Sheffield snow forecast: Will roads near me be gritted as severe weather hits? Priority routes explained

With a weather warning in place for snow and ice, many people are wondering whether they will be able to get to and from work or school tomorrow.

The latest Met Office weather forecast for Sheffield shows sleet falling from 6pm today, Monday, November 18, followed by heavy snow from 7pm this evening until 4am tomorrow morning, and then light snow at 5am and 6am on Tuesday.

Sheffield City Council this afternoon said its gritters had left the depot at 2pm to begin gritting all priority gritting routes prior to the forecast snow.

But what are Sheffield’s priority gritting routes, and will the routes near you be gritted?

Sheffield City Council says it grits more than 60 per cent of the highway network in ‘priority order’.

The first to be gritted are the ‘priority 1 routes’, classed as the main arterial routes linking Sheffield to other cities and motorways. These include the A61 ring road, Ecclesall Road, Abbeydale Road, Penistone Road, Barnsley Road, among many other routes.

Second to be gritted are the ‘priority 2 routes’, which are described by the council as the other main routes, such as bus routes, link roads, roads where key public service facilities like hospitals are located, and rural routes.

You can view a map of the priority gritting routes in Sheffield here.

The council says it decides where to grit based on Met Office forecasts and the readings from two weather stations, one at Hillfoot, which is less than 200 metres above sea level, and the other at Moscar, which is more than 200 metres high.

It says it often grits more roads on higher ground, as the temperature tends to drop lower there in the winter. It can take up to five hours to complete all the council’s priority gritting routes on higher ground.

The council tries to grit the roads when they are quietest, generally overnight, but this is not always possible.

Are cycle lanes and pavements gritted?

The council does not specifically grit cycle lanes but says that if a cycle lane runs along a priority gritting route it will be gritted as it’s part of the road.

Cycle lanes which are segregated from the road are not gritted.

Sheffield’s busiest pavements and pedestrian areas are gritted and cleared of snow in extreme weather.

These include the areas around the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Nothern General Hospital, the railway station and the city centre shopping areas.

Residential pavements are not gritted.