People across the Harrogate district woke this morning to festive snow landscapes as severe weather hit the district overnight.

Temperatures dropped below freezing and roads became treacherous in the early hours of this morning due to the conditions.

But the blanket of white snow across the Stray in Harrogate complemented by the bright lights of Christmas decorations created a prime opportunity for photographers.

Elsewhere, people near Beckwithshaw and Boroughbridge took the chance to capture the snowfall outside their homes.

Here a few of our pictures below. If you have any snow day pictures that you would like to share with us, send them to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Snow covering the West Park Stray earlier this morning.

A blanket of snow covered the Stray overnight.

Christmas decorations in Harrogate Town centre complemented by the snow this morning.

Snow pictured near Beckwithshaw.

Picturesque shot of the bridge over the railway near Tewit Well. Picture: Mark Pallant.

Good morning from Harlow Hill #Harrogate. #Snowuk #snow pic.twitter.com/GW8Bbi189F

— HAPARA (@HaparaHgt) December 29, 2020

A slightly snowy #knaresborough this morning #snow #winter #yorkshire pic.twitter.com/S6Mu6IG0oL

— Melanie Ball (@knaresphoto) December 29, 2020

Video of Boroughbridge by Carly Gibson

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Heavy snowfall overnight has caused treacherous driving conditions on major roads in the Harrogate district this morning.

Many areas woke up to a blanket of snow and ice, causing severe problems, especially in rural areas.

The North Yorkshire Weather Updates social media page showed dire conditions in Boroughbridge, with heavy snow covering streets.

Video by Carly Gibson

The same page also reported large vehicles were struggling to get up the hill on the A59 at Kex Gill due to hazardous road conditions. However by 9am the road appeared to be clear.

North Yorkshire Police warned people to drive carefully due to conditions on the A61 between Ripon and Harrogate.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, on which days it had gritted the roads since Christmas Day and what its policy is on deciding when to use gritters,

We had not received a response by the time of publication but the council has tweeted this morning that its gritting crews are on call 24 hours a day from October to April and are treating roads.

A similar tweet was posted on Christmas Day but nothing on travel since despite snow and flooding causing problems in the district.

Read more:

• Homes in Masham and Pannal in peril as flooding strikes
• Treacherous conditions on A59 near Harrogate

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow and ice yesterday and warned that up to four inches of snow could fall over the Pennines and North York Moors.

The outlook in the district looks set to improve throughout today with light cloud throughout the afternoon into the evening.

However, temperatures are forecast to drop below zero again overnight.

A further 35 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate District, according to latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 4,211.

The seven-day average rate of infection in the Harrogate district stands at 115 per 100,000 people.

However, it is still the lowest rate in North Yorkshire – while Hambleton is the highest at 242.

The England seven-day average stands at 356 per 100,000.

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Meanwhile, no further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been confirmed at Harrogate District Hospital.

The total number of deaths remain at 106. This has not risen since December 10.

A further 19 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the Harrogate district today.

Today’s figures from Public Health England take the district’s total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 4,176.

The seven-day average rate of infection for the district has risen to 118 per 100,000. But it still remains considerably lower than the national average of 366.

The Harrogate district has the lowest rate of the seven local authority areas in North Yorkshire. The area with the highest rate is Scarborough with 238.

The R number in the Harrogate district has risen to one, which means the spread of the covid virus is no longer shrinking.

Every 10 people infected pass on the virus to another 10.

The total number of coronavirus deaths at Harrogate District Hospital remains at 106. This has not risen since December 10.

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Another 30 people in the Harrogate district have tested positive for coronavirus, according to today’s official statistics.

It means the seven-day average rate of infection for the district is now 97 people per 100,000 — almost four times lower than the national average of 364.

The district’s rate has been gradually increasing for the last couple of weeks but at nowhere near the speed of southern England, where the new mutant strain of covid has been most predominant.

The district’s rate remains the lowest of the seven local authority areas in North Yorkshire. Scarborough is the highest at 234. The overall rate for North Yorkshire is 151.

Today’s figures, from Public Health England, bring the total number of infections in the district since the start of the pandemic to 4,127.

There have not been any covid hospital deaths in the district since December 10.

The district’s R number, which refers to the rate at which the virus spreads in the community, remains at 0.9. This means every 10 people with coronavirus will pass it on to nine others.

Starbeck is the worst affected local area, with 18 positive cases in the last seven days — one more than the figure for Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith.

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A further 32 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed today as the Harrogate district heads into Christmas.

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 4,090.

The district still has the lowest seven-day average rate of infection in North Yorkshire, with 86 infections per 100,000 people.

The seven-day average for North Yorkshire is 142. It is 353 for England.

The R number, which refers to the rate at which the virus spreads in the community, has risen to 0.9 in the Harrogate district.

This means every 10 people infected will pass on the virus to nine people.

