Business leaders, commuters and parents have been left fuming with local and national authorities after winter conditions brought almost the entire city to a standstill. Many shops, schools, museums, libraries, universities and businesses have been forced to close their doors after "a perfect storm" of bad weather effectively incapacitated Glasgow's transport system for almost 48 hours, resulting in an economic loss to the city of at least £30million. Postal sevices have also been severely affected.

Heavy-duty snowploughs had to be drafted in to clear snow and ice from major routes after ordimary ploughs were damaged by hard-packed ice which had trapped hundreds of motorists overnight in their cars as temperatures across the city fell to -15C. Meanwhile, hundreds more motorists simply abandoned their vehicles by the side of the road as motorways and A-roads jammed up under just 5cm of snow in 24 hours.

Commenting on the chaos, a spokesman for city businesses said:

Making an emergency statement to the Scottish parliament, transport secretary, Stewart Stevenson, said he was ultimately responsible for the chaotic situation, and apologised to commuters for the closures and delays on many of Scotland's main routes.

Mr Stevenson said:

In a related development, teachers have criticised Glasgow City Council for insisting that they report for work despite all city schools being closed to pupils.

Speaking on behalf of teachers, an EIS spokeswoman said:


GG.

Photographs below show Glasgow during the latest cold spell.


GG.

I believe weather beaureaus[sorry cannot spell the word]shouldve been able to determine the conditions to a small degree and disaster plans must always be on a backburner too I think the councils let you all down Glasgow/scotland How come in the likes of America and Canada the councils have it all worked out for heavy snows etc etc how come theres no snow disaster plans that couldve been utelised immediately??????? they let you all down citizens tell them what they did to you all with out a shadow of a doubt you were all wronged by your councilmen& wimmen whom make the decisions at the top. As for poor teachers underpaid understaffed and have terrible things to be confronted with in todays wayward youths [not all kids but the usual minority, that can destroy a whole classrooms atmosphere Iam talking about]the very fact that it is too dangerous for kids to go to school it is even more dangerous for most teachers whom have to drive in or take the transports that were affected anyways so it is ludicrous to insist the teachers show up at the school thats wrongful and endangering to our teachers and the kids alike so leave them to stay at home and mark papers silly council school board! keep what precious teachers we have left HAPPY! for once! Iam sorry you al had to face this minie disaster but to have to rely upon a sleeping council for help is even more to pity you all for Hope you all get cleared up soon .Maybe buses etc can get chains on them in the snowy weather and cars too they do it in America and Canada why not in UK? sad and upset for you all that are affected by this snow storm.

I'm thinking on investing in a pair of ice skates! and Glasgow City Council you can whistle for your Council Tax just trying to get from A to B you are bliddy exhausted it's now taking double the time to go anywhere, you step off the icy pavement on to the slushy roads very dangerous.

Thanks for your thoughts Linda, it's like hell here, a cold hell!

Nae worries proudmaryhiller hen ahm so sorry fer yees awe back hame terrible cerry oan yees ur awe gaun through. [incidently My Da was a proud Maryhiller tae he was born there and stayed there tae he merrit ma mammy & eez wee maw got a hoose in Shannon street ? Ruchill] I hope the big Thaw doesn't dae too much damage either matey ahm feart yees wull awe go through terrible floodings and burst pipes etc hope yees breakthrough it awe.cheers frae sunny Australia heres a wee bitty sunshine fer ye hen.regards Lindamac x

My niece is a Nurse and one day she had to work a 24 hour shift, and another day a 16 hour shift because other staff could not get into the Hospital due to the weather conditions.

Today she could not get to work as there was no busses or trains running and she felt bad as she knows how understaffed the Hospital will be and the strain this will put on the staff who do manage to get into work.

We have had 180 cm of snow in 3 days .That 's as much snow as we got last winter now we pay this year back to normal. Our buses do not have chains as someone said but we had to take all buses of the road today to get the city cleaned up ,and give snow plough operators and machines a rest. So keep skating it will melt!

