TWENTY schools in North Yorkshire were shut by the wintry weather today, but every one in York remained open as the predicted heavy snowfalls failed to materialise in the city.

Blizzards with up to five inches of snow were forecast for lower ground, but only about an inch fell on York and had turned to slush by this morning.

However, the Met Office today issued a regional flash warning of severe weather for North Yorkshire and York.

A spokesman predicted severe drifting over the Pennines and North York Moors, with 5cm to 10cm of snow likely and 15cm over high ground.

Motorists were warned that some untreated roads would become impassable with "extremely dangerous" driving conditions.

Heavy snow in the East Riding is expected at times today, which will lead to dangerous driving conditions, with icy stretches on any untreated roads.

A spokesman for City of York Council said there were no major problems on the city's roads, with all the main road arteries clear.

Heavy snowfall forced the closure of the A169 between Pickering and Whitby yesterday evening.

Meanwhile, an RAC patrolman was found by a mountain rescue team today after spending 12 hours trapped in snow on a remote part of the North York Moors.

Police and RAF rescue helicopters both struggled to reach the mechanic who was stranded in horrendous weather conditions at Rosedale Abbey.

He was eventually reached by an RAF mountain rescue team shortly before 6am.

An RAC spokeswoman said the patrolman had gone up on the moors yesterday evening to help the driver of a 4x4 vehicle.

She said he managed to get the motorist on his way, but found his van stuck in the worsening conditions.

The spokeswoman said: "He was up there for about 12 hours and he's been checked over and seems to be okay."

Updated: 10:04 Thursday, February 24, 2005