Salt supplies replenished for white christmas

Council officials are stocking up on salt supplies in anticipation of a white Christmas.

Since August, Edinburgh Council has managed to stockpile 5,200 tonnes of salt and is expecting another 2,000 tonnes to be delivered to the Capital. The action was taken after weather forecasters predicted another subzero winter with a high possibility of snowfall on Christmas Day.

Jonathan Powell, a forecaster from Positive Weather Solutions, said: "Scotland has another bitterly cold winter in store. Temperatures will rival those seen last year, with snowfall a close match."

Positive Weather Solutions uses long term forecasting based on 30 years of historical data and current trends. It predicts that this winter it will start foggy, before snowfall will persist at the end of the December.

Frost will be a frequent presence throughout the whole winter but snowfall is expected again in mid-January and mid-February.

Last year, the Capital nearly spent all of its £1.4 million winter maintenance budget in the first week of January. City leaders were forced to buy more salt from the Highlands and private salting firms after it began running low on reserves.

Last year was recorded the coldest winter in Scotland for 31 years with the lowest temperature recorded as -22.3 °C in Altnaharra.

City bosses are determined to take relevant precautions ensuring sufficient reserves. A council spokesman said: "We have been stockpiling salt since August and are expecting more deliveries in the coming weeks so we're ahead of the game."

“It's worth noting that we never actually ran out of salt this year, unlike some other local authorities. So we intend to follow a similar programme to last year, improved by the increased storage and stockpiling."

A storage space in its depot in Bankhead has been cleared for a salt reserve, 40 per cent bigger than last year’s supply. Edinburgh Council have also invested in five extra gritters and eight mini-tractors to ensure that the city will not be forced to a standstill by severe weather.