Weather.... late 2009

[Anthony Darby]

Salt is useless below about -17^oC (0^oF) as that is the temperature at which brine - a salt solution - freezes (Gabriel Fahrenheit's scale serves no other useful purpose). The last time we had temperatures that cold was the winter of 1995/96. The demise of outdoor curling ponds in Scotland can testify to the lack of cold winters being the norm. Forty-odd years ago I could have visited over half a dozen curling ponds in spring looking for newts. They've all since dried out, been filled in or become over grown.

The roads and highways are "sanded" with gravel around here - it's very hard on windshields.

I've never noticed any damage to my windscreen caused by rock salt, so perhaps we are lucky?

[cohan]

of course we also get the large chunks thrown up in the windshield particularly caused by the numerous speeders in large pick-up trucks who pass in tight quarters (this is probably 3/4 of the driving population here) and by the large transport and other oil/construction vehicles, all of which also speed (until they get to the truly gargantuan sizes where they are simply incapable of speeding) and their weight digs down into the pavement pulling up sand/gravel/salt to throw at you even when smaller vehicles are not throwing up anything...

the problem of debris being thrown does not go away in summer either--no doubt remnants of the sand/gravel are there most of the year, but we also have a lot of traffic coming onto the highways from dirt roads, so there is a source of mud and gravel all year.... you see more cracked windshields than not, around here..

as for salt temperatures, i think they use chemicals other than natural salt which do melt at lower than natural temperatures, but still, that is the reason, i'm sure that there is less use of salt here than generally warmer toronto, for example (where it is overused--often just resulting in thick slush, which is not always better than snow!)

so that's why F has 0 in such an odd place...lol

[Michael J Campbell]

6°C here today and wall to wall sunshine,feels like a heatwave. -6°C forecast for the next few nights.

[Anthony Darby]

We had 8" of snow overnight. Bit of a thaw now.

[mark smyth]

Our road service doesnt salt paths. The local hospital has to mobilise it's own staff to spread salt. The local corner shop owner is so tight he doest buy salt for the entrance. Very dangerous because there is a steep slope to the door. My mother fell there a few years ago but wouldnt take it any further

[Anthony Darby]

Here's a pic of the gritter taken from our lounge. They only did one pavement (= footpath) with a much smaller vehicle early this morning.

Lucy and I went sledging up the hill this afternoon, with Heidi. Lucy tried to play dead, but Heidi wasn't fooled.

[cohan]

Our road service doesnt salt paths. The local hospital has to mobilise it's own staff to spread salt. The local corner shop owner is so tight he doest buy salt for the entrance. Very dangerous because there is a steep slope to the door. My mother fell there a few years ago but wouldnt take it any further

cities here have laws requiring residents and businesses to keep their sidewalks clear, not sure about the smaller towns; city equipment will likely do some main street sidewalks, but apart from that, its up to property owners/residents etc.. not that they always do, and fines i think are not applied often enough to make people do a better job...

[Lesley Cox]

That's a very fetching coat that Heidi's wearing Anthony. I tried to get Teddy into one back in the winter but he preferred to eat it.

[Lesley Cox]

Warnings every 20 minutes on the radio.don't drive and don't even attempt to walk on the footpath.
Who voted those idiots unto the council.?

Presumably you did Michael?

Our grit trucks don't add salt because it causes rust (so I'm told) to the undersides of vehicles. I sprinkle it on my back footpath in winter and as it washes off in rain, it acts as a neat weedkiller to the edges of the lawn. I believe some kind of synthetic stuff is now used to prevent freezing roads though.

[Sinchets]

I agree, Lesley- no salt on the roads here so much less corrosion on the car than I was used to seeing in the UK. Are there any environmental impact studies into detrimental effects of so much salt on the area around salted roads?

[Michael J Campbell]

Presumably you did Michael? Cheesy

Not me Lesley,I usually spoil my vote, could not vote for the gombeens that they put up for election.

[Lesley Cox]

Any cars imported from the UK are always carefully examined and washed down before sale, for salt contamination and corrosion.

[David Shaw]

Simon, in about 1980 the A9 trunk road was routed round the edge of Loch Alvie, near Aviemore. We, at the then River Board were sure that there would be salt contamination of the loch and undertook to monitor during the winters Monitoring took place for several continous winter after the opening of the road and then at irregular intervals until the present day. We were pleasantly surprised not to find any impact at all. Monitoring has also taken place of groundwater around the large stockpile heaps of salt at roads depots. Again, surprisingly, no impact was found.

[Anthony Darby]

I agree, Lesley- no salt on the roads here so much less corrosion on the car than I was used to seeing in the UK. Are there any environmental impact studies into detrimental effects of so much salt on the area around salted roads?

Our weather is so variable that when it is frosty or snowy the roads need to to salted and gritted otherwise nobody would get anywhere. Jack-knifed lorries blocked the A9 north between Dunblane and Auchterarder this morning purely because the roads hadn't been treated overnight. Some very unhappy bunnies on the news this evening. The rock salt they put on the roads round here is as mined with nothing added. It hasn't really much effect on habitats near roads, except for the spread of Danish Scurvy Grass along motorway central reservations. They must think it's the splash zone on a sea shore? In lands that have guaranteed snow there would be no point in gritting. I assume cars and lorries would be fitted with appropriate tyres or have chains fitted for the season? This Christmas has been unusual. Normally we get a couple of days snow twice a year.

[Anthony Darby]

That's a very fetching coat that Heidi's wearing Anthony. I tried to get Teddy into one back in the winter but he preferred to eat it.

Heidi's Christmas present. She doesn't pay any attention to it.