Warm welcome to meteorologist

Met Office meteorologist Tony Baker has been seconded to work with Transport NI throughout the winter months. He is originally from Magherafelt and has almost 30 years’ experience with the Met Office. Baker will be embedded in the Traffic Control Centre, providing more detailed local forecasting and advice to Transport NI staff as well as improving communication about road conditions to the public. Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy commented that “forecasting the weather is a complex issue particularly in areas such as Northern Ireland where conditions can change and worsen very quickly.” He was confident that Baker’s knowledge and expertise would help to deliver savings to the winter service programme.

He added: “Gritting the roads is a major operation with some 7,000 kilometres of roads being salted in just over three hours, across Northern Ireland, at a cost of approximately £80,000 per night.”

During the winter almost 300 staff and over 120 gritters are on standby to ensure the main roads are salted. Commenting on his secondment, Baker said: “One of the key aims of this three-month trial is to show the benefits embedded forecasters can bring to regions such as Northern Ireland.”