FIFTEEN years ago, an unexpected snowfall brought Reading to a standstill.
And with the Met Office warning of the potential for significantly disruptive snowfalls in Reading and Wokingham on Tuesday and Wednesday, we thought we would look back at the moment that caused chaos in the town.
It was Monday, December 21, 2009, and was the second snowfall in just a few days. It had previously snowed on Friday, December 18. This had thawed and then frozen, leaving many pavements and roads covered in ice.
Snow started falling at lunchtime, and didn’t stop.
Because the intensity of the snow took people by surprise, roads weren’t gritted – and by the time the gritters could get on to the network, it was too late.
Motorists were stuck in treacherous conditions and some abandoned their vehicles.
Others said it took them hours to get home.
A video posted on YouTube shows the extent of the chaos that the snow caused – it was shot at 1.30am, and people were still trying to get home from work.
Police were called out to direct traffic at pinch points, including on Kings Road.
Bus services were suspended across the network, a decision taken after a number 16 bus skidded across the road at the Norcot Road roundabout and it was reported that drivers were taking two hours to get out of the Broad St. Mall and Oracle car parks.
Shops closed early, missing the peak of the Christmas rush.
Such was the chaos, council officers held an emergency meeting to organise emergency shelter for those affected.
In the aftermath, the then transport minister Sadiq Khan said “There is no issue about not being enough grit. There is no issue about not enough snow ploughs. The issue is why it (the grit) wasn’t applied,” he told the ITV breakfast programme GMTV.
An AA spokesperson told The Guardian it was a “perfect storm”.
“It was the sheer volume of snow. It started snowing heavily at noon, and it fell very quickly.
“The snow coincided with lunchtime, when you have people going out doing Christmas shopping. People had been told to go home early … everyone hit the road at the same time.”
