More than £15m to be invested in new weather stations to help get motorways and A-roads ready for winter

With winter approaching, National Highways is investing £15.4m in a new state-of-the-art network of weather stations, including supporting infrastructure, that will provide real-time data of road conditions.
Jacob Panons
By Jacob Panons
Published 23rd Oct 2023, 07:42 BST
Updated 23rd Oct 2023, 07:42 BST
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Working with manufacturer Vaisala, National Highways will be upgrading 125 weather stations by 2025 – there are also plans for around 100 more between 2025-2030.

Severe weather resilience manager at National Highways Darren Clark said: “We have the people, systems and technology in place to know where and when to grit and will be working to keep people moving safely on our roads whatever weather conditions we get.”

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The weather stations include atmospheric and road sensors cabled to the street. They will measure snow and ice, visibility in fog, high winds, flooding, air temperature, humidity and precipitation.

One of the new weather stations. Picture from National Highways-One of the new weather stations. Picture from National Highways-
One of the new weather stations. Picture from National Highways-

Vaisala’s sales director for ground transportation in Europe Erik Sucksdorff said: “To keep the roads safe and passable, the road surface and atmospheric weather must be continuously monitored. Weather conditions such as snow and ice, heavy rain, fog, and high winds can impact road safety in many different ways. Providing reliable information is vital for winter maintenance operations.”

The first weather station will be introduced on the A56 near Accrington tomorrow (Tuesday, October 24) and is expected to be operating the following day.

Related topics:National HighwaysAccringtonEurope