Highways bosses from East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said the unpredictable nature of the weather meant they had been preparing their trucks for dropping temperatures ahead of time, even while the weather was much warmer.
Milder winters mean the council’s vans have hit the roads later than usual, officials said.
Speaking at one of the council’s depots in Ringmer, Edward Jennings, contract director for East Sussex Highways, said: “In terms of predicting the weather it’s very challenging to forecast year-on-year.”
The council said it gritted roads if any one place in the region was expected to drop below 1°C (33.8°F).
Earlier, an East Sussex Highways spokesperson said it would grit all its primary routes for the first time this season on Monday, with temperatures forecast to drop below freezing overnight.
