Why specialist weather forecasts might just keep you out of trouble
The world of specialist weather forecasting has undergone significant improvements in recent years. Access to powerful supercomputers that process millions of lines of code, in conjunction with data from actual weather stations and live-feed sensors have accelerated observational capabilities and numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to near pin-point accuracy for short range meso-scale (hyper-localised) forecasting
How de-icing salt works for effective winter gritting
De-icing salt works by lowering the freezing point of water. This is known as freezing point “depression”. When pure salt is mixed with water, it dissolves into separate sodium and chloride ions. These ions interfere with the formation of ice crystals, making it more difficult for water to freeze
What Is Winter Gritting?
Winter gritting is the process of spreading salt or grit on roads, car parks, footpaths and other surfaces to prevent ice from forming, or to melt existing ice and snow
The changing face of Winter Gritting
FM Business Daily October 2023 Today, technology and data are changing every sector – and the outdoor estate is no exception. In areas such as winter gritting where responsiveness, and above all consistency of service can protect businesses from liability, technology has completely changed the game. To understand this, just think about the impact of […]
Why The Jet Stream Is Responsible For The Sudden Cold Winter Weather
The UK has turned towards colder and wetter weather in the last 7 days largely due to a change in the position of the Jet Stream
Why Our Teams Have Just Completed An Advanced Winter Weather Forecasting Course
Our teams have just completed an advanced weather forecasting course. This is designed for experienced winter maintenance teams to better understand and be able to interpret our ever-changing weather patterns and complex forecasts, improving their winter gritting forecasting skills.
Fingers on the Pulse – How consumer-style technology is changing Winter Gritting in the UK
A trend towards accessing any service with greater convenience and immediacy on any device has proliferated in recent years. Here, Jason Petsch, CEO of OUTCO, explains how consumer-style technology is changing winter gritting in the UK.
How unusually warm weather patterns impact commercial winter gritting
The summer of 2022 will be remembered as being a hot and dry one, in which temperatures in the UK reached a record-breaking 40.3C at the peak of the heatwave. These hot temperatures are becoming more common and often trick us into presuming that the winter will be mild, without any need for winter gritting services. Not true.