Aberdeenshire winter weather updates

 

Update Friday, January 9 - 5pm

We have two Met Office yellow warnings for snow and ice – the first in place today until around 3pm tomorrow (Sat) bringing scattered showers in from the North Sea – with 2-5cm accumulations widely expected and 10-15cm above 300m. 

The second warning runs from 2am on Sunday until around 3pm Sunday and is expected to bring more significant snowfall coming in on the back of strong winds from the west – with the potential to turn to sleet or rain nearer coastlines. 

Flooding potential

As we move into Monday, we will see a rise in temperature which will bring snow melt and the potential for localised flooding. 

Snow melt following a period of hard frost and deep snow such as we’ve experienced can create hazardous conditions on the roads network and because snow cover insulates the ground, gullies and surface drains often remain frozen or sluggish, meaning that meltwater cannot drain away as it normally would once temperatures rise. 

This can lead to widespread surface water pooling on roadways and pavements, sometimes in unexpected places, increasing the risk of aquaplaning and loss of vehicle control for drivers and slippery conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. We would urge road users to take extra care throughout the thaw.

Following the recent significant snowfall across Aberdeenshire, rising temperatures will start to cause snowmelt. This greatly increases the risk of flooding, particularly near rivers, burns, low-lying ground and areas with poor drainage. Meltwater can build quickly and overwhelm watercourses, drains and culverts, leading to sudden flooding of roads, farmland and property.

Please don’t underestimate the speed or impact of snowmelt flooding as once it begins, it may be too late to protect homes and businesses.

Now is the time to act - property owners are responsible for the protection of their own property, and early action is essential to reduce the risk of damage.

Communities must start to take precautionary action now - households and businesses should be taking immediate steps to make arrangements for flood protection to safeguard their own property from any flooding.

If you live in a known flooding area, please ensure you sign-up now for alerts from SEPA call the Floodline on 0345 9881188 or visit http://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/  

For your safety and the safety of others, we also ask that you remain alert to the conditions and do not enter into floodwater. Can parents, guardians and carers please talk to children and young people about the dangers of playing in floodwater and the importance of staying away from flooded areas.

Roads

Since the start of the week – and in particular since the declaration of a major incident –  substantial additional resources have been brought in to support Aberdeenshire Council’s established Winter Maintenance Operation Plan.

Today, our roads crews supported by contracted farmers and contractors have treated 1,000 miles of the Primary network since early morning ahead of the sub-zero overnight temperatures and refreezing. The Primary network is currently fully open and functioning although there are some limited areas where the road width is not 100% but these are being worked on, such as on the A95 and A93. Every settlement of population 20 or more has been reconnected to the road network. 

Mid-morning we were able to reallocate 32 frontline gritters to return to minor road and link roads within settlements as we continue to significantly improve local connectivity.

Snow blowers and large ploughs were clearing drifts in minor roads - such as in Lumphanan area and around Cushnie - contractor plant, such as JCBs, slew diggers and loading shovels were removing snow from town streets and residential area across the shire. 

In some areas the volume of snow is such that it cannot be ploughed and left in place, so additional work is being done to load and remove snow from the town, for example in Alford and Gardenstown and many other locations. 

Work is starting in some locations on main footways, with the support from colleagues in our Landscape Services. In some locations this requires mechanical removal. 

Going forward the focus on teams is on improving the level of connectivity and that will involve digging out and removing snow due to depth and the limitations of streets to hold it. 

However, we are aware that some settlements are still impacted by deep snow and Teams are prioritising work in the areas that are still badly affected, places such as Rhynie and Insch. 

There is still much to do to return the condition of the network to ‘normal’ but significant progress has been made in ensuring that a level of connectivity has been established for the vast majority of settlements across Aberdeenshire. 

To assist with our level of understanding of conditions in each and every road/street in Aberdeenshire our portal allowing residents to upload a photo of the current condition at their location is already proving incredibly helpful updates. This crowd-sourced data is already helping our teams direct resources where they are most needed over the next few days. 

Residents can submit up to five photos of local conditions via the council website as follows:

•    Visit http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/snowimages  
•    Select your location by zooming into the map and clicking once
•    Once you have found your location, click ‘Next’
•    Adjust the time and date the photos were taken if necessary
•    Upload your photos

No personal data is gathered through the system, and images will not be shared publicly, but they will be very helpful to roads teams as work to reopen local roads continues. Thanks in advance for your help.  

Weekend contact

Over the weekend, Aberdeenshire Council’s contact centre will remain open from 9am to 5pm, for urgent issues. If you are in a crisis due to the continued weather conditions and have no alternative support, you can contact us on 0345 608 1208

Emergency contacts

Out of hours emergency contacts will remain active as usual over the weekend as follows: 

•    Housing repairs: 0345 08 12 03 
•    Issues with other buildings (such as town halls, schools, libraries, public toilets, or leisure centres): 0800 954 3576 
•    Homelessness: 03456 08 12 06 
•    Social care: 03456 08 12 06 

Details for contacting the council with routine and non-urgent enquiries can be found at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/contact-us/contact-customer-services  

Waste and Recycling

The following household recycling centres were open today and will be opened – weather-dependent – over the weekend: Alford, Banchory, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Laurencekirk, Macduff, Peterhead, Portlethen, Stonehaven, Turriff, (Portsoy for its added day) and Westhill.

