- A status orange ice and low temperature warning is in place for all counties except Donegal
- Temperatures overnight are set to fall as low as -8 degrees in counties Offaly and Laois
- Some 4,500 premises are still without water and around 500 homes, farms and businesses are without electricity
- Met Éireann said Wednesday will be bitterly cold with widespread frost, ice and freezing fog
Best reads
- Why is the weather so cold and what is the coldest temperature recorded in Ireland?
- People in Kerry had to melt snow to get water supplies amid cold snap
That’s it from the irishtimes.com liveblog this evening. Read our report on the situation overnight. We’ll be back in the morning with the latest from Met Éireann and around the country. Goodnight.
ESB Networks arranged for phone charging facilities and hot meals at local hotels in some of the worst affected areas of the country on Wednesday.
The ESB contacted cut-off customers in Tipperary and Limerick directly to avail of the services.
The services were provided at Longcourt Hotel, Newcastle West; Leens Hotel, Abbeyfeale; Charleville Park Hotel, Charleville; and the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Horse and Jockey, Thurles.
The services will be available tomorrow again. “We would like to remind customers to only travel if it is safe to do so,” an ESB spokesman said.
The latest update from the ESB is that 500 homes, farms and businesses will be without power overnight. The authority was able to reconnect about 1,500 customers on Wednesday evening.
One of the counties worst affected by the recent cold snap is Co Limerick with thousands of premises remaining without electricity for a fourth day in a row on Wednesday.
Among those impacted are the O’Dwyers in Drewscourt, Ballyagran, near the Co Cork border. They have been snowed in since Sunday. They shovelled 25cm from their front door and it has not thawed yet.
They have had no electricity and no central heating for four days, but they are making the best of it.
Read Ronan McGreevy’s full report here.
Speaking to RTÉ's Six One News, Keith Leonard, director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, said that “hopefully” power and water supplies will be restored to “nearly all places” by Thursday.
Latest figures from the ESB are that about 4,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power. Uisce Éireann said this afternoon that about 4,500 people were without water.
Mr Leonard also said he believed the country’s emergency services and local authorities were well prepared for the cold snap.
“I think the key part of it was our early response, and particularly our local authorities activitacting those severe weather plans really back as far as last Friday, helped us to get ahead of this piece,” he said.
“Transport Infrastucture Ireland, our Defence Forces, our local authorities, our National Transport Authority, really did a huge job to try to keep things moving throughout this cold spell, but in particular, it was the voluntary emergency services as well, and the community volunteers and even IFA [Irish Farmer’s Association] who were involved yesterday in a lot of the response.”
Some evening reading: in 2012, Met Éireann published a report titled Snowfall in Ireland, and found that falls of at least 10cm happen every seven to 18 years at midland locations, and every six to seven years in northern areas.
Read more on the history of snowfall in Ireland here.
A status orange warning for ice and low temperatures comes into force from 6pm for every county except Donegal.
The orange warning will remain in place until 11am on Thursday while Donegal’s yellow ice notice is in place until noon on Friday.
Freezing temperatures will be expected almost everywhere with widespread severe frost, ice and snow.
Temperatures overnight will fall below freezing in places but the worst cold will be experienced in the midlands where temperatures in counties Offaly and Laois will to -8 degrees overnight.
It will be mostly dry overnight, but there may be snow showers on the northwest coast.
Temperatures will not rise much past freezing on Thursday meaning that lying snow will stay on the ground for at least another day.
Thursday night will see the beginning of the end of the current cold snap with but further snow is forecast for Friday morning.
Milder air is expected across the country on Friday afternoon and Saturday will see a return to normal weather for the time of year.
Gardaí in North Cork are urging people to take great care on the roads after a truck skidded on black ice on the N72, the main Mallow-Killarney Road on Wednesday afternoon.
The crash happened at Dromtarriffe about 28 kilometres west of Mallow when at about 4pm the rigid truck skidded and went through a bank of snow and off the road down into a ditch.
Kanturk Gardai said that nobody was injured in the incident but they urged motorists to avoid any unnecessary journeys and if they must travel, to exercise extreme ice.
“Coming out of Mallow isn’t too bad but out around Newmarket and on to Meelin and Rockchapel is still very bad as are roads on high ground to the south around Nadd and Lyre.”
Cork County Council advised that people should continue to exercise caution as icy patches can remain on main roads despite council staff working to clear them of surface snow.
The Sally Gap in Co Wicklow is impassable yet motorists are still trying to use it.
This has invoked the understandable ire of the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue which is tasked with rescuing people from it.
