La Niña: What it means for the UK

The UK is bracing for an earlier than usual winter due to reports that La Niña, the climate phenomenon, may bring colder spells sooner than expected.

What is La Niña?

La Niña occurs when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean drop below normal, causing widespread changes in global weather patterns. It is the counterpart to El Niño, which involves warming of these waters.

La Niña events can last from several months to years and typically reoccur every 2-7 years.

What does this mean for the UK?

The impact of La Niña will see colder, wetter and stormier conditions across the UK throughout autumn and winter. The cooler Pacific waters are likely to lead to lower temperatures, early frosts and a higher chance of snowfall, particularly in the northern regions.

The likeliness of heavier rainfall across the season could be concerning as there is a higher chance of potential flooding in some areas. It’s also more likely that the north will experience harsher winter conditions than the south.

The impact of La Niña

According to the Met Office, the early signs may be seen from Monday 23^rd September, “Showers with the potential for some longer spells of rain, heavy and perhaps thundery at times, will affect parts of England and Wales at first, especially in the south but tending to ease away to the southeast”.

Whilst we cannot predict when and how the colder weather may impact; we can start to prepare. Around 5 million people live in flood risk areas across England and Wales, with annual flood damage costs across England being in the region of £1.1 billion. With an increased risk of flooding and the potential of inadequate resources for flood risk areas, there may be a higher need for specialist vehicles to support businesses during these wetter and snowy months.

How we can support

As leading experts in specialist fleet, we have made a major investment into winter fleet this year by investing in gritters. We also have gully tankers available within our fleet which means, should we experience the effects of La Niña as reported, we are able to support local authorities and various sectors with our short and long term gritter and gully sucker hire.

Gritter Hire

We have brand new DAF LF and XB 4×2 Bucher Municipal UniQa with varieties of Polyx and Unix snow ploughs, and fully electric Electra Eurocargo SEIV Bucher Municipal Phoenix 6m3 salt spreader with pre wet and L plough with back to black Neoprene Scraping Edge (Electro Hydraulic)

Gritters are essential for clearing roads during icy or snowy conditions, as they spread grit or salt that helps to melt ice and improve traction, ensuring safer travel for vehicles.

Gully Tanker Hire

Our gully sucker fleet includes the DAF 19t Whale medium volume combination tanker and Bucher Municipal GullyFlex C80. This vehicle is fully compliant with Chapter 8 regulations and can extract up to 4500 litres of liquid waste with a clean water capacity of 3600 litres, allowing for high-pressure water spray to clear blockages and clean drains effortlessly.

For heavy duty needs and limited water access we have the Bucher Municipal SuperRecycler CR140 available for contract hire.

Gully tankers are vital during flooding as they efficiently remove excess water by clearing blocked drains and gullies, helping to prevent water accumulation and reducing flood risks in affected areas.

Conclusion

It is crucial for both local authorities and businesses to be well-equipped. With our fleet of gritters and gully tankers, we are ready to support efforts in mitigating the effects of icy roads and flooding. By ensuring efficient road clearing and drain maintenance, we can help keep communities safe and businesses running smoothly throughout the challenging winter months ahead.