6 days Ago
Norfolk's gritters are heading out for the first time this winter, after the Met Office warned that snow and ice could be coming to the county. Norfolk County Council confirmed its gritting lorries would be doing a run of the county's roads at 3pm today (Tuesday, November 19) and 3am tomorrow (Wednesday, November 20). It comes after forecasters issued a warning for the majority of the county from 6pm today until 12noon tomorrow .
With temperatures set to drop to -5c overnight, the Met Office warned of potentially difficult travelling conditions. Icy patches could develop on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths before the morning. The area covered by the Met Office's alert (Image: Met Office) A spokesman for the Met Office said: "Snow showers will develop during Tuesday evening and continue overnight into Wednesday morning, initially in the north of the area before spreading south later in the night.
"The showers may be heavy at times and accompanied by lightning. "Some lying snow is likely, with 2 to 3 cm in places, and a risk of 10 cm or more over higher ground. Ice will readily form on untreated surfaces.
" Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council has spent almost £5m over the past two years on 45 new gritting vehicles . It has also added new technology to all lorries in its 58-strong fleet , which will allow teams to salt the road with limited manual intervention - making the gritting process more accurate, saving time and reducing waste. The council says the technology reduces the amount of salt used by between 10pc and 15pc and means it will not end up on grass verges and other areas which do not need gritting.
Norfolk County Council grits some 2,200 miles of A, B and some C class roads, along with some pedestrian areas of King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Norwich. The council posts updates on gritting on its Facebook page . National Highways is responsible for gritting the A11 and A47.
.