The reason the US and Canada do an excellent job of handling snow removal, is because weather such as that experienced in Glasgow this week is the norm here for 3-4 months every winter. Local councils budget for snow removal every year, and the sand and salt trucks and ploughs are out as soon as the first flakes hit the ground. In all the years I have been in Canada, (50 years) I can't remember the buses not running, even in the middle of the worst storm they are a welcome sight, albeit sometimes late. If this is to be the norm for Glasgow, then certainly better planning will be necessary to handle it, but snow removal does not come cheap. Must be that global warming.

An unusual event happened and has caused a lot of problems, why are we calling for heads to roll because of a series unusual incidents that have been caused by this single incident? If a volcano erupted would we be calling for heads to roll? Mother nature is our superior no matter who you are this is just another reminder of your place in the whole scale of things and for anybody to start the blame game is just nonsense they should just try to help the people who have been affected most.

I think it is great what the Canadians & Americans do to maintain safety for the snowy weather,I think it would be a good back burning idea for all councils worldwide that recieve snaow to have an emergency plan to activate should the unusual occur.
Just a wee question here thats all ,no malice or anything but, don't you think that there should be an emergency plan of procedures should the unusual happen?
naturaly the normal plans should always take effects immediately but why is there no plan for minie little disasters such as this ?for whom are we? to assume there will never be a weather disaster such as has happened, hence why I believe their should be plans to draw upon should the unusual occur even if it stays under mothballs and dustsheets from lack of use I reckon a council couldn't go far wrong to have such a plan at hand. I certainly hope they all learn from this & make a plan for any other unusual weather events.

In agreement with Southsider. Here in south eastern Ontario, as with many towns right across Canada, we are use to and prepared for heavy snowfalls. Plus, definately since 1998 when we were hit with a devastating ice storm, we now have extra emergency operations at the ready. In most provinces, chains have been banned, as have studded tyres, although with the latter some places still allow them. Most Canadians also have their own emergency supplies, especially in their motors. Some years ago, I had to be on the road late in the evening, many times travelling in a 100 mile radius of my home. In the boot I carried: flares, sand (or kitty litter), shovel, tights, extra anti-freeze and windshield wash. Inside my car I carried: 2 large tins (500g coffee tins are ideal), a doz. 1 inch diameter heavy duty candles, candy and breakfast bars, 2 arctic sleeping bags, 2 down filled pillows, plus made a flask of coffee and 1 of soup to take with me when I left home. I also always carried extra boots, wollen socks, hat which came down over the ears, and 2 pair of mittens (make sure the one pair will fit inside the other pair. You never know when any or all of the items might be needed. In the 8y I was travelling, I only once had to use most of the items carried inside the car. Unless it is in the middle of a snowstorm, with heavy drifting snow, stay in your car, but do not keep the motor running. In the case of heavy drifting snow, if you cannot get safely to a nearby house, try to keep car free of snow as much as possible. Open windows a little when buring the candles, as ventilation is a must. Car should heat up enough so snow is easily removed from windows.

On a Wednesday in February 1970, a short distance from our house on our way to the city, our car fishtailed, getting stuck in a mountainous snowbank. My newly arrived English husband wanted to stay with the car until the plow/sander came. I said no when I noticed the wind had picked up. Took my scarf and tied it around our 2y old's face, then got out and started walking back to our house. Husband soon followed. They dug our car out of 15 foot of snow the following Saturday. Alot of the snow had been blown off the snowbanks during a freak blizzard that blew in off Lake Ontario. At the time, we lived on the largest of the 1000 Islands that straddle the St Lawrence River & Lake Ontario.

We get ice storms all the time during January and February especially, but the one in 1998 was particularly bad and worse than any we'd had (in this area) since 1946. The one before that was back c1880. Most of us also learn at an early age the first signs of frostbite, not only with ourselves, but with others we may be with.

Most years, where I live, we are hoping for a white Christmas. It's been a few years since we've had 'tons' of snow! I've never known our buses to stop either, not even in the ice storm. They just kept off the streets where electric lines and trees were covering the roads. Oddly too, there was little complaining from residents ... everyone pitched to help in any way they could.

