As predicted by the Met Office, snow has been falling on the Isle of Wight overnight.
Police and the Isle of Wight council are advising drivers to take extra care on the roads. There have been several road accidents reported already this morning.
Shanklin Community Library is closed today due to the adverse weather.
Transport
Islandline Trains are suspended with a bus replacement service running between Shanklin and Ryde. It’s not clear whether this is snow related, although we have heard that one train has now left Ryde heading for Shanklin.
The Hover, Wightlink and Red Funnel services appear to be working as usual and all buses are running to schedule.
Schools and public services
At time of publishing (7.35) all schools on the Island are expected to open as normal, and waste collections will continue as scheduled.
Image: © Thanks to Rachel Holmes for this shot of the snow drift in Thorley this morning
Monday, 11th March, 2013 7:37am
By Sally Perry
ShortURL: http://wig.ht/2azC
Filed under: Bus, Ferry, Island-wide, News, Snow, Top story, Train
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11.Mar.2013 7:59am
Bah! it’s only a dusting! Off to work and school you go while I go back to bed for another hour of dozybyes.
11.Mar.2013 8:19am
Yarmouth Primary is not on your list.
11.Mar.2013 8:24am
It is at the bottom of the list Neil. Use the slider to page up and down the spreadsheet.
11.Mar.2013 8:30am
Or Shalfleet school maybe you need a better list.
11.Mar.2013 8:44am
Our list is comprehensive and accurate Neil. ALL Island schools are on the list Neil. Please use the slider to page up and down to see them all. You can also use the tabs to go between primary, secondary and special schools.
11.Mar.2013 10:08am
well done sally
11.Mar.2013 8:33am
Thanks Sally I found the slider cheers.
11.Mar.2013 9:04am
The school bus drivers for (315&316) were unable to pick up children from Niton for Medina or Christ The King Colleges this morning due to their concerns regarding getting the buses safely up Blackgang Hill.
11.Mar.2013 9:50am
Is your list meant to be dated 18th Jan?
11.Mar.2013 10:10am
No! Updated now, thanks James P.
11.Mar.2013 11:03am
School buses are all running up in Lancashire.
A slight dusting of snow in the IoW and everything comes to a halt. Shame/Whimps!
11.Mar.2013 11:37am
There might be a light dusting where you are Don, but it’s much heavier in other parts of the Island. There have been many road traffic accidents this morning already with collisions, overturned vans and cars etc. It’s not good out there!
11.Mar.2013 3:06pm
Quite right Don. When I was at school in the 1950′s and 60′s we had dreadful winters. Snow up to the windows but we never missed a school day. Schools closing was unheard of. If they can’t drive, they get up earlier and walk.
11.Mar.2013 4:49pm
But there were more of them! Schools that is, not winters (although it probably felt like it).
11.Mar.2013 7:43pm
That’s very true Brian. I was in the countryside on the mainland, without much traffic to keep roads clear…& schools were much farther away there than they are here, JamesP! But the school bus always got through by hook or by crook, late but triumphant! Not to say it was necessarily worth all the trouble, mind….
11.Mar.2013 11:01am
Were any roads gritted last night? There seem to be a lot of accidents this morning, even on main roads, with suggestions of ice as main cause.
11.Mar.2013 11:36am
Yes gritters were out from 3pm yesterday and again from midnight on all major routes.
11.Mar.2013 12:54pm
Not much grit in evidence here this morning, and I live by the main Newport/Sandown road (A3056). Suspect they’re using as little as possible!
11.Mar.2013 1:27pm
The council say, “Our gritters have been out four times since 3pm yesterday treating the roads, and they will be out again tonight with snow ploughs.” Hope they pass your way ;-)
11.Mar.2013 7:00pm
They use salt, not grit, these days of course. Doesn’t block the drains. Also less visible. And it washes away if the snow/ice thaws during the day and then refreezes.
11.Mar.2013 11:09am
Much debate on Medina Facebook (parent voice) page about children waiting for buses that didn’t show up and buses that (apparently) gave up because there weren’t any children!
I know the schools get a lot of flak when they don’t open, but there does seem to be some lack of communication, and they’ll probably have to send them home early now!
11.Mar.2013 1:55pm
Medina closing early may be good news. The OFSTED inspectors arrive tomorrow.
No wonder Beynon is leaving.
11.Mar.2013 11:35am
Gritting happening now, apparently – about 6 hours late…
11.Mar.2013 1:58pm
well my ‘other half’ managed to drive into newport at 09:15 this morning and apart from being stuck behind an idiot driving at a genuine 5mph ALL the way, she had no issues at all. On the other hand she was stopped from driving to Ocean View because of the ice! Being northerners we tend to have no fear of a bit of snow but most Islanders haven’t seen proper snow and dont know how to drive on a slippy road. It’s not anyones fault, it’s a geographical issue. Watching folk trying to pull away in 1st gear whilst spinning the wheels is quite amusing, unless you are stuck behind them of course, try pulling away in 2nd with low revs and see the difference! Its all about being smooth, and not trying to melt the snow with spinning tyres! It looks like we are in for another round of snowfall this afternoon so everything may well be shut for another day or so! Let us hope it warms up soon!
11.Mar.2013 5:14pm
What a bunch of wimps. I remember a snowstorm in London around Feb 14, 1990 of few inches that stopped the City cold. I seemed to have the only pair of rubber boots (galoshes in US English) that made the city wonderful.
OK, take few days off, have a pint, and enjoy climate change.
11.Mar.2013 10:21pm
It’s about time the use of dipped headlights,not just sidelights, was made mandatory when driving in snow, rain or any bad visibility,seen so many idiots driving around with no lights on in blizzard like conditions,it makes you wonder if they should be driving at all.
12.Mar.2013 1:58am
Lovely photo for this topic…
12.Mar.2013 6:55am
Seeing that this photographer was local got me wondering whether OTW likes to use as many of these as possible, whether for Island or non-specific & abstract shots…. That would add a very welcome extra dimension to all the great things OTW already brings.
12.Mar.2013 7:45am
Yes, we already try to use as many local shots as possible from those that add their pictures to our Flickr Group. We can only use shots with a Creative Commons License or with permission from the photographer though, so sometimes limits us from using local shots if we can’t get hold of the owner.
12.Mar.2013 10:10am
School bus cancellations failed to mention 332 as there are no buses serving Merstone! Would have saved youngsters waiting in poor conditions for a bus that never came.