Met Éireann is forecasting sub-zero temperatures and “very disruptive and impactful” weather conditions over the weekend, with significant accumulations of snowfall likely in some parts of the country and a risk of school closures on Monday.
A series of new weather warnings were announced on Friday, including a status orange snow and ice warning across six counties and yellow weather warnings for almost everywhere else in Ireland.
“Not everywhere is going to get snow - some places will get sleet - but there is likely to be snow in quite a lot of the country,” Met Éireann forecaster Deirdre Lowe said.
“The snow isn’t really going to melt so where snow falls we are going to have it for several days next week,” she added. “It could get down to -7, -8 degrees, so it will be bitterly cold in the early days of next week.”
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Met Éireann previously forecast that temperatures could hit as low as -10 degrees on Tuesday night.
The orange snow and ice warning applies to Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary between 5pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.
Met Éireann said significant snowfall accumulations were expected in these areas, with very difficult travelling conditions, poor visibility, and delays to public transport likely. It also warned of difficult conditions underfoot, and of animal welfare issues during the cold snap.
A status yellow ran and snow warning is in place for Cork and Kerry between 1pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday, with a risk of localised flooding.
A further, status yellow weather warning is place for much of Ireland, with falls of sleet and snow expected. The warning lasts from 5pm on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday across Leinster, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Connacht.
Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy said: “There are likely to be accumulations of snow in places on Monday morning coupled with a very severe frost as well. So there is the possibility that schools may not open. But that will become more apparent as we go through the weekend.”
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He said there were icy stretches on many roads early Friday so “it’s certainly a morning for taking great care”. Further falls of sleet and snow were expected on Sunday, with temperatures staying low especially over Leinster and Munster, he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Asked when we would know if there would be school closures, he replied: “You won’t fully know the answer to that until really over the weekend because it will depend on the accumulations of snow.”
Temperatures fell to a low of -5 degrees in parts of Ireland on Thursday night. They are due to reach a high of 2-6 degrees on Friday.
A spokesman for the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management said on Thursday that it was liaising with Met Éireann “regarding the possibility of disruptive weather over the weekend”.
Met Éireann was due to hold a technical briefing for stakeholders – including severe weather assessment teams linked to local authorities – on Friday morning.
A low-pressure system moving up from the southwest of the country interacting with cold Arctic air masses will likely bring widespread sleet or snow at the weekend, Met Éireann meteorologist Brandon Creagh explained.
The UK’s Met Office issued a yellow warning for ice for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Tyrone and Derry, valid until 10am on Friday.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said that it was monitoring the weather “constantly” and liaising with Met Éireann.
In the event of sleet and snowfall over the weekend, as forecast by Met Éireann, TII said that “adequate capacity for snow ploughing is in place for the motorway network and for the local authority national road network”.
“Due to the relatively mild winter conditions to date, salt stocks are high,” the spokeswoman said. The authority advised motorists to drive at safe speeds “appropriate to the prevailing weather”.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) said that along with its total capacity of 192 permanent beds for rough sleepers, it can activate 82 additional beds when a weather warning is triggered.
“There is emergency accommodation available through the four Dublin Local Authorities, and the DRHE along with our outreach providers will continue to monitor the weather and likely changes to weather warnings over the coming days and activate extreme weather emergency accommodation as required,” a spokeswoman said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Integration said it has activated a cold weather response plan, with particular focus on asylum sleepers who are without accommodation and rough sleeping, or on tented accommodation sites. It said more than 3,000 male international protection applicants remain unaccommodated, with some of them sleeping rough.
“Offers of accommodation are being made to people seeking international protection who are actively rough sleeping,” they said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Enterprise said on Thursday that the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme for small businesses – a fund to support those impacted by recent flooding during Storm Bert – will remain open until January 9th.
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