Driving through the Sally Gap is “just idiotic” the rescue service said on its Facebook page.
“A busy evening saw multiple M.R. units tasked to assist over a dozen people stuck in multiple vehicles on impassable roads in the Wicklow Mountains,” it said.
“While we’re here to help, and we will help, people need to take some personal responsibility. This weather warning is well advertised and is due to continue for a number of days.”
The rescue service estimates that there are 20 abandoned cars in the Gap and they may not be removed before the weekend at the very earliest.
At 5pm it is already freezing in many parts of the country. It’s already -3 in Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, -2 in Dunsany, Co Meath and Gurteen, Co Sligo and -1 in Dublin.
The latest forecast from Met Éireann suggests that it will be coldest in the midlands tonight with temperatures of -8 there. Snow is forecast to call along the northwest coast with counties Mayo, Sligo and Donegal expected to see significant falls. It will be freezing everywhere even in coastal areas. Temperatures are not likely to rise above freezing in most places on Thursday.
Snow, what snow? People in Dublin must feel like they are living in a different country when they see communities around the country buried under a blanket of snow. There hasn’t been a flake in Dublin thus far, but the forecast suggests that there is a slight chance of snow in the capital this evening.
Tipperary County Council staff are working to clear a water tanker that overturned in the village of Emly in west Tipperary early this morning after compacted snow gave way beneath the unit, writes Barry Roche.
A driver had delivered the tanker earlier for Uisce Éireann and left it near the school in the village after disruption to the Galtee Regional Water scheme left locals without water.
Nobody was injured in the incident but surprised locals in the snow shrouded village took photos of the overturned tanker which they posted on various social media platforms.
Uisce Éireann says it is working to restore water supplies to 4,200 customers affected by the Galtee Regional Water Scheme disruption as well as disruptions in Ardfinnan and Killenaule.
Elsewhere, Tipperary Community Services Centre announced that its Meals on Wheels Service will not operate on Thursday due to the continuous dangerous weather conditions
In Bansha, a farmer has issued an appeal for the use of a hay shed or barn to store 90 round bales after the heavy falls of snow over the weekend caused the roof of his barn to collapse.
Meanwhile, Tipperary County Council has confirmed that the Mountain Road in Clonmel, the R678 has been closed and will remain closed for most of today due to the weather.
Elsewhere, council staff are working to remove stuff and ice from local and regional roads in very challenging conditions as temperatures are set to plummet in the Premier County again tonight.
From Southern Correspondent Barry Roche:
Met Éireann should not be afraid to issue red weather warnings even if they get it wrong as it would at least mean people would take more heed and be better prepared, according to a North Cork school principal who has had to close her school for the week due to snow and ice.
Marie Casey is principal at Boherbue National School, 13km west of Kanturk and she was left with no choice on Sunday but to inform the parents of the 200 pupils attending the school that they would not be reopening on Monday because of the heavy snow falls.
“It started sleeting about four o’clock on Saturday and then it got heavier and about five o’clock it started snowing and I thought this won’t happen, it’s not sticking but oh my God, it was covered within an hour and snowed all Saturday night right through.
“When we woke up Sunday morning, there was at least six inches on the ground, and it was still snowing and it just keep snowing until it was half way up our car – it was unbelievable it was huge snow and we were just snowed in as was everyone around us.”
There is a full attendance at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition on Wednesday despite snow and icy conditions in parts of the country, reports our Environment and Science Editor Kevin O’Sullivan.
A spokeswoman for the exhibition, Mari Cahalane, confirmed the full attendance and said some students had to be towed by tractor from their homes before making their way to Dublin.
Over 1,000 students gathered in the RDS in Ballsbridge for the opening ceremony this afternoon.
Thousands remain without water or power
Margaret Attridge, Assets Operation manager with Irish Water, has said that 4,500 premises are still without water because of difficulties with services in seven locations.
Ms Attridge told RTÉ radio’s News at One that power has now been restored at five of the seven treatment plants which are now producing water, but it could be some time before it gets “to the extremities.”
Generators have arrived at the two other plants which will resume production as soon as possible.
Supply has been impacted by power cuts, but burst pipes are now becoming an issue, she warned. “We’re not out of the woods yet, there’s a lot of cold nights to go through.
“So we are expecting the situation to deteriorate. So we are asking people to report leaks to us. We’ll get our crews mobilised to go out there.
“If there are outages in your area you can register on our website just by providing your Eircode and your phone number and we will provide you with those regular updates.”
