Heavy snowfall hits Wrexham – schools closed and power cuts

Wrexham has been hit by more snow than was predicted overnight.

Wrexham Council have said in their first update of Tuesday, “Thank you for your patience. Our teams have been working incredibly hard over the past 24 hours – gritting and ploughing in the snow – and we really appreciate your support.”

Laura has shared this view from the city centre

Be aware if trying to use the trains… “Due to a tree blocking the railway between Wrexham General and Ruabon some lines are blocked.”

With the Digital Voice landline switch over there could be people in this snowfall without contact due to the power cuts in Wrexham. When you are due the switch, ensure if relevant you register as a vulnerable customer.

8am: Police have said, “Please take extra care if you are travelling across some parts of north Wales this morning – our night shift are still on duty helping to ensure your safety.

“All main arterial routes in Flintshire and Wrexham are open, however please drive according to the conditions”

Lots of schools in Wrexham are closed, with the main reason given as “Insufficient staff cover, Complications as a result of inclement weather” – full list here on the council site.

There are two powercuts listed, covering LL130NQ, LL137AF, LL137AN, LL138DX, LL138NH, LL138NL, LL138NS, LL138NT, LL138NU, LL138NY, LL138PA, LL138UQ with a fix time of midday.

A second is listed by SP Energy as, “There is an unexpected power cut affecting the LL13 postcode area of Wrexham. Our engineers are onsite to find and fix the fault as quickly and as safely as possible. We are aiming to have your power restored by 19/11/2024, 08:16. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”

Original article overnight:

Police said as of 11pm: ” We are currently experiencing a large amount of snow fall in the Wrexham area. Some roads are not passable including the A483. Please only drive if absolutely necessary.”

Later (0030) they added, “Officers are currently working with other agencies to clear vehicles on the A55 at Holywell and Dobs Hill and the A483 by Gresford. Closures are currently in place at both locations owing to collisions and heavy snowfall. We will continue to update on both these locations to assist those currently held in the closures. We would urge people not to travel in the current conditions.”

Earlier yesterday Wrexham Council said “Monitoring road conditions via our forecast provider and WCBC weather stations continues 24/7, and the teams are on standby to respond to the precautionary treatment or reactive treatment in the event of any unexpected change in the forecast or road conditions.”

Internal emails indicate the council was expecting snow to start ‘around 2am for a few hours however based on the amount of snow forecast this should clear fairly quickly once morning traffic starts to use the roads’ – however the snow appears to have arrived earlier, and worse than expected.

Wrexham Council had confirmed that its gritting crews were out across the county borough. The local authority treats about 40 per cent of the highway network ahead of any forecast of winter conditions.

The Met Office predict snowfall through to 9am in Wrexham with temperatures around 0 to 1C. The rest of Tuesday is due to be clear of snow but freezing, with a possibility of more snow on Wednesday evening. A change in weather is due Friday into Saturday with the possiblity of more snow before rain, and temperatures returning towards double digits.

Top image of Mold Road by Sian.

Just before midnight Richard shared a live view from the bypass, “Traffic backed from Gresford roundabout to Rossett” noting there had been collisions, just “cars can’t make the hill”.

Other images via X below…

On Facebook Natalie shared this icy image: