Has anyone else ventured out this early on a Saturday morning and seen that the gritters have been out? Does that mean it's going to snow???!!!!

Not necessarily snow, but does indicate they feel that a ground temperature / wind chill factor at the surface of the road could cause icing. The Met Ogffice does some forecasts for the local authorities to help them decide.

Like all Met Office forecasts, they don't always get it right....but usually do.

It has been cold the last couple of nights - my basic rules of whether it's a cold night or not are :

Clear skies - gonna be cold.
Cats trying to climb on the bed and snuggle up - definitely cold.
Cats trying to climb in the bed and hog the blankets - bloody freezing.

:)

Joe

Like spotting the first cuckoo - seeing the first gritter!

When they get it right we are all v pleased they are there.

The few times they grit our road they only do the level bit and miss out the hill.

Originally posted by JoePritchard
Cats trying to climb in the bed and hog the blankets - bloody freezing.

Apologies to anyone who automatically expects offensive posts from me these days, but I have to say that your post raised a smile.

On waking this morning, my girlfriend and I were greeted by Larry the Cat (named after Curb Your Enthusiasm's protagonist, long before E4 got their hands on it) cuddling-up right next to us in bed.

When I woke up and threw an arm across my partner, it landed tight on Larry, an act which would normally send him scarpering... And he never shifted!

Little sod.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chloe
[B]Has anyone else ventured out this early on a Saturday morning

early,early,thats midday for some of us,i've been at work tree hours by that time :P

cats are the best way to tell how the weather is if its too cold, they head for the warmest spot - usually the place between my girlfriend and i in bed!

i walked home, crookes to broomhill last night at about midnight and it was bloody freezing!

:D its still bloody cold out , ah well another 1/2 hour and i'm finished for the day,going back inside a nice warm pub

:D if the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be? :confused:

Wouldn't it be cool if humans could hibernate for the Winter....

Originally posted by Chloe
Wouldn't it be cool if humans could hibernate for the Winter....

Oh if only.. Id choose a bar to live in for the winter :)

Originally posted by fridgeman
:D if the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be? :confused:

if the average temperature for this time of year is 15C, and today it's 0C, then twice as cold will be -15C :D

I'd rather they gritted too often than not enough!

Originally posted by JoePritchard
It has been cold the last couple of nights - my basic rules of whether it's a cold night or not are :

Clear skies - gonna be cold.
Cats trying to climb on the bed and snuggle up - definitely cold.
Cats trying to climb in the bed and hog the blankets - bloody freezing.Joe

Perhaps the council should employ a couple of cats to predict whether gritting is necessary! I went to let my two out last night for their pre bedtime pee and they put one paw outside, looked at me like I was insane and scuttled back to the sofa!

I drove back from town last night about 11pm and it was freezing but the temperature display at the bottom of Bramhall lane said it was 5 C! It felt a lot colder than that. Not be long until we're all scraping the car windscreens again every morning. :(

The council can grit whenever they want for me - so long as they don't run out or not bother when we really need it.

Cats trying to climb in the bed and hog the blankets - bloody freezing.

AKA

Get spare bedding et al...

Don't forget that when the ice comes it's only the roads that are gritted; the pavements aren't. However you are allowed to use the grit from the nearest yellow gritbox to treat the pavement.

It's up to you to use it!

ITS ALRIGHT FOR YOU IN BROOMHILL BUT WHAT ABOUT US POOR SODS UP HERE, I'VE LOOKED ROUND ON MY TRAVELS , HAVE NOT SEEN ONE YELLOW GRIT BOX, IF I DO FIND ONE IT'LL PROBABLY BE BL888Y EMPTY :rant:

OK so I'm lucky (big deal) but don't shout at me, call the council.

Originally posted by fridgeman
ITS ALRIGHT FOR YOU IN BROOMHILL BUT WHAT ABOUT US POOR SODS UP HERE, I'VE LOOKED ROUND ON MY TRAVELS , HAVE NOT SEEN ONE YELLOW GRIT BOX, IF I DO FIND ONE IT'LL PROBABLY BE BL888Y EMPTY :rant:

No need to shout! You can also treat your pavement using a bag of table salt that you can buy at the supermarket. It's expensive but if it saves you slipping up and breaking your neck then it's worth it.

ptigga, sorry for shouting,did i wake you or had you a sore head :P
why should i have to spend my hard earnt money when i already subscribe to the club they call sheffield council
my appologies also to pberry for shouting it was not directed at you or anyone in particular :)

Re. gritting/salting your own pavement.

I don't know whether it's one of those urban myths but I heard that if somebody slips on a piece of pavement/drive that you have tried to make safer by gritting/salting, then they are perfectly able to claim compensation for the injuries and trauma suffered. Apparantly good "neighbourliness" is not a mitigating factor.

Can't remember where I heard it but in today's litigous society I could believe it. Just thought I'd throw that in....

Originally posted by LottieWat
Re. gritting/salting your own pavement.

I don't know whether it's one of those urban myths but I heard that if somebody slips on a piece of pavement/drive that you have tried to make safer by gritting/salting, then they are perfectly able to claim compensation for the injuries and trauma suffered. Apparantly good "neighbourliness" is not a mitigating factor.

Then that person would have slipped anyway, gritted or not! :(

Yes, but if they had slipped without your having gritted then that's just bad luck and maybe they try to sue the council. The minute you intervene, you take responsibility. It's like the first aider trying to help a suffering man but inadvertently making things worse or not being able to save him winding up with a lawsuit.

Like I said, don't know if it's true but thought I'd throw it in in case anybody wanted to check whether the council could do something about their pavement before attempting it themselves.

I guess it depends on how quickly you want it doing though...