Additional openings
These extra sessions are intended for those who are safely able to travel given the current snow conditions. Please check your local roads and only visit if it is safe to do so. 

To help residents manage extra waste and recycling during this adverse weather event, Alford household recycling centre will be open for an additional two days next week: 
Tuesday (Jan 13) and Wednesday (Jan 14), times as follows:

•    9am to 12noon 
•    12noon to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only 
•    12.30pm to 1pm - closed  
•    1pm to 4.30pm 

Insch household recycling centre will be open for an extra day on Monday (Jan 12), times as follows:

•    9am to 12noon 
•    12noon to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only 
•    12.30pm to 1pm - closed  
•    1pm to 4.30pm 

Portsoy household recycling centre will be open for an additional day on Sunday to help residents manage extra waste and recycling:

•    Saturday 10 Jan (normal opening)  
•    Sunday 11 Jan (added opening)  

Opening hours  
•    9am to 12pm  
•    12pm to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only  
•    12.30pm to 1pm - closed  
•    1pm to 4.30pm

Schools

Aberdeenshire Council continues to revert to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do. With the continued weather-related impacts, however, we anticipate this will be a limited number. You can also view the latest decisions on our website at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures  
Please note the website will clear at 4pm each day with information for the following day. 

General advice

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice 

 
To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes   

Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice:

•    MET OFFICE: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/   
•    SEPA: https://www.sepa.org.uk/   
•    SSEN: https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack 

General advice for road users remains:   

❄️ Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel    
❄️ All road users should consider if they really need to travel during adverse weather.    
❄️ Consider delaying travel until conditions improve    
❄️ If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions    
❄️ Ensure your mobile phone is charged and plan your journey, including an alternative route    
❄️ Have sufficient fuel, warm clothing, food and water in case you’re delayed  

 

Update Friday, January 9, 1pm

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is currently in place until 3pm on Sunday (January 11).

This is expected to bring further snowfall and there will be a widespread risk of ice.

Schools

As of today (Friday) Aberdeenshire Council continues to revert to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do. With the continued weather-related impacts, however, we anticipate this will be a limited number.

Headteacher decisions will be based on a range of factors impacting our schools’ ability to operate safely. This includes the ongoing weather warning and related impacts on the road network, staff and pupil travel and school facilities.

You can also view the latest decisions on our website at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures

Please note the website will clear at 4pm each day with information for the following day. 

Roads

Our roads teams supported by contracted farmers, contractors, support agencies and volunteers continue to focus on keeping roads clear and increase our push into towns and onto minor routes and local trunk roads to aid connectivity within our communities.

Gritters are back on primary routes this morning and will switch to secondary routes. Crews will be out again this evening, overnight, and again tomorrow morning.

Issues with roads across the network can be logged to enable us to prioritise our operations at: https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other%20(Winter%20Maintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed 

As winter maintenance teams continue to work towards restoring connectivity across Aberdeenshire’s road network, residents are being invited to submit photos to support these efforts.

With more than 3,500 miles of roads and streets across the area, it is challenging to assess the severity of the snow in all parts of Aberdeenshire.  

As such, the photos will help the roads teams build a detailed picture of challenges in smaller communities and residential streets and, when combined with local weather information and other data, will aid programming of activities over the coming days.

Residents can submit up to five photos of local conditions via the council website as follows:

·       Visit http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/snowimages

·       Select your location by zooming into the map and clicking once

·       Once you have found your location, click ‘Next’

·       Adjust the time and date the photos were taken if necessary

·       Upload your photos

No personal data is gathered through the system, and images will not be shared publicly, but they will be very helpful to roads teams as work to reopen local roads continues.

Thanks in advance for your help.  

Waste and Recycling

Scheduled collections will be attempted in Banff, Macduff, St Cyrus, Stonehaven.

At short notice, resource became available for an ad hoc catchup of some general waste bins (black lid) in Stonehaven this morning.

If your area isn’t listed in our morning update, please assume your collection is not taking place and, if possible, take your bin back in.

As conditions improve, we will look at a larger scale catchup of collections missed - in addition to anything ad hoc - along with our staff and vehicle resources to determine where it is practicably possible to return for bins.

Details of this will be shared in due course on the Recycling and Waste page https://www.facebook.com/AberdeenshireWaste and our website.  

There will be a prolonged period of significant impacts on the back of this weather event, and we appreciate the fantastic responses and support of our staff so far and your continued patience and understanding.

