listen for radio updates.

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