1. Foresight
OpenSite – weather forecast information for independent
gritting operations in the UK, Ireland and beyond
OpenSite is a weather forecast information service, tailored
specifically for those running independent gritting operations across
the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe. OpenSite helps to keep car
parks, access roads and footpaths open and free of winter hazards.
KEY BENEFITS
• Maximise operational efficiency by better managing resources.
• Minimise salt and grit usage as forecast sites are scientifically matched
to your locations, so you can treat when and where it is needed.
• Improve safety and reduce the risk of potential litigation.
• Hazard colour indications on charts helping you to make informed decisions.
• Our forecasts do not rely on observation data, allowing us to forecast
wherever your site is located.

2. OPENSITE FEATURES
• 2,700 site-specific forecast points across the UK and Ireland
with more sites being added to meet your requirements,
including mainland European sites on request.
• 24-hour forecast which can be split into one and three
hour time segments across the twenty four hour period.
• Forecasts of road surface temperature (RST), road states,
rainfall total and snow for each time segment.
• Hazard colours (red/orange/yellow/green) to give you an
instant assessment of when and where you need to take
action. The hazard colours can either be for the entire 24-hour
forecast, or segmented to match your forecast breakdown.
• Delivery via email as either a PDF document or a CSV file
which you can upload into your decision making software.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
At the Met Office we are always looking at ways in which we can
improve our service and delivery to our customers. The following
are optional extras to the OpenSite service and will help you gain a
greater understanding of our forecasts and data.
• OpenSite 2–5 day outlook.
−− Issued once per day to help you keep up-to-date with the
latest outlook to plan ahead.
−− Delivered via email as a PDF document.
• Forecaster telephone consultancy – your hotline to a forecaster
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when you need to clarify
the weather situation to help you make the best decisions.
• Met Office training – to help you make the best winter
maintenance decisions, we provide a full range of
training courses to suit all abilities and experiences.
• Winter Gritting Quality Mark scheme - The Met Office Quality
Mark scheme allows our customers to differentiate themselves
within the marketplace. It enables you to reassure your
customers that you are getting the most accurate forecasts and
understand the weather to make winter gritting decisions. The
only such mark in the industry, it demonstrates that you are
investing in training to provide the best service available.
Met Office
FitzRoy Road, Exeter
Devon, EX1 3PB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1392 885680
Fax: +44 (0)1392 885681
enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk
www.metoffice.gov.uk
For more information on OpenSite please call
01392 885680 or email openroad@metoffice.gov.uk.
Produced by the Met Office.
© Crown copyright 2014 14/0758
Met Office and the Met Office logo
are registered trademarks
OpenSite
24 Hour Forecast for Customer Name
Valid 12:00 GMT 15th January 2014 to 12:00 GMT 16th January 2014
1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 0000 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100
6.5 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.2 4.7 4.2 4.5 3.8 3.3 3.0 2.3 2.0 1.5 2.4 2.1 1.8 1.4 1.0 1.6 2.1 3.3 3.8 5.0
Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Damp Dry Dry
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300 0000 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100
6.8 6.6 6.1 5.8 5.4 4.8 3.9 3.3 2.1 1.8 0.9 0.4 -1.1 -1.4 -0.9 -0.5 0.0 0.0 -0.8 -1.1 -0.5 0.5 1.9 3.5
Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Rain Rain Wet Damp Damp Frost Frost Frost Frost Snow Snow Icy Icy Icy Damp Damp Dry
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 3.2 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0.8 1.1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Name of Location(s) covered by this forecast point
Location
Name of Location(s) covered by this forecast point
Colour State
Time (GMT)
Colour State
Time (GMT)
Minimum RST
Road State
Rainfall
Minimum RST
Road State
Rainfall
Falling Snow
Location
Falling Snow
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Where residual snow / ice remains on the
OpenRoad Forecaster:
road surface from a previous day, the shown
Transmitted by the Met Office on 23 September 2014 at 09:13
colour state should be overridden and treated as RED
(C) Crown Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved
Falling snow is given in cm and is an indication of how much may fall, not how much may settle.
