SPECIAL ALERT FOR POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER – FRIDAY 06th JUNE 2014 As you are aware, the severe weather warning issued for England, Wales and Scotland has now been extended to include Northern Ireland. Yellow Warning of Rain for Northern Ireland Yellow Warning of Rain for Northern Ireland: County Antrim & County Down valid from 0300 Sat 07 Jun to 2345 Sat 07 Jun. Heavy, thundery rain is expected to affect parts of the UK on Saturday. Some initial thundery outbreaks, possibly accompanied by frequent lightning, may arrive from around midnight, but it is later in the night and during the morning that the south will be at risk from more widespread thundery developments and locally intense rainfall. The focus is then expected to shift into northern England, southwest Scotland and eastern fringes of Northern Ireland during the afternoon, while parts of southern Britain see improving conditions. The public should be aware of the potential for localised flooding due to the intensity of the downpours although the location of the heaviest rainfall remains uncertain. I have spoken with the Jim Watson the PWSA Weather and he has informed me that it is likely that many places within the current broad warning area will miss the worst of the storms, but where they occur they could produce in excess of 20 mm of rain in an hour, with one or two places seeing more than 40 mm within 2 or 3 hours. He has also stated the severe rainfall may start earlier than originally forecast for Northern Ireland affected us from around midnight tonight. As you are aware quantities in this range have the potential to cause severe localised flooding. Based on this forecast, the DRD Minister, Danny Kennedy has asked Transport NI to confirm that is prepared for tomorrow’s bad weather forecast. To facilitate this request, I would ask that all Divisions ensure that they are in heightened state of readiness, making sure that all necessary resources are available if required during the period and that they remain extra vigilant throughout the weekend. Please ensure that relevant staff are and will be available during this period to deal with the roads related impact of adverse this weather as far as is practicable, using our normal procedures and practices including : Ensure sandbags are available and loaded onto Vehicles with consideration for forward deployment of this resource to known problem locations Ensure that local contact with Rivers Agency is established and maintained during this period Ensure an adequate number of emergency telephone operators are available for out of hours service to cover this incident. Ensure secondary resources such as contractors are put on alert during this incident good upward reporting to your duty controller and Roads Service’s Lead Communicator (contact details attached) each affected Section Office to send Follow-Up flooding / storm damage Report to Roads Incident Desk (copied to Divisional PPTO Maintenance) no later than 09:30hrs the following morning. Nil returns are required.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 16:43:14 +0000
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