Separately, 4,000 customers remain without power, according to Siobhán Wynne of ESB Networks. These customers are located mainly in the Limerick, Tipperary, North Cork and Kerry areas.
“Our crews are continuing to make good progress now today, despite the difficult weather conditions. And we do expect to restore power to almost all of these customers by tonight,” she said.
“We obviously appreciate that this is an incredibly difficult time for our customers, particularly in those worst impacted areas. So in an effort to try and offer some support to them we’ve made arrangements with local hotels where people can go to refresh and get a hot meal, recharge their mobile phones, and that’s going to be available today and tomorrow.
“We’re conscious that some of these people could be travelling from areas where there are still hazardous conditions. So we do remind people just only travel if it is safe to do so.”
An Post will attempt letter and parcel deliveries wherever it is safe to do so, the postal service has said on Wednesday. While more delivery routes are at least partially accessible today, many parts of Tipperary, Kilkenny, North Kerry, Limerick and Waterford remain inaccessible, it said.
“As deliveries are attempted in the worst affected areas, An Post delivery staff will check in on customers living alone or in isolated areas, and will encourage anyone in need of assistance to call ALONE’s national contact number (0818 222 024).
“Almost all Post Offices are open albeit for reduced hours in areas still badly impacted by snow and icy roads.
“An Post will keep customers updated at anpost.com.”
Some of the Road Safety Authority’s national driving licence service centres are closed or have delayed their opening times due to the weather.
Bus Éireann service update
Service disruption for the western/northwestern region on Wednesday due to the weather conditions:
- Route 51: 11:25 Limerick to Galway – cancelled
- Route 30: 17:30 Donegal to Dublin – cancelled
- Route X30: 23:00 Dublin to Donegal – cancelled
- Route 451: 08:15 Ballina to Charlestown – will not serve Corroy, Knockmore or Attymass
- Route S1: The Cartron stop will not be served due to road conditions
- Route 423: 07:05 Clifden to Westport – cancelled; 09:10 Westport to Clifden – cancelled
- Route 450: 07:10 Dooagh to Louisburgh – Dugort and Dooniver stops will be bypassed; 08:00 Louisburgh to Dooagh – Dooniver and Dugort stops will be bypassed
- Route 458: 05:30 Sligo to Enniskillen – cancelled; 07:20 Enniskillen to Ballina – will operate from Manorhamillton at 8:08 to Ballina; 06:55 Sligo to Ballina – cancelled; 08:30 Ballina to Sligo – cancelled
- Route 462: 07:20 Sligo to Dromahair – cancelled; 07:45 Dromahair to Sligo – will operate from Collooney at 08:10 to Sligo
- Route 303: Services reinstated in Janesboro, Carew park and O’Malley Park
- Route 304: Services reinstated in Ballycummin.
- Route 304A: Services reinstated in Monaleen
- Route 320: 07:45 Limerick- Charleville – Will not be serving Bruree in both directions due dangerous road conditions; 09:30 Charleville-Limerick – Will not be serving Bruree and Croom due to dangerous road conditions
- Route 323: Services ex Nenagh-Limerick will not be serving Newtown, Youghalara, Portroe due to dangerous road conditions
- Route 328: Services will not be serving Herbertstown and Galbally in both directions due to dangerous road conditions
- Route 329: Services Ex Kilfinnane will operate from Kilmallock as per time table due to dangerous road conditions. A review of the road conditions in the area will be done during the morning; Limerick-Kilfinnane Services will operate to Kilmallock only due to dangerous road conditions. A review of the road conditions in the area will be done during the morning
- Route 332: 09:00 Cashel -Limerick will operate ex Cappamore @09:46 due to dangerous road conditions; 09:30 Limerick- Cashel will be operating to Cappamore only due to dangerous road conditions
- Route 333: 07:20 Ex Kilkee-Ennis Cancelled
- Route 347: 08:10 Dromkeen-Tipperary Cancelled
Tipperary cold weather update
Tipperary County Council has said its crews are working on removing snow and ice around the county in “very challenging conditions” this morning. The R678 Mountain Road Clonmel will remain closed for most of today. The following offices and services are also unable to open due to the weather:
- Motor Tax office, Parnell Street, Clonmel
- Museum, Clonmel
- Swimming Pool, Clonmel
- Sean Treacy Swimming Pool, Tipperary Town
- Civic Amenity Site Donohill Tipperary
- Tipperary Town Library
Kerry cold weather update
Kerry County Council said its crews treated priority roads twice overnight and these roads are generally passable with care. However, localised patches of black ice may still be present even on treated roads.
