Weather forecasts can be notoriously unreliable, but it seems certain that South Holland is heading for a cold spell.
Lincolnshire County Council is planning for plummeting temperatures with 1.4 million tonnes of road salt ready.
The Met Office has predicted the cold snap as a Level 3 alert and sleet, snow and icy conditions are expected in the north and east of the country.
The county council has also issued a log burner safety warning as the cold heads this way.
The highest number of chimney fires take place in January and February and the council is urging people to use professionals rather than try to fit log burners.
“It is important that residents don’t fit their own log burners unless they meet building regulations and have a certificate of compliance.
“As well as the risk of fire, if you don’t comply with these regulations, you could be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, your home may not be insured and could be prevented from selling your home,” said Dan Moss, area manager for prevention and protection at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue.
“If you use a log burner or multi-fuel burner in your home, you must have a carbon monoxide detector fitted in the room it is in. Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill and detectors are a cheap and effective way to prevent it,” he added. “We have already seen fires involving log burners this autumn – often because items are accidentally left on top of them or too close to them,” he said.
Daytime temperatures are set to plummet with a predicted high of just one degree in the county today and dropping to minus four overnight.
Forecasts show the potential for snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. Other showers could hit from the weekend of Friday, December 16.
A yellow weather warning has been issued along the country’s coast from Ipswich to Edinburgh. It remains in force from Wednesday, December 7 to 9am on Monday, December 12.
An amber alert indicates that the cold weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients. It will also disrupt the delivery of services.
The blast of cold air is heading in from the Arctic with very cold nights, well below freezing, widespread frosts and the potential for wintry showers.
Warm spaces in South Holland include:
Spalding – library, Victoria Street, free coffee morning Wednesday mornings from 10am to 11.30am; Lighthouse Church soup lunch Wednesdays 9.30am to 12.30pm and 3pm to 6pm; Baptist Church, Fridays 9.30am to 2.30pm; Broad Street Methodist Church, Mondays 10am to 4pm hot drinks and biscuits; St John’s Church, Hawthorn Bank, Thursday 12pm to 5.30pm.
Tonic Health, Westlode Street. Monday is tea and toast 10.30am to 12pm; arts and craft 12.30pm tp 2.30pm; night light cafe 4pm to 7pm; Tuesday is Safe places 4pm to 5.30pm; Wednesday is Autistic Lead from 4pm to 5.30pm; Thursday is a Night Light Cafe 4pm to 7pm and Friday is Coffee Connect from 11am to 12.30pm.
See our online edition of December 1 for a full list of help available on page 9. The site is www.spaldingvoice.co.uk