To ensure the safety of our collection crews and your property, we must assess conditions in real-time every morning on a day-to-day basis. As such, we can only confirm which scheduled routes are being attempted on the morning of their scheduled collection day. 

Snow clearing efforts by our staff has allowed us to open household recycling centres in Alford, Banchory, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Laurencekirk, Macduff, Peterhead, Portlethen, Stonehaven, Turriff, (Portsoy for its added day), and Westhill.

Portsoy household recycling centre will be open for two additional days this week to help residents manage extra waste and recycling during this adverse weather event. 

• Today, Friday 9 Jan (added opening)  
• Saturday 10 Jan (normal opening)  
• Sunday 11 Jan (added opening)  

Opening hours  

• 9am to 12pm  
• 12pm to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only  
• 12.30pm to 1pm - closed  
• 1pm to 4.30pm

We are also delaying the start of bulky collections for the year by a couple of weeks to redeploy that resource elsewhere. 

Emergency contacts

Out of hours emergency contacts will remain active as usual over the weekend as follows:

• Housing repairs: 0345 08 12 03
• Issues with other buildings (such as town halls, schools, libraries, public toilets, or leisure centres): 0800 954 3576
• Homelessness: 03456 08 12 06
• Social care: 03456 08 12 06

Additional staff will be on duty this weekend to signpost support for urgent issues. Please call 03456 08 12 08 but note general enquiries cannot be dealt with out of hours.

Details for contacting the council with routine and non-urgent enquiries can be found at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/contact-us/contact-customer-services

General advice 

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice  

To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes      

Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice: 

•    MET OFFICE: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ opens in a new tab      
•    SEPA: https://www.sepa.org.uk/ opens in a new tab   
•    SSEN: https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack opens in a new tab  

Winter weather update 8.1.26 - 6pm

Earlier today, the Met Office issued a Yellow Weather Warning for snow and ice from 8pm tonight (Thu, Jan 8) until around noon tomorrow (Fri, Jan 9).

Conditions are expected to remain largely dry with clear periods for much of the evening and overnight, although a few snow showers are possible, particularly in eastern areas.

Roads  

All primary routes across Aberdeenshire are being treated this evening (Thu) and again tomorrow morning, as well as priority footways.  

The primary treatment network consists mainly of ‘A’ class and other busy roads linking our communities. This network is made up of 32 different gritting routes, operating from 14 council depots located throughout Aberdeenshire and covers approximately 30% of our total road network. 

Issues with roads across the network can be logged to enable us to prioritise our operations at: https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other%20(Winter%20Maintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed 

Schools 

Aberdeenshire Council has reverted to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do, although we anticipate this will be a limited number for the rest of the week. 

Headteacher decisions will be based on a range of factors impacting our schools’ ability to operate safely. This includes the ongoing weather warning and related impacts on the road network, staff and pupil travel and school facilities. 

School closures and transport changes are updated daily from 4pm on our website at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures 

Recycling and Waste 

We are still looking at a prolonged period of significant impacts on the back of this weather event, and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding. It will take time and great effort for our dedicated staff to return bin collections to business as usual.  

To ensure the safety of our collection crews and your property, we must assess conditions in real-time every morning on a day-to-day basis. As such, we can only confirm which scheduled routes are being attempted on the morning of their scheduled collection day.  

As conditions improve, we will look at the collections missed along with our staff and vehicle resources to determine where it is practicably possible to return for bins. Details of this will be shared in due course on this page and our website.  

Portsoy household recycling centre will be open for two additional days this week to help residents manage extra waste and recycling during this adverse weather event.  

Friday 9 Jan (added opening)   

Saturday 10 Jan (normal opening)   

Sunday 11 Jan (added opening)   

Opening hours   

9am to 12pm   

12pm to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only   

12.30pm to 1pm - closed   

1pm to 4.30pm   

These extra days are intended for those who are safely able to travel given the current snow conditions. Please check your local roads and only visit if it is safe to do so.  

 Yesterday, members of our waste and recycling team continued to be redeployed to help the Roads team as well as support the more vulnerable in our local communities.  

Further care homes and sheltered housing complexes were supported in being cleared for access, including Garioch’s Kinkell House, Overburn House, Market Muir Court, Urybank, Pleyfauld, Wyverie Court, Fechnie Brae, Nether Davah House, Airlie House, Hawthorn House, Provost Lawrence Court, and Littlewood Court; and Ellon’s Modley House, Ythanvale Care Home, Slater Court, Meadowvale, Auchtercrag House, and Bonnyton House.   

Vaccination Clinics 

Banchory, Garioch, Peterhead and Stonehaven Vaccination Centres will be open tomorrow (Fri, Jan 9) from 09.15-15:00. 

Huntly Vaccination Centre will be running a Childhood Immunisation Clinic only. 

Fraserburgh, Huntly and Macduff Centres will be closed and we will be contacting people to re-schedule appointments. 

