WE’VE endured week after week of snow, ice and biting cold temperatures.

It has been the chilliest winter for 30 years, with temperatures well below freezing on many days and nights.

But now there is a ray of hope.

Because while Huddersfield awoke yesterday to another blanket of snow, ice and fog, a hazy sun had broken through and temperatures rose within hours.

And the good news from Examiner weatherman Paul Stevens is that spring is finally on its way.

Paul predicts that by the end of next week, temperatures will start hitting double figures as the weather gets milder.

“It’s going to be getting up to 10°C – 11°C,” he said.

“That can actually be normal for winter weather – it just shows how cold it has been this winter.

“It has been the coldest winter for 30 years and we’re all getting a bit sick of it.

“We’ve got used to the colder temperatures so we’ll really notice the difference when it starts getting warmer.

“It’s going to start feeling quite spring-like with a quick reaction in the gardens, with daffodils and crocuses coming out, which were previously frozen in the ground.

“Although the weather will be milder it will be wetter and still unsettled.”

Paul was spot-on with his predictions for snow last weekend and this week.

He added: “The snow will slowly begin to melt, but on the tops of the hills and in high villages like Standedge it will take a bit longer and will be on the ground up until the weekend.

“On the lower ground it will be foggy at night and it will be frosty in the mornings with icy ground. But as we go into the latter part of next week it will start to feel a lot warmer.”

Since the beginning of December average temperatures have been just 1.8°C in Huddersfield.

Paul, from Salendine Nook, expects the average temperature by the end of February to be 2.1°C – well below the record 5°C temperatures for Huddersfield at this time of year.

Paul measured 13cm of fresh snow in Salendine Nook at 8am yesterday and 3cm of wet snow in Huddersfield town centre.

Kirklees Council’s gritters had hit the road on Tuesday night, with 60% of the district gritted by morning.