This year Halloween and Bonfire Night(s) seemed to mark the transition from autumn to more wintry weather. Although winter is still officially 44 days away the UK has already experienced some heavy snowfall and the air has certainly turned colder over Essex with clear skies leading to some night frosts. It is only a matter of time before snow comes to Essex.
Is Essex Prepared For Snow in 2012/13?
After such a long time with no proper snow the people, and councils, of Essex became a little complacent. However, the last 2 years have seen thick snow fall across the county which disrupted travel on many major roads.
This year Essex county council are better prepared. They are also now in a position to demonstrate exactly what they are doing too. Snow gritters in Essex have now been fitted with GPS trackers which are being used to monitor where the gritters are, and where they have been.
On the Essex County Council’s Highways website there is now a live map showing where every gritter is. The map also shows the current activity of the gritter with the following colour codes:
- Blue – Moving
- Yellow – Engine on
- Green – Stopped
- Orange – Waiting for GPS location
While GPS will not guarantee that Essex County Council will always be one step ahead of the snow, it will help to manage gritting and demonstrate to road users that it is making every effort to grit the most important roads in the county.
See www.essexhighways.org to track the Essex gritters.
Today it snowed. Today 70 plus schools closed and many roads were impassable for an hour or so this morning.
GPS suddenly seems a bit gimmicky. What did we learn? That the gritters were still in bed?