The Shingles/Pneumococcal clinic being held at Turriff Hospital has been cancelled and our team will be in contact with these patients to reschedule. 

Our GP practices are working hard to provide as many services and appointments as they are able. Practices have moved many appointments to telephone or online to make sure that people who need care get it. 

Community Pharmacies are working to ensure continuity of care and Pharmacy First services are operating. Some pharmacies may need to adapt opening hours so please keep an eye out for updates locally. 

Our amazing Community Nursing, Home Care and ARCH teams have been going above and beyond to ensure that people get the care and support they need. 

Across our Care Homes, Community Hospitals, Very Sheltered Housing Complexes and Learning Disability Residential services, staff have been going above and beyond and have been staying onsite to make sure residents and patients get the care they need. 

Special mention to our prison and custody healthcare teams who have been staying locally so that they are able to get into work! 

Across our Allied Health Professionals, Social Workers, and everyone else in the Partnership, we have been completely blown away by everyone's willingness to be flexible and work in places and services that they wouldn't normally. 

Finally, a huge thank you to all the Council staff, farmers, contractors, and volunteers that have been out clearing roads and care parks to support all what we need to do. 

Useful council contacts 

For out of hours, evenings and weekends view our emergency contact numbers 

Please phone the appropriate number for your query. The lines are open from 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Calls to these numbers are charged at local call rates. Please confirm with your own provider for specific call charge. 

Automated Telephone Payment: 0300 456 0634 

Benefits: 03456 08 12 00 

Council Tax, Business Rates and Payments Due: 03456 08 12 01 

Education: 03456 08 12 02 

Housing: 03456 08 12 03 

Planning and Building Standards: 03456 08 12 04 

Roads, Parks, and Open Spaces: 03456 08 12 05 

Social Care: 03456 08 12 06 

General advice 

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice  

To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes      

Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice: 

•    MET OFFICE: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/      
•    SEPA: https://www.sepa.org.uk/   
•    SSEN: https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack  

 

General advice for road users remains:    

Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel    

All road users should consider if they really need to travel during adverse weather    

Consider delaying travel until conditions improve 

If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions 

Ensure your mobile phone is charged and plan your journey, including an alternative route 

Have sufficient fuel, warm clothing, food, and water in case you’re delayed   

 

Winter weather update 8.1.26 - 12noon

The Met Office has extended its Yellow Weather Warning for snow and ice from 8pm tonight (Thurs) till around noon tomorrow (Fri). Wintry showers will be bringing patchy ice and some fresh snow accumulations. We also expect further scattered showers leading further into the weekend and the region will face sub-zero temperatures over the coming days which will create further icy conditions.

Roads

We faced more significant snowfall last night – 3-6 inches snowfall reported widely – the north-east coast and north Marr areas being particularly impacted.

Our crews report that our primary network took a fair hit from those snow levels after a strong clearing effort again yesterday. We’re back out in force this morning but our focus on the vital primary routes may impact other route treatment so please bear with us.

Some of the equipment we received through mutual aid from other councils and AMEY such as snow blower and ploughs is much larger kit which is allowing us to reallocate our own smaller equipment into communities which is really starting to help in the clearing process. 

We currently have 150 ploughs available to us through our very robust Winter Maintenance Plan. We have 120 farmer ploughs contracted to carry out ploughing on specific routes and we also have 30 contractor ploughs that are larger tractors with ploughs – and these can be farmers or agricultural contracting companies.  

During events like this we then bring in additional resources from a wider contractor base – be that farmers, agricultural contractors or road maintenance contractors – and during this event we have pulled in over 50 additional piece of equipment via this route. So when we talk about bringing in additional support, that’s over and above the 150 ploughs we have pre-planned within the Winter Maintenance Plan.

While we continue to have good levels of salt in our various depots, as part of our strategy we arrange for regular top-ups and one such delivery of an additional 4,000 tonnes arrived in the Port of Aberdeen yesterday.

A reminder that you can log issues with roads across the network which will enable us toi prioritise our operations at https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other%20(Winter%20Maintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed  

Schools

All schools and Early Learning Centres remain closed today. Aberdeenshire Council has reverted to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do - although we anticipate this will be a limited number for the rest of the week.

Headteacher decisions will be based on a range of factors impacting our schools’ ability to operate safely. This includes the ongoing weather warning and related impacts on the road network, staff and pupil travel and school facilities.

Waste Services

We are still looking at a prolonged period of significant impacts on the back of this weather event, and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding. It will take time and great effort for our dedicated staff to return bin collections to business as usual. 

To ensure the safety of our collection crews and your property, we must assess conditions in real-time every morning on a day-to-day basis. As such, we can only confirm which scheduled routes are being serviced on the morning of their collection day. 

Today (Thurs), scheduled collections will be attempted in Aberchirder, Banff, Fraserburgh, Ladysbridge, Longside, and Peterhead. 

