Winter Weather Preparedness - 30th January 2019

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Category: News from around the Parish

Created on Wednesday, 30 January 2019 12:55

Published on Thursday, 31 January 2019 10:08

Written by Parish Clerk

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You may have seen the weather forecast for Hampshire which indicates some wintry weather and possible snow accumulations for the rest of this week.  Tonight’s weather may bring some snow across the county but this isn’t expected to be extensive. We are, nevertheless, expecting some very cold weather conditions which will bring a significant risk of ice, particularly on minor, untreated roads. We should have a clearer idea from the weather forecasters tomorrow if more snow and sleet is likely to come as far south as Hampshire through Thursday and beyond. 

In preparation for the icy conditions, our winter fleet has been out salting Hampshire’s Priority 1 routes (which carry around 75% of Hampshire’s traffic) this afternoon, ahead of any ice forming before dusk. They will then salt these routes again at 7pm and return to the depots around 11pm where they will remain on standby through the night, undertaking further treatments as necessary. 

Salting decisions are based on the weather forecast in combination with real time information from a network of electronic weather stations across Hampshire.  Forecast road surface and air temperatures, wind speed and direction, rainfall, and ice formation are all factors used in the decision making process. All seven salt barns across the county are well stocked with salt, and the county’s network of community salt bins are all routinely kept full of salt for the winter period. 

Maps of salt routes and locations of salt bins can be found at: https://maps.hants.gov.uk/highwayssaltroutes/ and Hampshire Highways’ Twitter feed @hantshighways keeps residents informed of when the gritters are going out.

Visit https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/snow-and-ice for information on:

• Salting roads and footpaths in winter weather
• Bin collections
• Homeless and rough sleeper help
• Latest updates on borough council services
• Other useful information and advice