My one and only winter in Scotland, we had extremely little snow all winter, but around the 16th April 1968 we had 3-4 ft overnight in Rosyth. I had the yard stick out measuring in various places in our backgarden! More frightening for me were the winds of October or very early November 1967.

loved the pictures - but do they not have sleds or toboggans in Glasgow? Was looking for the kids enjoying the snow as they do here on the west coast of British Columbia when we get some rare snow days - only 1 snowman! Kids don't care about the cold and how great to get a day off school! June M. Vancouver Island, B.C.

Without wishing to be the voice of gloom & doom here but the melting of these snows are going to pose an even uglier problem than the actual snow, what with burst pipes , flooded/leaking roofs to homes etc theres more to come out of these heavy snows than just the harshness of the snow itself & the getting about from one place to another ,I feel theres going to be a lot of work to be done and not enough workers to do it as usual.I think the councils will have to get their skates on.

The storm was bad but here in Renfrewshire people still cant get a bus to work before 8am and the last bus from Paisley is 6pm so without your own transport work is a real problem. All schools are still closed and all waste and recycling services are still suspended. It just seems to be taking a long time to get things moving.

Helpfully, The Scotsman published a timeline of events as they unfolded:


And it's not over yet ...

Minus nine degrees in mid rush hour spells danger today
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Minus-ni...-mid.6654674.jp

The Sun reports that the army has been brought in as "hundreds of soldiers will take to the streets today to clear up the whiteout chaos" ...


Full story here:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/n...l#ixzz17bJ1ZcL2

i stay just outside of glasgow(north east)....i have been unable to leave the area since tuesday the 2nd of december.This could have been prevented everyone knew the snow was on its way.

Hi, whilst I agree this can be very annoying and hard for many people, its a natural event, hard to predict even in this day and age. Other countries that are more used to such downfalls can in some cases cope better, they usually have higher budgets to deal with these situations. I was born and brought up in Glasgow but have lived in the country side for years now. Here we just have to deal with situations like this by coping with them as best we can, last year we had no water, due to freezing temperatures for over two weeks. And we have also been more or less abandoned by snow drifts in the past. You just have to get on with things as best you can. I dont like to see my old city losing revenue as I still think highly of the old girl. But I think its a case of , if you want more done in situations like this you have to pay for it. Its the same with everything in this life, sorry if you dont realize that.

Glasgow City Council aren't too brilliant either......
EXAMPLE:
Up here in Nitshill/Priesthill we had had very, very little gritting on the slopes and hills that are catching out the cars.
Because of this the buses are not running, so OAP's and Disabled are effectively housebound.
Council policy is to prioritise routes for gritting to allow buses to travel.
Buses are under instruction NOT to try areas that are not gritted.
Because of the weather, gritters are having problems getting into the schemes.
Because there is no gritting, buses are not coming into the areas.
Because the buses are not coming into the area, there is no priority to grit heavily.........
And like a dog chasing its tail....we go around and around.........

Hi everybody re the weather I think it is scandalous we pensioners are stuck at home all because the council cant handle this, why not get the young ones signing on benefits to clear pathways for a bit more money, I'm sure they would be glad of a bit extra in their pockets and it would give them something to do. I watched a grit spreader the other day and I could have spat out more from my mouth also he never even attempted to come into our street which has never been touched since this all began. It seems Glasgow Council are only concerned with the 2014 games at the moment they should get their priorities right for once.

Had to laugh at your description of the gritters, Pedro. Last time ah ventured oot wis 13 days ago - ah went tae Aldi's supermarket jist roon the corner frae me. There wis a lorry wi a snowplough attachment on the front gaun roon the car park, wi two guys in the back throwin oot grit. No wi the normal shovels though - they were usin two wee scoops that held about a handful of grit - they wid hiv been as well usin teaspoons.

Naebody can blame the government for no bein able tae predict natural disasters - somebody mentioned volcanoes - but ye can blame them fur no bein properly equipped an prepared fur tacklin them when they dae happen. Prolonged heavy snowfalls and freezin temperatures might no be an annual event in Scotland nooadays, but the possibility is always there. (Unlike volcanoes eruptin. ) We've had many severe winters over the last 50 years, so it isnae as if such weather is unknown in Scotland, and contingency plans should have been drawn up long ago tae deal with such a possibility.