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• Harrogate Nightingale remains ‘on standby’ amid new covid strain

North Yorkshire is in tier two, which means three households will be able to mix on December 25 only.

NHS bosses have said the Harrogate Nightingale hospital remains on standby amid fears over the spread of a new mutant strain of coronavirus.

There are fears the Harrogate district could be dragged into a higher tier of coronavirus restrictions amid rising infections elsewhere in the county.

Scarborough is a particular concern as the seven-day average rate of infection has shot up to 254 per 100,000 people from about 150 a week ago.

The area also has the highest positive rates in the whole of the north east of England.

The Harrogate district has 86 infections per 100,000 people. It has remained at about the 90 mark for a few weeks now.

North Yorkshire is currently in tier two. But the possibility of dividing the county into different tiers was raised at a coronavirus press briefing this morning.

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Richard Webb, the corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“There has been a dramatic increase of cases in Scarborough. Particularly scary as the increases are among children and those in their 30s.

“People are mixing indoors there. They put themselves and the whole area at risk.”

Asked about the next tier review on December 30, Mr Webb said “up until now” local health leaders had not expected any change to the county’s tier two status.

But he added cases were rising in parts of the county and the door remained open to splitting North Yorkshire into different tiers.

The government highlighted Scarborough as “the most concerning area” in North Yorkshire when it reviewed the tiers last week. Case rates have almost doubled since then.

Back then the government review concluded the “trajectory [did] not warrant tier three” but last weekend’s events highlighted how quickly things can change.

Local health leaders told the forum no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain had been recorded in the county but nevertheless they acknowledged it could already be here.

The Harrogate district has recorded just 11 more coronavirus cases in the daily figures today.

It is one of the lowest daily increases since the second wave of the pandemic but remains above the cases reported in tier one areas.

So far, the Public Health England figures for the district total 3,939 since early March.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further coronavirus deaths since December 12. On that day the hospital reached 106 deaths.

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The seven-day average rate of cases for the district is at 93 per 100,000. For North Yorkshire, the number is 116. Scarborough has the highest rates in the county at 214.

The Harrogate district learned this week that it will remain in tier two after the first government review of the national tier rules.

Tier rules are based on factors such as infection rates, particularly in the over 60s, and pressure on hospitals.

Case rates in the Harrogate district remain more than double those in tier one areas.

Local health and police leaders have acknowledged there will be disappointment in the Harrogate district at the news that it will stay in tier two.

Infection rates across North Yorkshire fell rapidly from mid-November but have plateaued lately at a rate that is still five times higher than it was in the summer.

After announcing the tier decisions this morning, the government released a written explanation on how it reached its verdict for North Yorkshire, which describes the outlook in the county as ‘improving’.

Besides the county’s overall infection rate, other key factors in determining the tier level include infection rates in people aged over 60, which are described as ‘stable or decreasing’.

Another factor is hospital coronavirus admissions, which are decreasing steadily. The government explanation said:

“The epidemiology indicators are too high for allocation to tier one but the trajectory does currently not warrant inclusion in tier three.”

The explanation highlights Scarborough as the most concerning area of North Yorkshire because infection rates are above 150 people per 100,000.

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Richard Flinton, chair of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of organisations tackling emergencies in the county, said:

“We know there will be some disappointment in areas where rates are lower, that we remain in tier two as a whole county.

“But we can see that rates of reduction have flattened out and in some areas have risen again and our priority has to be about keeping our people safe.

“If we have to stay in tier two to achieve it then we must work to the government’s tiering plan.”

Christmas bubbles

Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys health services for the county, added:

“Colleagues across the NHS continue to do a phenomenal job to provide health services for the people of North Yorkshire and York.

“Even though there will be a brief and specific relaxation of government guidance over the holiday period we are urging people to make sensible choices.

“Your choices now will help protect NHS services for those who need them most this winter.”

Chief inspector Charlotte Bloxham, silver lead for North Yorkshire Police’s covid response asked people to “carefully consider their own situation” and “make an informed decision based on their own personal circumstances” regarding Christmas arrangements. She added:

“If you have vulnerable people in your family, please consider carefully whether forming a Christmas bubble with them is the right thing to do.

“There will be no exemption period in place for New Year’s Eve celebrations, so it may be an idea to plan now for a quiet end to 2020.”

Just 11 new covid infections were reported today in the Harrogate district by Public Health England.

The figure is the joint second lowest daily amount since the start of the second wave of the pandemic.

However, yesterday’s figure of 36 was the highest since November 23.

Although the daily statistics have varied considerably recently, the trend in the Harrogate district is definitely upwards.

The R number, which was just 0.4 last weekend, went up again today to 0.7. This means every 10 people infected will pass the virus on to another seven.

The district’s seven-day average rate of infection to December 14 is 93 people per 100,000. This compares with 116 and 235 in North Yorkshire and England.

North Yorkshire remained in tier two today in the government’s first review of the tier system since the second lockdown.

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