HUDDERSFIELD was today braced for heavy snow and possible blizzards.
The town was expected to be hit by up to 10cm of snow during the course of this afternoon and overnight – with double that amount on the moors.
And with no end in sight to the bitter temperatures, experts are warning of problems on the roads.
Kirklees Council has got its full gritting team on standby and has had teams out on all main routes all week.
The main roads were gritted early yesterday and patrols were out from mid afternoon onwards.
Temperatures have struggled to get above freezing anywhere in Huddersfield all week and they dropped as low as minus 6 degrees in Waterloo, Leeds Road and Bradley on Wednesday night.
The weather has decimated local sport with all soccer and rugby games planned for the weekend called off on local playing fields.
But there was a bright side with stunning ice shows in fields and woodlands, where rime formed on trees and shrubs.
Hard rime is a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freezes to the outer surfaces of objects.
It is often seen on trees and ridges in winter, when low-hanging clouds cause freezing fog.
Click on the link below to view a gallery of Huddersfield in the cold snap
This fog freezes to the windward side of tree branches, buildings, or any other solid objects, usually with high wind velocities and air temperatures between -2 and -8 °C (28.4 and 17.6 °F).
Salendine Nook weather expert Paul Stevens said: “It has been particularly cold all week, which is unusual.
“The average for this time of year is about 5 degrees C and this week, we have been down at minus 1 or 2 deg.
“On Wednesday night we saw temperatures of minus 5 degrees and minus 6 degrees in some areas.
“The snow will start to move in from lunchtime today and will continue well into Saturday.
“It should bring snowfalls of up to 5cm in the town centre, up to 10cm on the higher ground and perhaps double that on the tops of the moors.
“It will also still feel very cold, with a strong SE wind bringing blizzards and also causing the wind chill factor to be biting,” he added.