If your area isn’t listed in our morning update, please assume your collection is not taking place and, if possible, take your bin back in.

As conditions improve, we will look at the collections missed along with our staff and vehicle resources to determine where it is practicably possible to return for bins. Details of this will be shared in due course on this page and our website.  

As a result of snow clearing efforts by our staff, Banchory, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Inverurie, Laurencekirk, Macduff, Peterhead, Portlethen, and Westhill household recycling centres are all open. 

Opening at around 10am were Huntly, Stonehaven, and Turriff household recycling centres. Street cleansing staff are attempting to clear some of the litter bins around Ballater, Aboyne, and Banchory.

Portsoy recycling centre additional opening days
 
To help residents manage extra waste and recycling during this adverse weather event, Portsoy household recycling centre will be open for two additional days this week:
•    Friday, 9 Jan (Added Opening)
•    Saturday, 10 Jan (Normal Opening)
•    Sunday, 11 Jan (Added Opening)
Opening hours
•    9am to 12pm
•    12pm to 12.30pm - pedestrian access only
•    12.30pm to 1pm - closed
•    1pm to 4.30pm 
These extra sessions are intended for those who are safely able to travel given the current snow conditions. Please check your local roads and only visit if it is safe to do so.

Yesterday, members of our waste and recycling team continued to be redeployed to help the Roads team as well as support the more vulnerable in our local communities.  

Further care homes were supported in being cleared for access included Garioch’s Kinkell House, Overburn, Market Muir, Urybank, Playfaulds, Wyverie Court, Fechnie Brae, Nether Daah, Airlie House, Hawthorn House, Provost Lawrence, and Littlewood Court; and Ellon’s Modley House home, Yanthanvale care home, Slater court home, Meadow vale, Auchtercrag house, and Bonnyton house. 

Burials

Our Landscape teams will be undertaking some lair preparations across the weekend so we can continue to provide burial services next week. Once again we do appreciate the understanding of families where there have been delays in providing this service during the weather impact. 

Health and Social Care

All main vaccination centres in Aberdeenshire with exception of Huntly are open today (Thurs) from 0845-1600 we would also urge caution in attending these clinics as surroundings road and car park conditions may be tricky.
Those clinics which usually open later on a Thursday - Stonehaven, Garioch and Banchory will contact those booked in after 1600 and reschedule/bring appointments forward.

Please be aware that car parking and pavement conditions on and around our sites may be impacted by snow and ice. If patients wish to reschedule, please contact 01224 555333.

The Shingles/Pneumococcal clinic due to be held at the Maud Resource Centre has been cancelled due to the car park conditions, our team will be in contact with these patients to reschedule.

Please be aware that staffing will be limited and we would ask for your patience as our teams work to get you seen.

Service Points

Inverurie Service Point will remain on reduced opening hours today (Thurs) from 10am – 4pm.

Power

Three power outages were reported in the early hours of this morning in Dunecht, Berefold near Ellon and just north of Mintlaw which are being responded to quickly by SSEN engineers.

 

General advice

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice   
To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes   
Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice:

•    MET OFFICE: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/   
•    SEPA: https://www.sepa.org.uk/   
•    SSEN: https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack 

General advice for road users remains:   

Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel    
All road users should consider if they really need to travel during adverse weather.    
Consider delaying travel until conditions improve    
If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions    
Ensure your mobile phone is charged and plan your journey, including an alternative route    
Have sufficient fuel, warm clothing, food and water in case you’re delayed  

 

UPDATE: Wednesday, January 7 - 5.30pm

A reminder that a YELLOW weather warning for snow and ice remains in place until midday tomorrow (Thurs) with further snow and ice likely to bring further disruption this evening and overnight. 

While there are currently no weather warnings thereafter for the rest of the week, overnight temperatures are expected to continue to drop significantly, which may lead to icy conditions in areas which have seen some thaw during the day. 

Roads

Our roads teams have again been making good progress across Aberdeenshire today – albeit some routes are proving challenging with wind causing further drifting which we continue to tackle. 

A wide range of additional kit, including mutual aid equipment from AMEY and other councils has been deployed across region where it is most needed – this includes both big kit such as snow blowers and smaller equipment such as pavement clearers which is really helping us.

Primary routes are clear – with exception of snow routes – main connecting routes between settlements are passable with care but perhaps not to full width. 

Crews are also making good inroads into clearing smaller blocked routes where they have been logged with us and we’re pro-actively identifying additional cut-off areas as a matter of priority.

A reminder that you can see a map pf known issues and log others on our https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other%20(Winter%20Maintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed

Schools

A reminder that Aberdeenshire Council has reverted to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do - although we anticipate this will be a limited number.

We do already have a large number of schools confirming closures or partial closures tomorrow - https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures  

Headteacher decisions will be based on a range of factors impacting our schools’ ability to operate safely. This includes the ongoing weather warning and related impacts on the road network, staff and pupil travel and school facilities.