Rainfall is given in mm and is an indication of how much rain is expected to fall during that hour.
Min temp, falling snow and/or road state are theworst conditions expected for each of these
forecast elements within the period
Frost, Ice and / or Snow are forecast to occur.
Road Surface Temperatures (RSTs) are forecast to be +0.5C or below (including DRY roads below 0.0C) - there is still a risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be between +0.6C and +1.9C – there is a lower risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be +2C or higher
Minimum RST - refers to the road surface temperature and is given in degrees Celsius.
24hourforecast/onehourtimesegment
OpenSite
24 Hour Forecast for Customer NameValid 12:00 GMT 15th January 2014 to 12:00 GMT 16th January 2014
1200-1500 1500-1800 1800-2100 2100-2400 0000-0300 0300-0600 0600-0900 0900-1200
8.2 5.6 3.9 3.5 3.6 1.7 2.5 5.9
Dry Dry Dry Damp Damp Damp Damp Dry
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Green Green Green Green Green Amber Green Green
1200-1500 1500-1800 1800-2100 2100-2400 0000-0300 0300-0600 0600-0900 0900-1200
6.1 4.5 2.1 0.9 -1.1 -3.5 -3.2 0.3
Rain Wet Wet Damp Icy Snow Icy Wet
6.5 2.4 1.8 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0
0 0 0 0 0.5 0.5 0 0
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Location
Name of Location(s) covered by this forecast point
Colour State
Time (GMT)
Minimum RST
Road State
Rainfall
Falling Snow
Location
Name of Location(s) covered by this forecast point
Colour State
Time (GMT)
Minimum RST
Road State
Rainfall
Falling Snow
Frost, Ice and / or Snow are forecast to occur.
Road Surface Temperatures (RSTs) are forecast to be +0.5C or below (including DRY roads below 0.0C) - there is still a risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be between +0.6C and +1.9C – there is a lower risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be +2C or higher
Minimum RST - refers to the road surface temperature and is given in degrees Celsius.Falling snow is given in cm and is an indication of how much may fall, not how much may settle.
Rainfall is given in mm and is an indication of how much rain is expected to fall during that hour.Min temp, falling snow and/or road state are the worst conditions expected for each of these forecast
elements within the period
Where residual snow / ice remains on theroad surface from a previous day, the showncolour state should be overridden and treated as RED
OpenRoad Forecaster:
Transmitted by the Met Office on 23 September 2014 at 09:13(C) Crown Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved
24hourforecast/threehourtimesegment
2-5 Day Site Specific Forecast for Customer Name
Valid 12:00 GMT 12/12/2014 to 12:00 GMT 16/12/2014.
-0.2Location
>LOCATION ID<
Colour State
0Day
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Minimum RST
0.9
0.8
0.4
>LOCATION ID<
Worst Road State
Rain
Rain
Damp
Dry
Rain Accumulation
8
10
1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Falling Snow
No
No
No
No
Location
Rain
Snow
Damp
DryColour State
Day
Minimum RST
0.1
0
0.2
0.1
Worst Road State
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
OpenRoad Forecaster:
Transmitted by the Met Office on 23 September 2014 at 09:18
(C) Crown Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved
Rain
Snow
Damp
Dry
No
Yes
No
No
Worst Road State
Frost, Ice and / or Snow are forecast to occur.
Road Surface Temperatures (RSTs) are forecast to be +0.5C or below (including DRY roads below 0.0C) - there is still a risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be between +0.6C and +1.9C – there is a lower risk of frost, ice or snow. See the detail of the forecast for more information.
RSTs are forecast to be +2C or higher
Rain Accumulation
8
10
0
0
Falling Snow
2–5dayoutlook