The Minister responsible in Scotland admits his responsibility, but shrugs off calls for his resignation by citing "exceptional circumstances". That's whit he's there for - tae deal effectively wi "exceptional circumstances" when they arise, an if he cannae dae it, then he should move on and give the task over tae somebody who can.

Over 24 yrs ago we as a family were all involved with snow clearing as although my husband was in the forefront we at home had to take the phone calls from the weather person .....with the added wrist slapped if it went wrong.
Now with most things contracted out the councils have to trust that their orders will be carried out AND if you want a gritter at every road end YOU have to pay for it

Some of thesew chaps out gritting are doing end to end shifts without even a thankk you Oh yes they do get paid but would YOU do that job ? My DH had a hearty attack and was still giving out orders when the roadmen came to the door

WE NEED MORE INVESTMENT

this is all the traffic that got stuck in hawthorne st at springburn , the pic is a bit blurred but thas because of the snow

Hi People
I'm still wating on the plumber to sort my outside tap...this will b the 3rd time it has burst...and looks like I'm not the only one in my avenue, over from me a huge burst pipe is spouting water onto the drive...as if the road was'nt slidy enough! OHhhh! when is it going to end?????

I travelled into Glasgow last night to see my daughter off on a train to Manchester, which left on time. I then went to Argyle Street station for a train back home. After waiting for 90 minutes on the platform with my train coming up on the noticeboard and then dropping off after it was due I went to speak to the staff upstairs. They informed me not to go by anything on the noticeboard which begs me to wonder why they weren't turned off rather than displaying unhelpful information. He told me there hadn't been a train to my destination for 3 hours and none that he could see in service. I walked along Argyle Street and there were no workmen gritting the pavements which were precarious. I phoned my husband who drove in to get me and we decided to wait another hour in town to pick my daughter up from her work, as she would be faced with the same transport problems. We travelled out the M8 motorway at 9.45pm and I can't explain what a terrifying experience it was. Every lane was thick with ice and rutted. It was so dangerous.I didn't pass one gritting lorry. The truck in front of me was constantly losing control. The overheads were flashing 30mph but anything above 10mph would have been foolhardy.

This is the motorway, not a B road or a side road and it was not safe. Okay on Monday it was taking us 12 hours for a 25 minutes journey home from work.Not pleasant but understandable. We had no fresh snow for the last two days although temperatures were -13 degrees. I've spoken up for the Council's handling of this adverse situation but after the experience of last night I feel quite differently.

Just spoke with my daughter who is a nurse in Glasgow and is having problems getting to work. When I lived in Connecticut we had lists of people with 4 wheel drives who would transport nurses, firemen and police during winter snow storms. We used chains until roads were plowed clear.
Now that I live in Florida I wouldn't mind a little snow.Today it is 65 degrees and sunny,people are out with coats and gloves and complaining of the "cold" Little dae they ken......

Let it snow Let it snow!

But not in richmond virginia or coverage area of Central virginia.

One inch of snow in these localities cripples us Southerners.

Seems, we can't drive at all and the best thing to do is settle in with ole Johnny Walker Black and ride it out.

Given the amount of snow you received Richmond would be non-functionable for weeks if not months.

Hang in there folks.

Jerry

It seems that Edinburgh punters who abandoned their cars in the snow are now to be fined, according to the BBC News website. They will either be given a parking ticket or towed away - and presumably made to pay for it. So, it's a double whammy for anyone unfortunate enough to have got stuck in the snow because Edinburgh council didn't keep the roads clear.

Benny, that's not good news at all but thanks for letting us know. on the subject of Edinburgh, there's a good cartoon about the chaos in The Scotsman today ... I'll see if I can get it online in a moment.

Back to the chaos in Glasgow. I've just been able to retrieve some of the photos I took on Monday – when the rush-hour snow downpour caused mayhem. Looking back on it, it was quite surreal. A taxi driver compared it to me tonight as a scene from the film 'The Day After Tomorrow'. I wouldn't quite go that far, however, Petershill Road was complete chaos and bewilderment! And playing golf at Littlehill was out of the question, second photo!

GG.

