East Surrey has been simultaneously suffering and revelling in snowfall as the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ weather system has brought chaos and beauty.
The snow began to fall in earnest on Monday morning (February 26) with areas including Caterham and Reigate seeing it settle.
There was no major disruption on Monday but Southern Rail warned passengers to leave work early as it was expected that services would be affected in the evening.
But it was late morning on Tuesday (February 27) when it started to fall more heavily and affect the roads.
Snow began to fall again in areas including Reigate, Horley and Tatsfield by 11am, causing Tatsfield Primary School to close for the day. Oxted School, Limpsfield Grange and Holland Junior had already planned to close for the day.
Driving conditions became very hazardous in and around Oxted by 12.30pm and there were reports that Limpsfield Chart was extremely slippery with near misses having taken place.
Across Tandridge on Tuesday afternoon there were widespread reports of hazardous driving conditions.
There was a collision on the A22 South Godstone at the junction with Miles Lane and reports of ice on the road.
Chalkpit Lane, between Oxted and Woldingham was also extremely icy at the top end and was closed both ways due to a four-vehicle accident between The Ridge and Gordons Way.
And Coulsdon weather expert Ian Currie believes there could be even worse snow on the way with up to 10cm potentially falling on Thursday and Friday.
He said: “The snow has been quite showery so it can be variable. When you see snow in one place, another can escape.
“There could be snow showers at any point. Later in the week, there could be a spell of continuous snow. Tomorrow (Wednesday, February 28) dare I say it, could be colder than today.
“The weather is very variable at this time so at one point it could be sunny, then slightly cloudy and then there could be 10cms of snow on Thursday and Friday.”
Mr Currie believes the snow will drop off at the weekend, turning to rain and sleet. However he warned we won’t necessarily have seen the end of it.
He said: “By Saturday things are expected to get a bit milder so the snow will turn into rain but then by the end of next week it could snow again.”
Tandridge District Council has warned that recycling and rubbish collections this week may be delayed .
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