Will it snow in Kent over the next few days?
Some news outlets are suggesting there will indeed be snow in kent, with the likelihood of us seeing snow being on the Wednesday coming (17th). Some weather stations are expecting it to be clear, others are showing a small likelihood of snow on the Wednesday. Whilst other parts of the UK are almost certainly going to get snow, Kent, not every map nor chart agrees on this subject. The worst projection we've been able to get our hands on in this:
Source: WXCharts
We know snow can be dangerous. And not even just the snow, but the ice that can also come with it, reduces the grip your tyres have on road dramatically. At some point in your lifetime, you will likely be caught at the starts of a snow storm. As soon as it starts happening and snow is actively laying on the ground, you need to start thinking about how you're driving and here's the best depiction we're going to give to you - You need to drive like a granny (sorry grandma), and imagine there's a huge oil spill on the road.
[january 8th 2024] We had just changed a broken socket in a well known store in Gillingham, and was headed into Maidstone to investigate no power to an emergency pullchord system in a disabled toilet. Our Google maps route was taking us there via Boxley hill. For anyone who doesn't know, Boxley hill runs parallel to Bluebell Hill, is country roads rather than an A road, and is quite steep - much steeper than Bluebell Hill. Nevermind the hairpin at the bottom of the steep part!!
as we were heading through Hempstead and approaching Boxley hill, the ground started to have snow which was settling and we were discussing careful driving techniques such as going slow, going down the hill in a lower gear, and giving these motorcyclists in front of us a big gap because didn't want to accidentally slide into them all the way down.
Literally, as we were discussing our game plan and the fact that once you lose traction you are at the mercy of pure luck when it comes to when and where you stop, the motorcyclist loses traction, spins 180 degrees to now face us, and comes off his bike. Luckily we were all only going a token 'in-transit' speed. The sort of speed you'd do in a busy car park. And were pretty much going in a straight line!
We helped the man pick his bike back up and right at that instant, we decided to detour and take Bluebell hill - it's more flat than Boxley hill, is well-trodden, and is also a bus route. All important factors when deciding what route to take when you see snow on the floor.
So the next time it snows in Medway & maidstone, have a think about what your friendly local electricians said...
When you see SNOW, think SLOW :)
All the best, Kev