Health and Social Care

All main vaccination centres in Aberdeenshire, except Huntly, will be open on Thursday 8th January from 0845-1600.
Those clinics which usually open later on a Thursday - Stonehaven, Garioch and Banchory will contact those booked in after 1600 and reschedule/bring appointments forward
Please be aware that car parking and pavement conditions on and around our sites may be impacted by snow and ice.
If patients wish to reschedule, please contact 01224 555333.
The Shingles/Pneumococcal clinic due to be held at the Maud Resource Centre has been cancelled due to the car park conditions, our team will be in contact with these patients to reschedule.
Please be aware that staffing will be limited and we would ask for your patience as our teams work to get you seen.

Service Points

Inverurie Service Point will remain on reduced opening hours tomorrow (08/01) from 10am – 4pm.

Useful council contacts

For out of hours, evenings and weekends view our emergency contact numbers

Please phone the appropriate number for your query. The lines are open from 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Calls to these numbers are charged at local call rates. Please confirm with your own provider for specific call charge.

Automated Telephone Payment    0300 456 0634
Benefits    03456 08 12 00
Council Tax, Business Rates and Payments Due    03456 08 12 01
Education    03456 08 12 02
Housing    03456 08 12 03
Planning and Building Standards    03456 08 12 04
Roads, Parks and Open Spaces    03456 08 12 05
Social Care    03456 08 12 06

 

UPDATE: Wednesday, January 7 1pm

There is a YELLOW weather warning for snow and ice running through to midday on Thursday (January 8) with further snow and ice likely to bring further disruption on Wednesday. 

While there are currently no weather warnings thereafter for the rest of the week, overnight temperatures are expected to continue to drop significantly, which may lead to icy conditions in areas that thaw during the day.

Customer Services continue to support local residents with a range of queries, many related to winter issues, but also a high percentage of business as usual.

Service Points remain open to support customers who are able to attend in person, with web chat also being well utilised.

Customer Services are liaising with roads, waste etc regarding their priority workloads and continuing to keep customers updated of progress as we are aware.

Customers should continue to follow the guidance available on our website relating to severe weather https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/safety-and-emergencies/weather-emergencies

Schools

Following a blanket decision on school closures for the last three days, parents and carers will be contacted directly via their usual channels for whether schools and council-run nurseries will be open or closed on Thursday and Friday.

Aberdeenshire Council has reverted to local decision-making to ensure where schools can open safely, they do - although we anticipate this will be a limited number.

Headteacher decisions will be based on a range of factors impacting our schools’ ability to operate safely. This includes the ongoing weather warning and related impacts on the road network, staff and pupil travel and school facilities.

You can also view the latest decisions on our website at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures

Please note the website will clear at 4pm each day with information for the following day. 

Roads

Our roads teams supported by contracted farmers, contractors, support agencies and volunteers continue to focus on keeping roads clear and increase our push into towns and onto minor routes and local trunk roads to aid connectivity within our communities.

We have also redeployed 80 waste personnel and around 90 landscape staff where possible, to help clear footpaths, focusing on key establishments like sheltered housing schemes and care homes – again, we expect to see real progress being made in the coming days.

Currently we have 64+ drivers on rota to provide seven day per week cover for our 32 primary routes with additional drivers brought in throughout the day to support our operations. We have the following equipment in operation across Aberdeenshire:

·       32 primary gritters

·       12 secondary

·       20 town gritters

·       2 tractor-mounted snow blowers

·       47 footway gritters

Support

·       120 farmer plows

·       50+ additional contractor plows

Mutual Aid support

AMEY has been quick to respond to our approach for mutual aid with 12 pieces of additional plant now delivered and operating including snow blowers, tractors with ploughs and salt spreaders. We’ve also brought in a snow cutter from Tayside Contracts and have a locally-sourced snow blower in operation as well.

Interactive Map

Due to the ongoing snow event, we have made updates to our FixMyStreet platform which make it easier for people to report winter-related road issues that we might not already know about.

This can be done by submitting a report and selecting Winter & Gritting – Other (Winter Maintenance) from the available options.

https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other%20(Winter%20Maintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed

Please be aware that, due to the weather, we are currently dealing with a high volume of enquiries. These are being assessed and addressed on a priority basis.

Waste and recycling

Bin collections will be attempted in Fraserburgh, Macduff, and Banff. Black lid bins will also be attempted for Laurencekirk and trade waste for Banchory. For all other routes, residents can take bins back in.    

When conditions do improve, we will look at the missed collections along with our staff and vehicle resources to determine where it is practicably possible to return for bins. 

With thanks to the snow clearing efforts by our dedicated staff, all household recycling centres opened today from 9am. Please take care on the access road to Peterhead’s recycling centre as it continues to be cleared. 

