JUST when you thought we were over the worst of the winter weather the remnants of ‘Storm Jonas’ have been battering Inverclyde with strong winds and lashing rain.

The pictures of the huge amounts of snow falling in the eastern United States over the weekend were extraordinary.

But it is now the Scotland and the rest of the UK that are feeling the full force of Mother Nature that is set to last until the end of the week.

Areas still recovering from the storms over Christmas and New Year are once again being pounded by the wind and inundated with heavy rain.

Dozens of flood warnings have been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for areas where flooding is expected and communities are bracing themselves for the worst.

In Inverclyde we have not escaped the weather – far from it.

But I want to use this opportunity to highlight the effort and dedication of council staff who brave the elements around the clock to ensure the impact of such severe weather has on our communities.

Flooding is an all-too-common issue for is in Inverclyde but the situation is getting better as the council’s investment in flood prevention schemes begin to pay off.

But it is the work of the roads and ground services teams that I want to highlight here. We have over 150 water course grills to maintain, 10,000 gullies and numerous other drainage systems to check and clear when severe weather is forecast.

Yet again they have been out and about checking and cleaning watercourse grills in known flooding hotspots and re-visiting gullies that have recently been cleared to make doubly sure they can cope with the torrential rain. I want to publicly thank them for their efforts which all-too-often go unnoticed.

We hear a lot when roads flood and houses and businesses are affected but very little when widespread flooding is avoided despite periods of bad weather.

The next few days will be unsettled with the forecast warning of high winds and cooler temperatures bringing snow.

I can speak with confidence when I say the council and its dedicated and professional staff are fully focused on protecting Inverclyde’s people and property.

Finally, it was with a great deal of sadness that I heard about the passing of former councillor Jim Mitchell. When I joined the council I learned a great deal from him and though we may have had different political views he was very clearly a man of strong principles.

Jim never carried any disagreements outside of the chamber and I had a great deal of respect for him for that. He will be fondly remembered and sadly missed in Inverclyde.