`We're more prepared than we've ever been!'.Byline: Andrew Jackson Jackson. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,446), seat of Jackson co., S Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1857. It is an industrial and commercial center in a farm region. , Roads chiefs are ready to tackle winter woes this year with help from a fleet of snow ploughs and Met Office experts. The Highways Agency has announced it has more than 50 snowploughs and blowers poised to clear roads in the Yorkshire region, as well as 44 gritters to make sure routes stay clear. Antony Firth firth or frith, Scottish term applied to an arm of the sea, usually an estuary or strait. For Firth of Clyde, see Clyde; for Firth of Forth, see Forth. , area manager for the Highways Agency, said they were geared up for winter. He added: "We are very well prepared. We have done more preparation than ever. "We have done exercises for if we get a really bad snow fall." A specialist team of three forecasters from the Met Office will work with Agency experts to provide information on upcoming weather forecasting weather forecasting Prediction of the weather through application of the principles of physics and meteorology. Weather forecasting predicts atmospheric phenomena and changes on the Earth's surface caused by atmospheric conditions (snow and ice cover, storm tides, floods, . Across Yorkshire and Humber ice conditions are being measured at prediction stations. One station in the Huddersfield area is at Ainley Top, where high-tech equipment is used to measure road and air temperatures as well as moisture in the air to monitor the threat of ice. When snow and ice is forecast the gritting fleet can be mobilised within three hours. But Mr Firth said safety on the roads was not just in the hands of the Highways Agency this winter. He added: "Motorists are not as prepared as they should be. They don't appreciate the impact of their driving behaviour. In bad winter weather it can take 10 times longer to slow down. We need people to slow down." Mr Firth said motorists should not be fooled by recent milder winters, with snow or sleet sleet, precipitation of small, partially melted grains of ice. As raindrops fall from clouds, they pass through layers of air at different temperatures. If they pass through a layer with a temperature below the freezing point, they turn into sleet. falling around 50 days a year in the high Pennines above Huddersfield. He added: "Drivers should keep their vehicles in good condition and take an essential emergency kit along with them. "There will be times when the best option is simply not to set out on a journey. It's vital we all play our part in making it a trouble free winter." |
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