3

Guern

Well, not the end of the world but just saw in the news what northern Germany and Denmark experienced in snow.. This could turn into a winter fairytale for a few hours in case we get the same. Kids will love it anyway!

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15

Donna Hayes

I took the same decision as Sanity Prevails. On every occasion until now we have struggled to get our son to school and then us into work only to receive a telephone call within a couple of hours asking us to collect our son again. During those two hours he has generally watched a film as so few pupils and teachers have made it in. This time, having looked at the forecast, my husband arranged to work remotely from home and I went to work, meaning my son could stay at home and do his homework with his Dad (well he did some anyway). It was fine getting in but a really scary journey home, not an experience I want to repeat in a hurry. Tomorrow I will work from home and my husband will do his utmost to get in to work. At least this way, all of us will have got some meaningful work done over the two days rather than spending all our time driving around in dreadful conditions.

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17

Tim

Where the bad decision was made over this weather was not taking enough notice of the weather forecast which was very accurately predicted two days before and where it became more and more obvious that we were not only in for heavy snow but severe gales. No one appears to have taken it seriously enough to close the schools on the day it was predicted 11th March.

Hence the schools went in until 1200hrs, at which time in their wisdom the authorities decided that they had made the wrong decision and closed the schools. What that started was an immediate rush of hundreds of parents, if not thousands, all rushing in their cars towards the schools in seriously worsening road conditions to pick up their children.

At the same time businesses were deciding to close down for the day which resulted in huge numbers attempting to leave St Peter port.

That combined with a tree down in the Val des Terres, a collision near the Ruette Braye lower round about, a tree down in Colbourne Road, a tree across the Grange at Doyle Road, led to total grid lock. Even when some managed to move the ones in front ended up skidding and blocking the road.

I myself was, at 1230hrs on my way to hospital for a minor operation at 1315hrs. at 1500hrs I had reached the town Church having come from St Sampson’s. Needless to say I had warned the hospital of the situation and was informed that others going in for minor ops had also cancelled. I returned home at 1630hs having been stuck in traffic for four hours.

This traffic jam must have been the largest, longest in Guernsey’s history.

The decision to send the children to school, must be one of the worst decisions ever made, because by then closing the schools at the height of the blizzard/storm all those involved in the traffic jams were placed in far more danger because of the flying debris and falling trees, we were very lucky no one was killed. Had the schools been closed, as they should have been there would have only been cars exiting the town area as businesses closed rather than the jam that happened in both directions.

Listen to the weather forecast, if it’s wrong at least its advice was followed, on this occasion it was completely accurate.

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