SCHOOLS in hard-hit areas including Dublin will stay closed or open later tomorrow as temperatures plummet to -11C chills – as experts warned we’ll see “no let up” in the bitterly cold weather.
Latest Met Eireann graphs show severely cold temperatures still to come as the freezing fog, ice and snow stick around – with experts reckoning Dublin could be hit with the white stuff next.
Schools in several counties have already made the call to keep doors shut as the “bitterly cold” conditions refuse to ease.
Counties Tipperary, Kerry, Limerick and Cork, among others have been stepped in snow all week, making roads impassable and causing serious disruption.
And it will be “very hard to thaw” the ice and snow currently cemented to the ground, the National Emergency Co-ordination Group has warned.
So far, Dublin has escaped the snow fall but Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather said the capital is not in the clear yet.
Revealing graphs showing showers forming off the coast this afternoon, the weather expert said: “Some showers forming in the Irish Sea could hit Dublin over next few hours before.
“They could get a few flakes yet!”
The entire country will remain under a six-day status yellow low temperature/ice warning until Friday afternoon.
And every single county bar Donegal stands under a “threat to life” status orange warning until tomorrow at 11am, with the national forecaster continuing to warn of “extremely cold” weather with “widespread frost, ice and lying snow”.
Latest graphics from Met Eireann show air temperatures plummeting as low as -11C in parts of north-west Co Limerick in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
In the rest of the country the national forecaster has predicted lows between -8C and -3C overnight with wintry showers along the northwest and some east coasts.
Last night, lows of -6.1C were recorded in Mullingar and -5.7C and -4C in other places, forecaster Aoife Kealy today revealed.
She told RTE’s News At One: “widespread frost, ice, and patches of freezing fog” will continue for a lot of today in places and “will continue that way for the next couple of days”.
She said the nationwide warning is in place because: “The bitterly cold conditions continuing, and frost and ice and even lying snow that is still around, is going to find it very hard to thaw.
“So conditions are going to stay very tricky for now, especially for anybody who’s out and perhaps driving, cycling, or walking.”
The county council in one of the hardest-hit areas, Tipperary, has joined other councils in pleading with the public not to travel on the treacherous roads unless “absolutely necessary”.
They said: “It has been a busy time on the Ardmayle to Hollyford road, where our team has been working hard to clear and treat the road.
“Conditions remain hazardous today, with widespread icy conditions across the county.
“Do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary.”
SCHOOL’S FROZEN OUT
The bone-chilling forecasts for tonight have forced schools in several counties to keep their doors shut tomorrow or opt for a delayed opening.
Schools in Leitrim, Westmeath, Kildare, Longford, Roscommon, Donegal, Sligo, Offaly and Wicklow have chosen not to open tomorrow.
While many schools in Cork, Carlow, Kilkenny, Limerick, Kerry, and Tipperary have been closed all week and will close again tomorrow or operate a delayed opening.
In Dublin, schools in several areas including Sutton, Baldoyle, Swords and Donabate will open later than usual, around 11am as the orange weather warning expires.
Dublin City Council says it will grit 300km of the road network and put salt on footpaths in critical locations.
The Irish Air Corps have been pitching in to assist the ESB in restoring power across hard-hit areas.
The crews hosted ESB technicians on board Defence Forces helicopters and conducted low-level flights to survey the electricity networks, helping to identify and locate faults in the system.
The ESB says power has been restored to all bar 2,000 customers mainly in Limerick, Kerry and Cork.
They said: “We are continuing to restore supply to affected customers in these areas. Our crews remain on the ground and will continue to work on power restoration to as many of these customers as possible tonight.
“It is likely that approximately 1,000 customers in those affected areas will be without electricity overnight.
“Work will resume once again at first light tomorrow to reconnect any remaining customers.”
WATER & POWER RELIEF
Earlier today Uisce Eireann confirmed that after a peak of 40,000 on Monday morning – around 4,500 people are left without water.
But they warned even as the ice thaws, there’s still a risk of water disruption.
They said: “As the impact of the freezing weather and subsequent thaw continues to be felt over the coming days there may be some further disruption to supplies around the country.
“Uisce Eireann crews will remain on standby ready to maintain and restore water supplies for customers across the country, while taking into account all necessary safety measures. “
An Post has confirmed that staff are facing delays in delivering parcels and letters due to dangerous road conditions.
It confirmed that it will attempt letter and parcel deliveries “wherever it is safe” to do so but warned that road conditions have “worsened in many areas” as low temperatures, ice and freezing fog continues to sweep the country.
A spokesperson said: “While more delivery routes are at least partially accessible today, many parts of Tipperary, Kilkenny, North Kerry, Limerick and Waterford remain inaccessible.”
An Post vowed that, as deliveries are attempted in the worst-affected areas, staff will “check in” on customers living alone or in isolated areas.
VULNERABLE TRAPPED BY SNOW
A spokesperson said staff will “encourage anyone in need of assistance to call ALONE’s national contact number”, which is 0818 222 024.
Gardai have also been working to assist those trapped in their homes by snow.
And two officers have been praised for “policing at its best” after they battled with the freeze to deliver life-saving medication to an elderly couple in Co Limerick.
Garda John Clifford, based in Murroe, heard locally that the Favier couple living in an area that was blasted by heavy falls of snow required assistance.
The roads were impassable to “certainly all” by car after Limerick was one of the worst-hit counties by the snow and freezing conditions – but the Favier’s needed their prescription medications that day.
Garda Clifford called his colleague Garda Mike Fitzgerald, who was off-duty at the time, and asked him to assist the couple with his tractor.
An Garda Siochana said: “Without hesitation, Garda Clifford agreed to tip over to Doon to collect the medication in the pharmacy while Garda Fitzgerald got the tractor’s engine going.
“The pair of them took off up the hills in the tractor and dropped off the prescriptions as needed.”
‘NO LET UP’ FROM FREEZE
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group met again today to discuss the disruption caused by the weather and warned that there is still “no let up” in the Arctic blast.
National Director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, Keith Leonard said: “Unfortunately we are seeing no let up in the bitterly cold weather conditions.
“We are continuing to coordinate the responses by all agencies and local authorities to ensure the most appropriate responses and supports are happening at local level during these challenging conditions.”
He urged the public to take caution while out and about and to check on vulnerable people in the community.
He continued: “Road and path surfaces will remain challenging throughout the country and I would urge drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to take extra caution if you have to set out on a journey.
“Remember, even where there is no lying snow, icy conditions will prevail and surfaces may look deceptively safe.
“I would like to thanks all those members of the public who have been checking in on vulnerable neighbours during this cold spell. If anyone knows a neighbour who is elderly, alone or who has mobility issues, please keep an eye out for them and make sure they are ok.”
Looking further, Met Eireann has advised that severe frost and -7C temperatures will stick around on Thursday night before a chance of reprieve on Friday.
FORECASTING FURTHER
Met Eireann said: “Thursday night will start off dry and very cold with severe frost and freezing fog developing.
“Cloud will build from the southwest overnight and a band of rain, sleet and snow will move northeastwards over Munster and southern parts of Leinster and Connacht.
“Further north and east it will stay dry and very cold. Lowest temperatures of -7 to -2 degrees generally, coldest early in the night. Winds will become easterly and will increase mostly light to moderate by morning.
“On Friday morning, rain, sleet and snow will continue to spread northeastwards, and will turn mostly to rain or sleet by the afternoon.
“Ulster and north Leinster will stay mainly dry. Highest afternoon temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees generally, coldest in Ulster It will become milder near the south coast. Moderate, occasionally fresh, east to southeast winds.”
