Yorkshire weather forecast: Gritters out on Yorkshire’s motorways and A-roads as temperatures plummet and wintry, icy conditions expected

The UK Health Security Agency issued the warning on Wednesday, December 7 as temperatures plummeted.

It is in place until Monday, December 12.

In Yorkshire, The Met Office forecasts cold weather with potentially wintry showers along the coast. The wintry showers are expected to move inland towards the weekend.

The weekend can expect very cold weather, with widespread frosts.

Daytime temperatures will remain close to freezing, forecasters said.

National Highways said that gritters will be going out this week for the first significant operation of this autumn and winter season.

National Highways’ forecasting services have indicated road surfaces are at risk of developing ice in certain regions today – triggering the need for our gritter drivers in numerous areas to conduct their first salt spreading runs of the season.

The government-owned company is now urging drivers to take care during the poor weather while also giving gritting teams space to operate.

Darren Clark, Severe Weather Resilience Manager at National Highways, said: “We manage a huge roads network nationwide – with over 4,500 miles of motorways and A-roads.

“Not all roads will need treating on any given day. Gritters may need to go out in some regions if road temperatures fall below +1 degrees C, and if there is a risk of ice forming, but not in other areas if conditions are not as cold.

“National Highways is committed to treating every road which needs to be treated – whenever it is needed. We are armed with the latest technology, forecasting intelligence and years of experience to help us make informed decisions about where and when we need to spread salt to help keep road users safe in even the most adverse weather conditions.”

National Highways has 530 gritter vehicles available this winter. A total of 443 of these vehicles are Volvo gritters.

Vehicles in its winter gritting fleet can carry up to around 12,000 kg of salt, or 8,400 kg of salt and 3,600 litres of brine at any one time.

The Volvo gritting vehicles can spread up to 50mph, encouraging traffic to keep moving more effectively on the roads even when they are being treated. When not treating they can travel up to 56mph.

These vehicles are based at 128 depots nationwide with a stockpile of around 280,000 tonnes of salt for the autumn and winter season. There are two new depots in this total – one at Malton, on the A64 and one at Newport on the A63, both in Yorkshire.

Abigail Oakes, Senior Account Manager at the Met Office, said: “We are delighted to continue our close working relationship with National Highways this autumn and winter season.

“Our staff, be that meteorologists embedded alongside the National Highways team in Birmingham during the autumn and winter, or Met Office staff working from Exeter to deliver and support throughout the year, are proud to continue this partnership, which allows for the best possible support for road users during periods of severe weather.”