The gritters were out on the roads of Brighton and Hove last night (Monday 28 January) with weather forecasts warning of the possibility of ice and snow.
The night was relatively dry, with a frost most likely, but tonight (Tuesday 29 January) and possibly on Wednesday or Thursday nights there may be a greater likelihood of snow.
Brighton and Hove City Council sent its gritters out for the second night running and the ninth time this month.
Highways manager Stuart Wilson said in an email last night: “So far this winter has been fairly mild, at least in terms of extreme weather and snow.
“However, it is looking increasingly likely that we in Brighton and Hove may be due to get our first snowfall of 2019 on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning this week and possibly later in the week as well.
“Unfortunately, as is often the case, the forecasts have been inconsistent to say the least, with both the Met Office and Meteogroup (forecasters) changing their predictions from snow to no-snow in one case and no-snow to snow in the other for the coming days.
“Under the circumstances this makes planning operational activities rather tricky so we’ve made a decision to approach this on the basis of a ‘worst case scenario’.
“As a result of the fairly prolonged cold snap recently, with sub-zero temperatures overnight leading to this point, we’ve carried out gritting runs on the 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 27 of January to date in order to deal with any frost and ice on the main highway network and, because there has not been a prolonged amount of rainfall over the same period, the levels of salt coating the surface of the treated network is reasonable.
“Tonight the duty manager has instructed an over-treatment, which means using more salt than would normally be required, in preparation for the anticipated snowfall and further multiple treatments will be undertaken again tomorrow evening and overnight as deemed necessary based on the latest forecasts and available data we have to hand.
“Please be assured that we have a plentiful supply of salt available and a dedicated highway winter maintenance team working around the clock monitoring conditions and forecasts to provide the best response we are able to under the circumstances.
“We will endeavour to make sure all the main roads and bus routes are as clear of snow and ice as possible.
“However, this does require vehicles, especially buses, to carry on running and trafficking in the salt to any settling snow, so the timing, quantity and rate of snowfall can play a significant part in how quickly it then clears from the network.”
