Skip to main content

DS Risk Warning: Weather; Snow and Ice

By

 Hello all,


We don't usually comment on Yellow Warnings but as the 'S' word is mentioned, here goes:

The Met Office has issued warnings as follows:

1. Yellow warning for South West England: Snow and Ice
Between 21:00 (UTC) on Mon 6 Mar 2023 and 10:00 (UTC) on Tue 7 Mar 2023

​2. ​Yellow warning for South West England: Snow
Between 00:00 (UTC) on Wed 8 Mar 2023 and 23:59 (UTC) on Wed 8 Mar 2023

​The warnings cover the whole of our regional support area.

The first warning, repeated below, for us boils down to: There'll be some snow settling on higher ground but probably not much. It may happen on lower ground in places but we haven't a clue on how it will pan out at present! However it will clear away.

DS says; We kno​w calling a closure is one of your most difficult decisions. However, on this basis, all we can advise is that you make sure you've ticked all the boxes of our winter weather advice, done your preparations, have your plan ready to open on a rolling basis to the vulnerable and critical pupils, if needed and carefully assess the situation in the morning on awakening.

"A band of rain will edge southwards through the course of Monday evening and early Tuesday, this rain turning to snow on hills and perhaps to lower levels in places. Many areas will see little or no accumulations of snow, but 1 to 2 cm could settle in some spots, most likely over high ground and southern parts of the warning area. The rain and snow is then expected to turn light and patchy as it slowly clears southern England on Tuesday. As skies clear overnight, ice is also likely to form readily on untreated surfaces."

The second warning, repeated below looks more certain and clear. there is content on impact on a wider travel to work area to take into account. Our advice, given above is equally applicable.

"Spells of snow reaching parts of southwest England late on Tuesday evening will then spread north during the early hours of Wednesday before clearing away eastwards during Wednesday daytime. Many parts can expect accumulations of 1 to 2 cm of snow whilst over higher parts of southwest England, especially Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor, along with the hills and mountains of south Wales 5 to 10 cm of snow is likely for some. Untreated surfaces are also expected to become icy."

Finally please note the emphasis on the word 'slight' in their advice and, as part of your deliberations, think resilience too!

What to expect

  • There is a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel
  • There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
  • There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
  • A small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
  • There is a slight chance that bus and train services may be delayed or cancelled, with some road closures and longer journey times
All the best.

Bill

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DS Risk Warning: Cyber Critical Update

By
  Critical Update With thanks to our NPs the S W Cyber Resilience Centre, we bring you their updated advice. Please pay close attention to it, regardless that it flows from the attacks on the retail sector. The approach taken can be applied anywhere! The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a critical warning following a wave of cyber attacks on major UK retailers including M&S, Co-op and Harrods. These incidents appear to involve criminals impersonating IT help desks to trick staff into revealing login credentials, a technique known as social engineering.   We’re issuing this urgent message to all SWCRC members to raise awareness and encourage immediate action.   What’s happening?   A group calling itself DragonForce has contacted the BBC to claim responsibility for recent breaches. Their tactics include:        •     Phoning IT staff pretending to be locked-out employees       •     Calling or messaging staff pretending to be from internal IT h...
Post a Comment
Read more

DS Risk Warning: UK raises terror threat level to ‘severe’ following Vienna attack

By
  Home Secretary Priti Patel has confirmed the escalation of the UK terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe" following an attack in Vienna that left at least three dead. The change means that an attack on UK soil is now deemed "highly likely". The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has changed the UK terror threat level from substantial to severe. This is a precautionary measure and is not based on any specific threat. The potential is for UK based 'lone wolfs' to be emboldened to take action themselves which could take place anywhere in the UK. We are asked to continue to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321. If your information does not relate to an imminent threat, you can also contact MI5 . What the threat levels mean: Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack. LOW means an attack is highly unlikely MODERATE ...
Post a Comment
Read more

DS Risk Warning: Health - Coronavirus/Covid 19

By
Hello all, You may well have already heard or seen that as a result of the Government's meeting today on this issue they have moved to a different level of response to the virus and its progress namely DELAY. After reading the following and reflecting on it you may come to the conclusion a communication to all staff and another to parent/carers would be timely, as soon as possible, to try to stave off issues on site tomorrow morning. With immediate effect the advice is that anyone with a new persistent cough or high temperature should self-isolate for seven days. From Friday, school trips abroad will be banned. This should trigger the ability to claim from your insurers but there's no compensation for the disappointment and lost opportunity, of course. Older people and those with pre-existing health conditions are being told not to go on cruises. PM Boris Johnson said it was "the worst public health crisis for a generation".   He said there was no...
Post a Comment
Read more