COUNCILS are bracing themselves for heavy snow showers and plummeting temperatures.

Local authorities, many of whom were caught out by blizzard-like conditions earlier this month, are determined to be prepared to tackle the effects of the latest cold front, due to hit the county today.

Councils say this time they are ready after snow on January 15 caught highway engineers and even the Met Office unawares.

That led to traffic gridlock during the evening rush hour, when motorists realised that many roads had not been gritted.

Angry drivers criticised the lack of gritters, but councils said they were still receiving weather forecasts predicting the snow would only affect high ground.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said: "We have 6,000 miles of road in the county they are gritted on a priority basis. We can also call on farmers, if and when we need them to help with the gritting or snowploughing if conditions are particularly bad in certain areas."