NOTTINGHAMSHIRE County Council's gritting teams are on standby – despite temperatures set to hit 19c over coming days.
The teams go on low-risk standby from October 1 every year before moving on to full 24/7 standby coming into force on November 1 – or earlier if necessary.
Nottinghamshire is not the only council to launch winter plans, with authorities in Scotland, as well as Derbyshire and Cornwall also following suit.
Nottinghamshire County Councilsaid it has the capacity to store around 20,000 tonnes of salt – some 18,000 tonnes of it under cover.
And six new gritting vehicles are on order with the first two due to be delivered this week.
Kevin Greaves, chairman of the transport and highways committee, said: "Our planning for winter carries on all year round and we are confident that we are in a stronger position than ever to deal with winter.
"Our preparations mean that we will be ready to act as soon as any bad weather arrives.
"Like most people we keep our fingers crossed and hope that the coming winter won't be too severe, but we have to be realistic and plan for the worst."