I completely agree with ye Benny man you're talking sense all the way here.Simularly to what ive spoken above re a contingency plan, no matter how long a plan stays in mothballs always better to have it than not have it .It is crazy to take a silly teaspoon tae huge punch bowl of Broth yeel be there awe day every day till it is done so to speak lol I like what you have said Thanks mate for your good sense.

PS Thanks for the pictures GG it looks like utter caos for you all my heart goes out to all affected by this mess.

I truly am aghast at your weather conditions when I am suffering a heat stroke at the moment with all liklihood of becoming worse over the next few months. No need for ploughs out here for I can truthfully add i have NEVER in 64 years, ever seen snow!

Naw, but ye get aw thae nasty poisonous spiders an snakes, Rob.

They reckon coldest December for a hundred years. Towns closed down, traffic abandoned. chaos across the whole country and the big freeze hammered us from tip to toe. Auld people freezing to death in their beds and in the street. Food shortages, fuel crisis as transport frozen oot of large swathes of the country.

No a lot of good so far fae this 'Global Warming.'

This Stewart Stevenson, the SNP's Transport and Infrastructure Minister deserved a good stiff kick in the haw maws. On TV on Monday night he claimed his department's response had been "first class" and refused to apologise for the lack of pre-planning and handling of the developing crisis. Next morning (presumably after Shrek Salmond had administered the said kick in the haw maws) he was full of apologies for not getting it right.
So, he either knew the situation and was lying on Monday night or he didn't know, which was basically incompetence on the part of a supposed minister in charge.
He also tried to blame the forecasters, which was wrong of him and it now appears from today's papers that he ignored significant recommendations that landed on his desk in August and based on the difficulties that last year's weather posed for us.
Where do they get these eejits? Is it too much to expect that we could have somebody who actually knows what they are doing in charge of various government departments?
On Monday it took me 5 hours to complete a journey that normally takes 35-40 minutes and I was comparitively lucky compared to many people. In that period I saw many a vehicle fitted with a plough but not one was actually ploughing - they were all up off the ground - and I travelled over many roads and doubt if a single one had been gritted in th eprevious 25 hours.
Of course the weather was worse than what we would normally expect to see but after last winter's experience we could have expected that gritters would be mobilised as soon as the forecast tells us to expect adverse conditions and ploughs to be applied in the manner they are in other countries who often get it far worse than we do.
I predicted that as soon as the thaw started we would not get moving for gritters and ploughs and that's what's now happening.

It was on the STV news yesterday and in todays Evening Times that people were being charged £150 to reclaim the cars they abandoned in the snow, because Central Scotland Police uplifted them when the roads were being cleared.

Traffic Wardens are also putting 'tickets' on abandoned cars.

What exactly were the authorities expecting drivers to do? Stick with their cars in freezing conditions till they (the authorities) decided to eventually get their fingers out their arse and clear the snow? Seems like a bit of a double whammy to not provide clear roads for the public then hit them again with a fine for not being able to get their cars clear.

It's a disgrace treating the motorists like that considering the dreadful weather we have had to suffer.

Hi Heather,

As you said, it appears that Central Scotland Police involved in this. Here's an official statement put out by the force explaining their procedures:


As for the police in Glasgow, Strathclyde Police:


GG.

In Glasgow city centre today, where the conditions were still treacherous in places, probably THE worst spot was the footpath on the Cathedral Street bridge, used by thousands of people of all ages every day. Conditions were just appalling, with wet ice on solid snow – no gritting.

After struggling over the footpath it was 'comforting' to see two council litter wardens (tourist guides) hiding behind stationary traffic waiting to pounce on the customers of a nearby fast-food outlet, should they drop any litter!

GG.

Do they still put salt on the roads?

As for the pimpernel litter officers, great xmas spirit the council have.

If only I was young again i would be off to pastures new this great Britain aint so great any more, seems all this government can think about is lining their own pockets .To fine the motorists is an absolute disgrace. but then who voted them in? the people with money to spare of course, back to the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, nothing changes with the tories.

