Snow in 1963: When Sunderland was buried under six million tons of it

It probably wasn’t in recent decades and here’s a reminder of the year when we had 67 constant days of it on the ground - in 1963.

Anti-freeze froze in cars

Experts estimated that drifts were 15ft high, the wind levels were 70 miles per hour and six million tonnes of snow fell on Sunderland.

It was so cold that the anti-freeze froze in cars and scenes like these, of workers trying to dig out paths, were commonplace.

Large areas of Wearside were cut off

Sunderland had twelve snowploughs and eight gritting machines and they were all working flat out clearing bus routes.

The first two weeks of that January saw 13 inches of snow fall on Sunderland. Many areas were regularly cut off by blocked roads and gridlocked traffic.

To make matters worse, a measles epidemic saw 200 cases reported in the first two weeks of the year and there was also an increase in pneumonia among the elderly.

Re-live your snow day experiences

Thankfully, nothing so dramatic lies on the horizon but the Met Office does think that the risk of sleet and snow is increasing for the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, especially in Northern areas.

Tell us about the worst snowfall you have seen. Email [email protected]