Traffic and travel in Leeds: Latest on the trains and roads as icy weather takes hold

Icy conditions have gripped Leeds this morning with temperatures set to remain below freezing for most of the day. Although not one of the worst-hit regions in the UK today, we’ve put together the latest traffic and travel information to keep you moving during the arctic blast.

The weather for Leeds is set to be cold and icy for most of the week ahead. These conditions may remain until Sunday (December 17).

The ‘feels like’ temperature will reach a low of around -4C for the region today (December 12) and will only get as high as -1C. This is according to the Met Office.

Clear skies on December 14 and 15 will see this ‘feels like’ temperature in Leeds drop to a bitterly cold -5 or even -6C in places. The actual temperature on these days will be no higher than 2C.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of transport around Leeds today. Also included is a Met Office forecast for the coming days.

Roads

The roads around Leeds will be monitored by Leeds City Council and will be gritted where necessary. The council has an interactive map which shows which roads are gritted.

Information on the council’s website outlines the areas treated with grit and which roads you can expect to be gritted first:

• Priority routes are always salted when ice or snow is forecast and get priority attention during long spells of winter weather
• Once we have gritted the priority roads then we will grit other roads
• We aim to salt footpaths and paved areas if there is snow or frost forecast over a prolonged period.”

Highways England, which maintains motorways and other roads in England, has travel alerts in place due to the weather. However, these are currently in place  on roads around southern England while Yorkshire is not yet affected.

Trains

The rail network in and out of Leeds train station is, at present, unaffected by any cold conditions. The route from Leeds to Sheffield, for example, is running as normal this morning. One note for this route as mentioned on the Trainline website is some Northern services are expected to be busy today and this may lead to extended journey times.

Major disruption is expected for the rest of the week on trains around the city. This is due to the start of further strike action by the RMT. The first of these strikes will begin on Tuesday December 12 and continue until December 13.

Monday, December 12

A cold day with some brighter spells, though freezing fog could be slow to clear in some places. Becoming more cloudy through the afternoon. Generally dry but isolated wintry showers remain possible along the coast. Maximum temperature 1 °C.

Another cold night with clear spells leading to areas of freezing fog and another widespread frost. Dry for most, with any wintry showers on coasts easing. Minimum temperature -5 °C.

Tuesday, December 13

Remaining cold with a widespread frost and areas of freezing fog only slowly clearing, perhaps lingering all day in some spots. Largely dry, with a risk of isolated wintry showers. Maximum temperature 0 °C.