Members of our waste and recycling team have also been redeployed to help the Roads team as well as support the more vulnerable such as helping to clear access to local care homes at Deveron Court Turriff; Forbes Court New Pitsligo; Banchory’s Dalvenie Care Home and Hanover Court Sheltered Housing; Stonehaven’s Carnegie Care Home and Eden Care Home; Portlethen's Glebe Court; Westhilll’s Blackhills Care Home; and Laurencekirk’s Mearns Care Home and more.

Health and Social Care Partnership

The weather continues to impact on service delivery, and our amazing teams are doing all they can to keep supporting people.

Vaccination Clinics are closed today, and we are assessing our ability to re-open safely for patients and staff. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates.

Home Care teams are working to complete as many visits as possible, and we are very grateful to families for the support.

GP Practices are working as best they can to get people the care they need. Many GP practice teams are working remotely so that they can continue to provide appointments over the phone or online.

Our Minor Injury Service is operating although with reduced capacity due to staffing issues.

General advice

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice 

To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes 

Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice:

·       https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ opens in a new tab 

·       https://www.sepa.org.uk/ opens in a new tab 

·       https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack opens in a new tab 

General advice for road users

•    Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel
•    All road users should consider if they really need to travel during adverse weather.
•    Consider delaying travel until conditions improve
•    If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions
•    Ensure your mobile phone is charged and plan your journey, including an alternative route
•    Have sufficient fuel, warm clothing, food and water in case you’re delayed

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6 - 6PM

We continue to be in the Met Office amber warning with medium snow impacts over the next 24-36 hours. 

Teams from our Children’s Services and Health and Social Care Partnership are focusing on known vulnerable people within our communities, while the council is also monitoring specific issues of particularly vulnerable individuals or urgent cases and will signpost support and respond where we have resources available.

Roads

Our roads teams supported by re-allocated staff and various contractors, farmers, support agencies and volunteers continue to focus on keeping roads clear and increase that crucial connectivity within our communities.

Live Life Aberdeenshire

Due to the severe adverse weather, any LLA facilities hire sessions which have been cancelled – whether by the hirer or as a result of facilities not being open – will be credited in full. Once the adverse weather has passed, we will issue a credit note for the affected sessions.

We understand that cancellations may be an inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding at this time. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our support teams. You can also speak to staff at the site where your hire was due to take place or email us at ecs.hires@aberdeenshire.gov.uk  

Service Points

Due to the adverse weather conditions, Inverurie Service Point opening hours will be 10am to 4pm tomorrow.

Housing

During this period of cold wintry weather, our Housing Service is urging tenants to protect their home and belongings from the risk of frozen and burst pipes. If you're away, consider leaving the heating on low (or arrange for your system to be drained via Housing Repairs by calling 03456 08 12 03. If pipes do freeze, turn off the stopcock and call Housing Repairs. 
If a pipe bursts, turn off the stopcock, open cold taps, switch off heating/electrics if affected, warn your neighbours and call 03456 08 12 03. 
 
Escalation to a major incident

By way of explanation, the decision to escalate to a major incident enables us to focus attention on the emergency response, prioritise and reallocate staff and resources and work efficiently with partners to protect life, maintain essential services and support community resilience.

It is particularly important to do this when we are seeing such serious disruption on our residents welfare, our infrastructure such as the roads network and essential services.

A key element of the process is that we can suspended or scale back non-critical work so that officers and specialist staff can be redeployed to essential response functions. 

Our emergency plans identify which services and teams are needed to support the response, ensuring focus and capacity are directed where they are most needed. It also helps us to access wider support from governments and community groups where required.

 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6 - 1.15PM

We are looking at a prolonged period of significant impacts and as of today Aberdeenshire Council has declared a major incident.

There is a Met Office AMBER weather warning for heavy snow today covering much of Aberdeenshire and north-east Scotland from 11am to 7pm. 

•    Travel delays on roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers
•    Some delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are likely
•    There is a good chance that some rural communities could become cut off
•    Injuries from slips and falls are likely on icy surfaces
•    Untreated pavements and cycle paths likely to be impassable
•    There is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage

There is also a new YELLOW weather warning for snow and ice between midnight tonight (Tuesday) and midnight tomorrow with further snow and ice likely to bring further disruption on Wednesday. 

Aberdeenshire will continue to experience heavy snowfall today and overnight – some of which will fall as icy rain – which has the potential to cause further disruption. 

We appreciate that this is a very challenging time for many of you and particularly those living in our most rural locations and smaller settlements – and our teams are working to support individuals who are struggling.

If you can, please look out for each other - check on neighbours – especially those who are elderly, vulnerable or living alone.

ROADS

Our roads teams are focusing efforts on our primary roads network which is helping to keep our communities open and stay connected, and to ensure vital food deliveries and other supplies continue to come in. We’ve also begun treating secondary routes and also some of the minor roads which connect our smaller settlements across Aberdeenshire. 

