Several centimetres of snow has fallen across the Isle of Wight today (Thursday) bringing roads and public transport to a near standstill – and the chaos is set to continue into tomorrow.
Southern Vectis buses on all routes are being suspended in less than 2 hours time – at around 22:00 – in the interests of everyone’s safety with icy, treacherous roads being experienced in all corners of the Island.
The snow began to fall at around 14:00 just as an Amber weather warning came into force and it wasn’t long before many roads became impassable. St Lawrence Shute has been closed by Island Roads tonight after a car ended up on its roof (pictured left).
Emergency services have been busy attending a variety of incidents from crashes to chimney fires and everything in between. The Isle of Wight Ambulance Service have enlisted the support of HM Coastguard in responding to medical emergencies, whilst the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have put 4×4 pumps on frontline response at Ryde and Newport.
With snow still on the ground and ice expected overnight, a large number of schools have already confirmed that they will be closed to all students on Friday. For live updates on all school closures visit https://www.islandecho.co.uk/school-closures-isle-wight/.
Waste and recycling collections have been cancelled for Friday and therefore households should not put waste out this evening. Further updates on rescheduled collections will be made on Friday.
Thanks to everyone who has shared photos of the snow today… send yours to [email protected].
