Severe Weather
…The Government assesses the risk from four main types of severe weather:
- Storms and gales with damaging wind speeds and possible lightning
- Low (sub-zero) temperatures and heavy snow for prolonged periods
- Heatwaves with high temperatures lasting several weeks, harming peoples’ health
- Drought as a result of a lack of rainfall over several years, leading to water shortages
…so what is it?
The flat nature of Lincolnshire’s landscape and the widely spread population mean that weather can have a greater impact on the county than other areas of the country. Our reliance on the road network to go about our daily lives becomes evident when it is disrupted by severe weather events.
There is nothing we can do at a local level to reduce the likelihood of severe weather events; however we can be prepared for these events in order to stay safe and maintain essential services.
Consequences
- Fatalities and physical casualties
- Damage to property, businesses and agricultural land
- Travel disruption
- Some evacuation of residents or employees
- Damage to property and infrastructure (directly and via land instability)
- Disruption to essential services
- Additional pressure on healthcare
Heatwaves may also cause an increased number of admissions to hospital/GPs with sunburn, heat exhaustion, respiratory problems, and other illnesses. There may also be increased vehicle breakdowns due to overheating and deteriorating of road surfaces due to melting tarmac.
What we do as an LRF…
- Production of multi-agency plans to manage severe weather events
- Consideration of weather forecasts prior to any large events in the county
- Receiving and distributing early notifications of severe weather
- Severe weather planning and response
- Drought planning
- Emergency Drought Orders – legislative orders can be issued to restrict water usage if required
What you can do to help us…
- Listen to weather forecasts and heed any warnings of extreme weather
- The Met Office provides a wide range of forecasts and warnings to help you make informed decisions about your day to day activities. Visit www.metoffice. gov.uk or download their app
- Plan any journeys or activities with the weather in mind
- If you have to travel in severe weather make sure you have adequate clothing and emergency supplies in your vehicle
Name: UK Heavy Snow
Date: 23/02/18
What happened?
The LRF held precautionary meetings after monitoring the MET office weather warnings, in order to put potential help in place.
These weather warnings were monitored from the 22nd of February , with the freezing weather and heavy snow arriving later that week. Strategic and tactical level meetings continued throughout the week, several times a day, to make sure that all partners were kept in the loop and actions were planned and logged.
Utilities such as Western Power fed their plans and solutions directly into the group to provide a wider picture, and Highways planned ploughing routes. This ensured that critical infrastructure were aware of the potential for bad weather and had support in place.
The EP team worked with partners such as the British Red Cross, 4×4 responders, and Blue Light services in order to help stranded motorists keep safe with hot drinks and shelter.
Photo Credit: Case: Flick Commons: 1
