Weather Updates
January 10th 2017
News agencies across the country are warning of a band of snow and cold weather that could hit the UK towards the end of the week. Experts say it is due to reach the highs of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Wednesday and move across the rest of the UK throughout Thursday.
The initial cold weather is said to be mainly cold with showers, however, these showers could turn to snow later in the week.
As the Met Office has also issued a weather warning for snow from Wednesday, it is a great time to prepare for any eventuality and stock up on de-icing salt before the band of cold weather comes in. Whether it’s a company car park, shop front or a small drive we have our covered with our range of salt products available.
Give our team a call or drop us an email and we will be happy to discuss your requirements further and provide a quote. Let us help keep you safe this winter with our competitive quotes!
September 15th 2016
Whilst many of us may be wondering whether we have even had a summer yet, Online Rock Salt are already looking ahead to the colder weather to come. Now is the time of year when we ensure we are well stocked ready for the season ahead.
Last year we sourced our White Salt from Torrevieja in Spain. If you have ever visited the area on holiday, you may have noticed the salt plains and huge piles of salt around the region. This year, Online Rock Salt have sourced White Salt stocks from the salt plains in Egypt. The ship carrying 7000 tonnes of salt made the journey over earlier this month, docking at Ellesmere Port on the 5th September.
This shipment will ensure that we remain well stocked for the winter ahead. After being discharged at the docks, from there we dispatch loose loads of salt direct to our customers. We also have a mobile bagging plant which we can operate on the docks, allowing us to pack and palletise the salt ready for quick dispatch of bagged salt across the country.
Due to a change in exchange rates since last year, salt imports are slightly more expensive this year. Here at Online Rock Salt we do our best to keep our prices as low as possible for our customers however, so hopefully you won’t even notice! After some very cold winters followed by a couple of milder winters over recent years, who knows what this winter will have in store for us!
February 1st 2013
The recent snow and ice has meant the Online Rock Salt office has been very busy. As temperatures dipped to -7 in some areas the office was inundated with orders from people desperately needing rock salt.
The Met Office even issued a rare red warning for parts of Wales, whilst the rest of the country was put on amber alert as the conditions worsened. Drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles on the M6 and many airports had to ground their planes. However, Online Rock Salt’s preparations before the winter ensured that we were able to get supplies out to customers in the quickest possible time. Our distribution points across the country meant that we could get salt anywhere in the country for next day delivery. Our partners, Salt & Grit Solutions, also welcomed a new shipment of white salt into Glasgow in time to banish the snow and ice.
Despite such a rush on rock salt in recent weeks we still have plenty of supplies to see us through to spring and some warmer weather and although the weather has turned milder forecasters are tentatively predicting another cold snap at the end of February. Whatever the weather may bring Online Rock Salt will be prepared for when the snow and ice return.
This huge shipment of salt means Online Rock Salt is well prepared for all our customer’s needs throughout the winter.
January 8th 2012
Online Rock Salt experienced a busy pre season in the lead up to Christmas. The cold weather at the end of November and beginning of December ensured that people began preparing for the winter ahead.
However, since then the weather has turned milder and heavy rain and floods have swept the UK. Despite the wet weather it is important not to forget that there are still two months of winter left. With such variable weather recently it is still vital to be prepared for another sudden cold snap.
Even as Spring returns in March the threat of wintery showers remains as temperatures have been known to drop close to freezing for Easter. In fact, according to the Met Office website, statistically there is more chance of a white Easter than a white Christmas! This year Easter will be early on March 31st meaning an even higher chance of adverse weather. Last year Easter was in April and the Met Office had to issue severe weather warnings as 8 inches of snow was forecast to fall over the country. In 1983 the snowiest Easter was recorded as parts of Scotland, the Midlands and Kent saw wintery showers and with the extreme weather we’ve been having recently, 2013 could be in for another record snow fall.
With such unpredictable weather last year it is important to be prepared for whenever the weather takes a turn for the worse. In the past snow has even been recorded as falling in June and cold weather is still common in May. With Online Rock Salt's partnership with Salt & Grit in Scotland going from strength to strength it means that when the cold temperatures do return, de-icing salt is available across the UK.
November 10th 2011
With the nights quickly drawing in and Halloween and Bonfire night behind us we thought it was about time to give an update on what we’ve been busy doing and the current salt supply situation. Despite dire predictions of snow in October being published in some national papers, predicting the weather is really a guessing game further than a few days ahead. The autumn so far has been milder than recent years which has given a number of our larger customers chance to stock up ready for any cold spells that may be around the corner.
For the first time we have supplied many of the major supermarkets and a large number of retailers around the whole of the UK with rock salt and white de-icing salt. This hasn’t happened by accident and reflects months of work both in tendering and preparing our infrastructure so we can reliably supply the quantities required by national retailers.
We’ve upgraded the bagging robot at our Lancashire base; this was the oldest of our packing facilities and the replacement has further increased our bagging capacity. In fact, we have the fastest bagging robot in any industry in the UK at this time.
Our mobile bagging plant has been working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since the early summer and has helped us build up a huge reserve of bagged salt in various locations around the UK.
September 5th 2011
Early demand for rock salt and white salt is looking increasingly likely to be strong this year with pessimistic long term weather forecast for the winter being issued. This year the weather forecasters are citing lower than normal solar activity, higher than normal volcanic activity (which puts ash into the atmosphere blocking sunlight) and the colder than normal summer as signs that the winter could well be a cold one. Time will tell as always. If you would like to read the forecast for yourself click here. If you would like to talk to us about ordering de-icing salt for the winter please give us a call or contact us.
