FREEZING fog turned the Vale into a winter wonderland this week as a cold snap continued to grip the nation.

Although easy on the eye, the wintry weather made for treacherous driving conditions, with gritting teams out in force most nights.

Journal weatherman Paul Damari said the district was set for a brief respite from sub-zero temperatures from Thursday and across the weekend, with daytime predictions of three to five degrees centigrade and above.

But, he added, the cold weather would not be going very far.

“Many parts have been down to about minus eight to minus 12 and have barely risen above zero in the day,” he said.

“The freezing fog has made it picturesque but very icy. On Thursday and Friday we’ll get the warmer Atlantic air and at the weekend the temperatures will be approaching where we should be at this time of year.

“But the very cold air we’re in now isn’t going to be very far away so I have got a feeling it’s only going to be a brief respite from the very cold weather.”

Mr Damari also explained why the Vale had escaped the worst of the snow.

“The sea is much warmer at this time of year than the land, so when the weather moves across the sea, it picks up a lot of moisture,” he said.

“As winds from the north east brought that moisture on to the land, it became snow. We had a stronger wind in the last week and that brought showers further west. Until then the winds were a lot lighter.”