The Weather

[St Helens Rider]

RE: The Weather
Doubt it as the temperature is in plus double figures for the next few days.

[wirralbus]

RE: The Weather
I did a BBC weather check on St Helens and as you say St Helens Rider it is going to be exceptionally mild for this time of the year .

The reason is some high pressure sitting over northern Spain and Southern France pushing the wind in from the Atlantic .

If you look at pressure charts wind circulate Clockwise round High Pressure and Anticlockwise around Low pressure.

[DVL418]

RE: The Weather
Hmmm.

Our highways guys are working on the basis that by this weekend it will start to get much, much colder, with potentially a massive wedge of cold air settling over the UK for up to three weeks, during which night-time temperatures could drop to below -8.

This is the temperature at which rock salt, 'grit', stops being effective.

One consolation could be that forecast to be fairly dry so may get away without any 'significant' accumulations of snow in lowland & coastal areas.

Time to check anti-freeze and get the wellies out?

[Jack]

RE: The Weather
I give up with guessing what will happen or what to expect, just take it as it comes now!

[wirralbus]

RE: The Weather
I would have been more surprised if we didnt get any frost in January , its just a matter of time before we get a sprinkling of the white stuff now .

Question to DVL what do they use when the temperatures start dropping towards the point when Rock Salt becomes less effective ?

[buses7675 (Website Founder)]

RE: The Weather
One thing I've noticed with the weather, it is always foggier in St Helens than Liverpool (often they get fog and nothing at all here!) and also St Helens Council seem very keen on gritting their roads, something not noticed (personally anyway!) as much in Liverpool!

[wirralbus]

RE: The Weather
I think once the grit starts going down on the roads , you will probably notice the road surfaces start to deteriorate quite rapidly and pot holes to form in an abundance.

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: The Weather
Generally speaking, it's been remarkably mild of late. It's not often around turn of the year time I can go out without gloves and a heavy coat and still feel perfectly warm. I suppose a cold snap is inevitable.

[wirralbus]

RE: The Weather
Ground frost this morning on the Wirral , can not be long before we have our first Air Frost of 2013.

[DVL418]

RE: The Weather

(08/01/2013 19:13)wirralbus Wrote:  I would have been more surprised if we didnt get any frost in January , its just a matter of time before we get a sprinkling of the white stuff now .

Question to DVL what do they use when the temperatures start dropping towards the point when Rock Salt becomes less effective ?

In extreme cases spreading sharp sand or grit over the top of the ice to provide traction is an option - but rarely used in recent years in UK.

However, very messy, especially when a slight thaw sets in - Alpine countrys leave the snow in place after blowing drifts away, and vehicles fit suitable snow tyres/chains - this is done by Council's and emergency services in upland areas of UK E.g. Derbyshire to key emergency vehicles.