Highland Council Winter Road Conditions report - Wednesday 18 January 2023
Maps of the Council’s gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Road condition reports for Wednesday 18 January 2023 are as follows:
Ross and Cromarty East (as at 09:51): Up to two inches of fresh wet snow through the night. Priority 1 and 2 roads all ok but still deep wet snow on a lot of the others. All routes being treated.
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh (as at 07:46 ): A mixed bag across the network this morning. All gritters are out on all routes. Bealach na Bà has deep snow from just above sea level. Heavy snow and strong winds caused some drifting. It's advisable at this stage to take the coast road. This has been treated and is open to traffic. Heavy snow on A890 from Achnasheen to Auchtertyre and extreme caution is advised on that road this morning. Other routes are passable with care. Treatments are ongoing. No reported overnight issues.
Lochaber (as at 08:14): Light snow showers overnight with a dusting of snow at low levels and up to a two inches on higher routes. All routes being treated by priority. No issues reported overnight
Caithness (as at 08:31): Main routes damp with a light sparkle in places. Some routes with patches of frozen snow and slush. All routes being gritted and blading where needed. Treatment ongoing. No over night issues reported
Badenoch and Strathspey (as at 07:55): Two to three inches of snowfall over the south end of the area with five to six inches in the north. Primary and Secondary routes to be treated as priority. Contractors have been called out to assist due to drifting snow over the Dava and Bridge of Brown routes. No known overnight issues.
Nairn (as at 07:57): Two inches of snowfall in the lower routes with six inches on the higher ground. Primary and Secondary routes being treated this morning and throughout the day. Contractors have been called in to assist with snow clearing and gritting within the area. No known overnight issues.
Inverness (as at 06:32): Low ground main roads black. Black wheel tracks on high ground main roads. Old hard packed snow remains on low ground side roads. Many high ground side roads have been tractor ploughed and some will still have one to two feet of old snow on them. Gritters heading out on all routes assisted by tractor ploughs and diggers where required.
Sutherland (as at 08:28): Fresh snow up to 4 inches on some of the higher routes with black ice in places, mostly on the east coast. The west coast has a light cover with slush in places. All treated accordingly. Secondary routes treated as resources permit. No known overnight issues. Struie Hill was closed last night by the Police at 19:00. A crew is attending this morning in an attempt to get it reopened. UPDATE (11am): Struie now open.
Skye and Raasay (as at 08:53): Mixture of rain, sleet & snow showers through the night. Localised accumulations on higher ground. Treatment ongoing on Primary and Secondary Routes. Hard packed snow remaining on some as yet untreated other routes.
School closures
A number of schools are closed this morning due to adverse weather.
The school closures page on the Council’s website at: https://www.highland.gov.uk/schoolclosures is updated from 7am and cleared each evening by 6pm.
Get alerts of closures on Highland Council’s Twitter and Facebook. Or phone 0800 564 2272 to get the latest pre-recorded message from head teachers regarding their school. Have the school's PIN ready when you call.