Snow, rain and ice are all causing mayhem on roads across Greater Manchester – as the festive season ends with a bump. Roads have been closed due to the weather this morning (January 6), with flooding and heavy snow affecting a number of areas.
It comes on the day children are returning to school after the Christmas holidays, while many workers will be returning to the office for the first time in 2025. Two crashes are affecting drivers heading to Manchester on the M56 eastbound this morning.
A collision involving a lorry and a car is causing 90-minute queues approaching junction 11. near Warrington. The motorway is also partially blocked between junctions seven at Bowdon and six at Hale, due to a further collision.
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Both the A628 Woodhead Pass and A57 Snake Pass are closed due to snow this morning, affecting traffic heading between Manchester and Sheffield, through the Peak District. The gates on Snake Pass have reportedly been left open, causing vehicles to be left stuck in tricky conditions on the road, according to the Inrix traffic monitoring system.
Meanwhile, flooding has forced the A555 Manchester Airport relief road to close again, five days on from the New Year’s floods. A lane closure is in place on the M60 anticlockwise between junctions 25 at Brinnington and 24 at Denton Island due to flooding.
A further lane closure for flooding is in place on the M62 westbound, between junctions 19 at Heywood and 18 for Simister Island. Further east, there are restrictions on the M62 in both directions between junctions 21 at Milnrow and 24 at Ainley Top, due to snow – with ploughs working at the scene.
Snow has also left both the A58 Rochdale Road, in Littleborough, and A640 Huddersfield Road, in Newhey, impassable today. Dobbinetts Lane and Clay Lane, in Hale Barns, are also closed due to flooding – while Church Road, in Flixton, remains closed following the New Year’s floods.
Transport for Greater Manchester says a number of smaller roads are also affected by flooding, with drivers urged to take care. Two Met Office weather warnings have been in force across Greater Manchester this morning – one for heavy rain until 8am, and another for snow and ice until midday.
