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Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:06 pm
by Horse

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:13 pm
by vanman
Lovely, most are happy to see these guys out and about. This just improves the happiness, good for them.

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:34 pm
by GTR1400MAN
If only they just came out when they are needed and not just on a gamble from overly pessimistic weather forecasts.

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:04 am
by Horse
Go on then, I'll bite. How will they know other than by forecasting (and roadside/in-surface remote sensing)?

And the follow-up question is: How much grief will they get if an incorrect 'don't send them out' decision is made?

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:29 pm
by GTR1400MAN
It's a constant discussion of why their forecasts differ so much from the actual weather.

It's quite regular they spread when quite mild and even when rain forecast.

Yes the 'duty of care' card. What about what the roads are like for longer after the frost would have long gone? That balance never gets talked about.

Something has changed in the last 15 years (approx). Much more gritting is done and the roads remain in a slimy condition for much much longer. Car windscreen wash/sprayers struggle to keep your screen clean and visors are caked in a few miles.

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:05 pm
by Horse
Way out of my areas of work, but I know that there experiments underway on spreading brine instead of salt, or wetted salt. That may have something to do with it. Or not. And there were tales of molasses being mixed so it stuck to the road - don't know if that's true!

And why do forecasts vary from actual weather? :) You do realise, surely, that weather forecasts are just horoscopes with added numbers? ;)

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:28 pm
by GTR1400MAN
Yes, I've had all the discussions about brine etc.

Yes, the sticky stuff. ABP. Agricultural By Products, mixed with the salt. Hard to get anyone to admit to what product they actually spread.

Don't get me started on forecasts. Generally they are over pessimistic or over optimistic click bait!

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:03 pm
by Horse
Which is why there (well, one reason) there is a move towards local temperature sensing to determine whether to spread, type and quantity.

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:07 am
by dvenman
GTR1400MAN wrote:If only they just came out when they are needed and not just on a gamble from overly pessimistic weather forecasts.


GTR1400MAN wrote:It's a constant discussion of why their forecasts differ so much from the actual weather.


Met folks aren't referred to as "weather guessers" for nothing.

On a slightly more serious note, it's a bugger of a job to get anything near right when a butterfly in the Pacific can upset all their calculations...

Re: Nitty Gritty Truth

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:46 am
by Horse
Kill the butterfly? Would that sort it?