Hertfordshire's gritters on standby as temperatures drop

The "first gritting run of the season" is expected at around 7pm this evening (Friday, November 10), with temperatures due to stoop as low as five degrees in Watford.

A less than five per cent chance of rain has been predicted, on a mostly clear and cloudy night.

In the early hours of tomorrow morning, temperatures will drop further to around four degrees before raising to 10 degrees during the day.

Sunday will see temperatures reach around nine degrees, with rain predicted in the evening.

With the council's usual 57 gritters on standby tonight, a new Electric Vehicle Gritter is set make its debut.

The vehicle is the first of its kind in the south east and will operates from a depot in South Mimms.

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A smaller cycleway gritting tractor, which was trialled last winter and helps cyclists keep travelling actively over the winter period, will also be on standby.

Phil Bibby, executive member for Highways at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We’re really excited to be trialling this new Electric Gritting Vehicle.

"It’s really versatile as it can be used year-round.

"It comes with three different bodies – a winter spreader body, an end tipper for highway maintenance works and a caged body for use in refuse collection and fly tip removal."