See the latest Met Office weather forecast.
Youth service sessions cancelled
The following mobile sessions will be cancelled today (Friday 2 March) due to strong winds :
3.30-5.30pm - Willows Park – Play scheme
6.30-8.30pm - Westhoughton Market overflow Car Park – Youth Club
Gritting
The latest information about gritting can be found here.
2.3.18 am All our main roads were gritted twice overnight. Main route network is clear.
1.3.18 am We've been working throughout the night and gritted all routes three times over. Horwich, Egerton, Bromley Cross and the West side of Bolton have been affected the most. We'll be out again gritting the high roads from 8am this morning.
28.2.18 pm We will be out again tonight from 6.30pm, spreading grit on all our main roads. The crew will then head out again at 11pm and work throughout the night and early hours as necessary.
28.2.18 pm Council gritters have been working overnight to deal with the snow and ice in Bolton. The council’s fleet of 7 gritting vehicles went out at 6.30pm, again around 11pm and then 3.30am completing a full route grit each time. All main roads are currently clear.
27.2.18 The council’s fleet of 7 gritting vehicles went out at midnight and again at 4am completing a full route grit each time. All main roads are currently clear. The high level roads are now being gritted again (8.30am).
Based on the latest forecast, we'll be out gritting at 6.30pm and again at 11pm tonight. If needed there will be another round throughout the night.
More information about gritting
A full route grit covers 510km/317 miles of roads around Bolton - just over half of the total road network. All the main roads and major bus routes are covered on a full route grit and it takes several hours to complete. There are also 533 grit bins around the borough which will be refilled in the coming days.
We grit the footpaths in Bolton town centre and the other town centres around the borough, and during snowy conditions staff will clear snow from bus stops on main roads and near key locations eg train station and bus station.
Maps showing the roads which we grit and the location of grit bins can be found using the link on the right hand side.
Myth buster
* Once a gritter has put salt on the road, it will melt ice.
Untrue – spreading salt is only the start of the de-icing process. Grit needs movement and crushing by traffic for it to start to be effective. When traffic volumes are low, roads can remain icy for some time until there is a significant traffic flow.
* I’ve not seen a single gritter and I’m on a gritting route.
A driver covers approximately 50 miles on a route so given the length of a route it is quite possible that people might not see the gritters. The road gritting often takes place late throughout the night or very early in the morning.
* Anybody can use grit bins.
Grit bins are for the use of residents in that area, on the public footpath and roads and not for driveways.
* Why do councils only grit once it starts snowing?
When snow is forecast we start gritting the roads before it starts snowing to slow the rate of snow settling. Again some people may not see the gritting that’s taken place as its usually overnight/in the early hours. If people do see a gritter, chances are it’s one that has been out before because when the weather is bad we grit continuously. The problem is that grit alone has very little effect on snow and once snow has started to build up on the roads, there is little anyone can do until it becomes deep enough to plough (about 25mm or 1 inch). It’s the action of ploughing, spreading salt and vehicles running on the snow which help to clear the roads.
Schools
Head teachers will make decisions about whether to open their schools or not depending upon the conditions. The latest information about those open or closed will appear here.