January 6, 2014 10.24 am This story is over 122 months old

New Lincolnshire weather station to help forecast reliability

Accurate data: A new Lincolnshire weather station will help the Met Office and the County Council gain more reliable weather data.
The new Caistor weather station. Photo: LCC

A new weather station in Lincolnshire hopes to provide the county with more reliable forecasts for the Met Office.

The new station, operated by Lincolnshire County Council, is set in Caistor due to being one of the highest points in Lincolnshire, which sees very low temperatures during winter.

The County Council operates nine stations to monitor the county’s weather conditions.

Each cost £20,000 to run, measuring everything from wind direction to level of grip on the road surface and the temperature at which dew forms on the road.

The data is then transmitted to the Met Office’s headquarters in Exeter to help provide national forecasts, plus a more detailed forecast for Lincolnshire.

The Met Office provides a daily forecast to the council for the 43 gritting routes. This helps make the decision to go gritting or not.

As the county is large, the stations are set up in areas with their own unique characteristics.

These include Trent Valley, Lincoln Ridge, the Wolds, the East Coast, Grantham, Fenland and Wisbech.

Richard Fenwick, Winter Maintenance Engineer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Caistor is one of the highest points in the county and over the last few years the local road network has been badly affected by snow and ice.

“It seems to have a micro climate of its own and so we’re going to install a weather station there.

“With a better understanding of the local weather conditions, we can provide a more tailored gritting service.”