UPDATE: BBC and Reuters is reporting (h/t to reader FergalR) that:
‘Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he had asked the government’s chief scientific adviser to assess whether the country was experiencing a “step change” in weather patterns due to climate change and whether it needed to spend more money on winter preparations.’
Maybe they’ll have a look at Met Office climate models and CRU with a real investigation.
Record grit reserves in Lincolnshire ‘60% gone’
More than half the grit stocks held by Lincolnshire County Council have already been used, officials have said.
Despite starting the winter with 31,600 tonnes – 8,000 more than usual – the council said it had already used about 60% due to persistent low temperatures.
It had spread almost as much salt this year as it did for the whole of the 2007-08 winter.
The council said the next delivery was not due until mid-January so resources would be used carefully.
Councillor William Webb, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, promised to keep main routes open.
He said: “We’ll keep on gritting whenever it’s needed – be that 1pm on Christmas Day or Midnight on New Year’s Eve – whilst ensuring that appropriate quantities are being spread and salt isn’t wasted.
“We greatly value the assistance of farmers, contractors and even private individuals in supporting our tireless efforts to ensure safety for motorists and pedestrians.”
The authority covers 1,869 miles (3,008km) of Lincolnshire’s main routes, including all A and B roads.
While the amount of snow seen at the beginning of the month is not forecast for the next few days, temperatures as low as -7C (19.4F) are expected to be widespread.
Related – On December 2nd, this BBC story said:
Road salt is ‘disappearing fast’, Welsh councils warn
At the London Evening Standard, it seems at least one official is confident though, or maybe he’s “hiding the decline” of grit:
Today Boris Johnson promised Londoners the capital was prepared for anything that the elements could throw at it. He said: “Even if it snows 24 hours a day, morning, noon and night for two weeks, which has never happened before, we have enough grit for our roads.
…
Forecasters said the second big blast of the winter could last until Christmas and warned London to brace itself for “the main event” tomorrow.
It takes “true grit” to make such predictions in the face of nature.
AJB says:
December 19, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Mike Lockwood interview on Channel 4 News – Sun affects Jet Stream.
Lockwood says the cold winters could last for 200-300 years. I would like to know his reasoning for this statement, sounds ill informed to me.
Geoff Sharp says:
December 19, 2010 at 11:49 pm
AJB says:
December 19, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Mike Lockwood interview on Channel 4 News – Sun affects Jet Stream.
Lockwood says the cold winters could last for 200-300 years. I would like to know his reasoning for this statement, sounds ill informed to me.
Could well be. But who is to say these winters are not the beginning of the end? The Holocene has to end sometime, and it looks to me like we are living on borrowed time:
http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/vostok.png
biddyb: I would be surprised if ‘Old Sparky’ in Private Eye is Christopher Brooker, as I understand he fell out with that organ many years ago.
On the other hand, Private Eye has for some months been detailing not just the folly of wind and solar power, but the vested commercial interests of the politicians forcing it on us, so perhaps his influence has returned.
I too would be without the current edition of the magazine if I were relying on the postman. I live in rural Somerset and deliveries have ceased owing to the snow. I had to trudge a mile through the snow to the motorway services to get a copy along with essential supplies. Since then we have had another dumping, and I haven’t seen such a depth of snow since 1962-3.
To me it just demonstrates how weather just runs in decadal cycles, while climate, on the scale of a human life, remains stable. The UK is still an island with a temperate, maritime climate having warmer and cooler periods within it. No climate change at all.
“Paul N says:
December 20, 2010 at 3:15 am”
And no significant sea level rises (Assuming no changes in land levels – not likely in these regions, but possible I guess all the same) in hundreds and hundreds of years. Look at Emsworth (Very low lying land, not quite Pays-Bas, but not far off), Portsmouth, Gosport, Exeter in the UK etc etc…
lapogus says:
December 20, 2010 at 1:51 am
Mike Lockwood interview on Channel 4 News – Sun affects Jet Stream.
Could well be. But who is to say these winters are not the beginning of the end? The Holocene has to end sometime, and it looks to me like we are living on borrowed time:
But then he should have predicted 90,000 years which is quite different. Sun induced cold via grand minima as he discussed is different from ice ages as a result of orbital changes. But granted the two might work together otherwise it might be hard to explain the steep rise and fall. Over the Holocene there does not look to be a continuous period of 300 years of solar downturn and looking at my data I would say we are in for 20-30 years of cold winters….perhaps he added a zero?
How about this reminder from young Simon, scion of the Met Office Establishment, making a stupid remark a while back, based merely on his own VERY short experience? It bears repetition.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pwQ6S11xOk[/youtube]
Young Simon is telling the Cbeebies that snow is a “very rare event” but he’s nobbut a lad is, he? And the kiddies have even LESS experience of normal weather variation. I call this sort of “news” abuse of the innocence of the young! and I include Simon himself in that category!
I ws born at the end of March 1947 after three months of arctic weather. My pregnant mum had to wear socks over her boots when venturing out on the ice.
I had a sledge as a kid, made by my dad, like all my pals, and we used them nearly every year.
Weather “normality” covers quite a wide range of variation over time, let’s not forget that, Simon.
So the Transport Secretary will ask the government’s Chief Scientific Officer for his opinion. How can he answer? Will he note the “uncertainties?”
It is generally thought that humans can not predict future earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Climate change is another natural event, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. What is the evidence that humans can accurately predict future climates? Who has asserted that humans have this skill, and is there any credible evidence to to support their assertion?
@douglas re the Miasma and Cholera: A lot of the ‘AGW theory’ is the new fashion of alchemy, check this book out: http://librivox.org/the-story-of-alchemy-by-m-m-pattison-muir/ you’ll see some amusing parallels (and the history is also cool)
Don’t forget that the salt runoff will cause a marine environment on the verges that the the WWF will attribute to rising sea levels……………
Thanks Mr. the article is beautifful… I visitor from Indonesian….