We have brought in additional equipment as a result of a request for mutual aid from other local authorities including several snowblowers which is really helping us clear routes which simply cannot be ploughed. The A952 Toll of Birness route was reopened yesterday (Mon) and we have also cleared the route into Collieston which had been cut off and we will monitor that for any drifting. We have cleared a route for pedestrian at old Portlethen village although vehicular access cannot be provided at this time. 

Landscape Services crews are supporting our clearing operations and again we wish to thank all our staff, contractors, farmers, volunteers and the wider community for all the sterling efforts you continue to undertake during this very challenging spell of weather.

One key aspect of our roads treatment is the move to grit only on all surfaces over the coming days to ensure maximum mechanical grip rather than trying to melt it with salt. We have good salt reserves and we will also be bolstering our current salt reserves with 4,000 tonnes arriving by boat tomorrow and a further 9,000 tonnes in due course.

SCHOOLS

Teams are continuing to evaluate the ongoing situation and considering all the factors including travel conditions, staffing, buildings and facilities. An update will be provided as soon as possible this afternoon.

WASTE COLLECTIONS

Bin collections will be attempted in Fraserburgh, Macduff, Whitehills, and Banff today. For all other routes, residents can take bins back in. 

Our staff have again, this morning, been clearing snow at household recycling centres across Aberdeenshire. For now, Banchory, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Laurencekirk, Macduff, Portsoy, Stonehaven, Turriff, and Westhill household recycling centres are open.

We will close our cleared recycling centres at 3pm today to allow our staff to get home safely. All other household recycling centres are closed, and we will update if more are able to be cleared of snow.

When conditions do improve, we will look at the missed collections along with our staff and vehicle resources to determine where it is practicably possible to return for bins.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as this winter weather continues to cause disruption to recycling and waste services. 

HOUSING

Teams are prioritising emergency repairs to keep everyone safe. Routine appointments this week may be delayed, but we’re still booking new appointments for dates beyond next week.

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

All Aberdeenshire Vaccination Centres remain closed today.

Peterhead Minor Injury Unit is closed today (Tues) due to staff being unable to travel – we would advise keeping an eye on our social media channels for further updates - www.facebook.com/AbshireHSCP

While we are experiencing some staffing issues within our hospitals, we are actively redirecting staff to provide support and services are continuing. A huge thank you to all of the staff, volunteers and emergency services working to look after everyone.

GP practice capacity is significantly reduced and people should continue keeping an eye out for local updates for the most up-to-date picture.

For more information and to access local preparedness resources, visit: https://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/winter-weather-advice 

To see our planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes 

Stay informed – follow trusted sources like council websites and social media channels for updates and advice:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ 
https://www.sepa.org.uk/ 
https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack 

General advice for road users

•    Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel
•    All road users should consider if they really need to travel during adverse weather.
•    Consider delaying travel until conditions improve
•    If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions
•    Ensure your mobile phone is charged and plan your journey, including an alternative route
•    Have sufficient fuel, warm clothing, food and water in case you’re delayed

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 5

Across the region there remain weather warnings in place for ice and snow.

As a result, many of our services continue to be disrupted and teams across the council and health & social care are working extremely hard to mitigate the impacts on citizens.

ROADS

Our roads teams continue to focus efforts on keeping our primary routes (about a third of our extensive road network) as clear as possible.

However, many routes are only passable with extreme care, and we would urge people to only travel if absolutely necessary.

Many of our gritter drivers have been working long shifts since before Hogmanay to prepare for the snow and the impacts and we will need to ensure they get the rest and recuperation they need to be able to keep us and them safe. Our thanks to all of them for the incredible work they continue to do.

SCHOOLS

Teams are evaluating the ongoing situation and considering all the factors including travel conditions, staffing, buildings and facilities.

WASTE COLLECTIONS

Staff are working hard to get snow cleared at household recycling centres across Aberdeenshire. For now, Huntly, Fraserburgh, and Macduff household recycling centres are open. Inverurie and Westhill household recycling centres are expected to open around 12.30pm.

All other household recycling centres are closed, and we will update if more are able to be cleared of snow.

Waste collections have been suspended. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for updates.

HOUSING

Teams are prioritising emergency repairs to keep everyone safe. Routine appointments this week may be delayed, but we’re still booking new appointments for dates beyond next week.

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

All Aberdeenshire Vaccination Centres will be closed today and tomorrow.
GP Practices across the region are working with reduced capacity and people should keep an eye out for local updates for the most up to date picture.

Homecare Teams are working to reach the most vulnerable clients wherever possible and will remain in contact with families.

Our Community Nursing Teams are also supporting the most vulnerable clients wherever they can.

A huge thank you to all of the staff, volunteers and emergency services working to look after everyone.

Please note: Our Contact Centre is experiencing high call volumes, so please bear with us if it takes a little longer to get through. Thank you for your understanding - we’ll do everything we can to catch up as quickly as possible while putting safety first.