A few observations.
1. Why do people accept everything they read in the 'news'papers at face value.
2. You can't have it both ways. The roads must be kept unobstructed for obvious reasons - would you like to drive into an unlit abandoned vehicle on a motorway?. One can accept that vehicles had to be removed once the roads were cleared - how else could the roads/motorways be re-opened as safe? This is not to say that motorists were actually charged for their cars removal. I would be happy to stand corrected if they were.
3. I would gladly welcome some litter wardens where I live! If you want your city to look like a slum, fair enough.
4. In the old days, premises owners would clear the pavements outside their property - why not now?
5. Lack of pavement gritting is simply a disgrace in a modern city.

So, just because its Christmas we can all go out and litter the streets, break laws and commit anti-social offences? I am astonished at this comment.

Any such leniency by the authorities - and I am strongly agin - should be available to people of all creeds, Christian festival or no.

Ok the UK and in particular Scotland has not dealt well with the events of this week...I was stuck in Edinburgh for a few days ,eventually got back to Glasgow...just had to walk everywhere cos buses did not run and when they did you could not get on...no big deal for me,ano for the older generation it musta been bad...a would see pensioners slip sliding past at 8am....eh why you out if you don't have to be!If I coud have been home I would have been......Been probably the coldest week I have ever experienced but man it brought out the best in loadsa people....so many laughs with people at bus stops and that..slipped on my arse a few times,still got the bruises...and gave a few people a laugh..yeh its been bad but we dealt with it....must admit I think our politicians have been pathetic...squirming around trying to justify why they failed to admit there was a problem.....
In the old days, premises owners would clear the pavements outside their property - why not now?loved this comment when a saw the minister responsible for these things being interviewed..as part of the big society we should all be doing this ..presenter said eh...if you do that and someone slips,you can be sued....minister virtually froze.eh! em! oh! ah!..thats a sad reflection on our society today....who brought in the laws.....

If we cleared the snow from in front of our house then the surface would have turned ice as there is no grit to put on the pavement.

Some of our neighbours when digging out their cars, made it worse for the pedestrians by heaping the snow against the pavement. Some even heaped it across the pavement making it impossible to get passed and we had to wade through the mountain of snow packed against the pavement.

Out here everyone is held responsible for clearing public paths around or in front of their houses or shop fronts.
All supermarkets sell "Salt" or "Grit" for an average €1.90 per 10 kilo bag (usually start stalking up before December.)
Snow clearance is pflicht (duty-bound) with no exceptions.

I agree with what has been said in regard to the States and Canada, those countries who experience snow always at certain times of the year know what to expect and approximately when.

Here in Scotland and the UK in general, we may get expected snow up in the mountains but not all over the country which is why we were taken by surprise and not fully equipped to deal with a heavy and prolonged snow fall.

Having said that, perhaps our weather pattern is changing, because I'm sure you'll all remember this happened last year too, or was it just after New Year this year I can't remember, but we were caught out by it then too.

I must admit I'm one of those people who think it would be lovely to wake up on Christmas morning to snow falling and lying on the ground just to complete the Christmas atmosphere. When I was a wee girl, I remember white Christmases happening. In fact, I remember one in which my dad was unwell on Christmas morning and the doctor coming to the house in his pj's with an overcoat of course, but what has stuck with me is that the doctor walked to our house from his that morning. It's a memory which has stayed with me all of these years, and I must have been only around 4 years old at the time.

May I just add to my comments on pavements - it was commendable of all the 6 doctors in our local surgery, who got out shovels and salt and cleared not only the car-park and entries but also the pavement outside their premises one day last week. Thats caring for people!
As for the myth that you would/could be sued if someone slipped and fell on the area you had cleared. Absolutely preposterous! More likely you would be sued if you hadn't!

1. If we cleared the snow from in front of our house then the surface would have turned ice as there is no grit to put on the pavement.
Heather, I buy and use salt - no problem.
2. Some of our neighbours when digging out their cars, made it worse for the pedestrians by heaping the snow against the pavement. Some even heaped it across the pavement making it impossible to get passed and we had to wade through the mountain of snow packed against the pavement.
Heather, there is nothing you can do about stupid neighbours!
My son lives in a small close (a close in England is a cul-de-sac!) There is a small bay for six residents cars to be parked parallel to the kerb. The first resident dug out his car and dumped the snow behind Richards car then drove off to work. You may imagine the dialogue that evening!!