“TII weather stations on the N21 and N22 still show freezing conditions at 9.30am so drive with care,” it said.
“Untreated local roads, particularly in the Northeast and East of the County where lying snow persists, will be very hazardous after the hard freeze – so if your journey is necessary, drive with extreme caution and follow RSA advice for icy conditions.”
The council’s Castleisland Area Office is closed to the public on Wednesday and all phone lines are diverted to the head office in Tralee.
Cork cold weather update
Cork County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team convened this morning as a Status Orange low temperature/ice warning was in effect for the county until 10am.
A further Status Orange low temperature/ice warning will come into effect for Cork at 6pm tonight until 11am tomorrow morning.
The local authority is urging all road users to take extreme care if they must travel over the coming days. “Conditions remain extremely challenging on many routes in northwest and North Cork where lying snow continues to be an issue,” it said.
Council crews are continuing to treat priority routes, however, due to the low temperatures, widespread icy patches can be expected even on treated roads.
- Diversions remain in place westbound on the R585 in west Cork due to icy conditions. Traffic is advised to divert via the R587 at Shanlaragh to Dunmanway and then via the R586/N71 to Bantry
- The R579 Banteer to Nadd and the Newmarket to Rockchapel roads are now passable with caution
- The council’s area offices in Kanturk, Newmarket, Charleville and Millstreet will remain closed today. Dunmanway Area Office will open at noon
The council’s emergency line remains open on 021 4800048 to report any issues.
Munster forecast
Met Éireann said it will be bitterly cold across Munster on Wednesday morning with widespread frost, ice and patches of freezing fog, all of which will persist in some areas all day.
Most areas will be dry with a fair amount of cloud and bright or sunny spells. It will be cloudiest in the south with a little patchy rain possible near the south coast for a time. Highest temperatures of -1 to 4 degrees with mostly light northerly breezes.
Wednesday night will be extremely cold and largely dry. There will be severe frost, ice or black ice and patches of freezing fog. Lowest temperatures of -8 to -3 degrees with light variable breezes.
Thursday morning be bitterly cold again with widespread frost, ice and some freezing fog, lingering throughout the day in many areas. It will be dry with sunny spells. Highest temperatures of -1 to 4 degrees with light variable breezes.
Limerick County Council has also said its homeless action team has secured additional beds to ensure no one is left out in the cold this week.
The Limerick Homeless Action Team can be contacted at Homeless@limerick.ie or call 061 557051 or 1800 606060 (out of hours).
People may also present at the Temporary Emergency Provision (TEP) at Edenvilla, Lord Edward Street at 9pm. This out of hours service is operated by NOVAS in collaboration with the Limerick Homeless Action Team.
A Limerick councillor has described the situation in parts of rural Limerick as “the worst I’ve ever seen”.
Cllr Liam Galvin told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that there were still some isolated areas without power or water. “I’ve never seen anything like this in Limerick.”
The snow on the ground “was like concrete” in places after severe overnight frost which meant it was difficult for snow ploughs to clear roads which meant that “genuinely, people cannot get to the public road”.
Cllr Galvin called for an emergency number to be set up where people could report if they were isolated and needed assistance. “Because there are families now needing supplies and they’re running out of water, they’re running out of food, and they have no communication because broadband is down.”
Tuesday had been the busiest day he had ever experienced in 21 years as a local representative, he said.
A low temperature of -6.1 degrees was recorded in Mullingar at 8am on Wednesday with the possibility of even colder weather tonight according to Met Éireann forecaster Rebecca Cantwell.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Ms Cantwell explained that cloud cover on Tuesday night meant that temperatures did not go as low as anticipated, but clear skies on Wednesday night could lead to low temperatures, possibly as cold as -7 or -8 degrees.
Carlow County Council has said driving conditions across the county remain poor this morning and has advised motorists to exercise extreme caution.
Met Éireann has said temperatures dropped to -5.7 degrees overnight in Ballyhaise in Co Cavan.
This follows earlier reports from the forecaster in which it said the same temperature was recorded at the Casement Aerodrome in Co Dublin, Gurteen in Co Tipperary and Mullingar in Co Westmeath.
ESB Networks has said that customers who remain without power in the worst impacted areas of Limerick and Tipperary have been contacted to avail of facilities in some local hotels to “refresh, eat a hot meal and recharge phones” on both Wednesday and Thursday.
To avail of this service, customers will need to provide the service provider with their MPRN number. Customers’ MPRN numbers can be found on their electricity bill starting with one zero.
Kerry County Council has said priority routes are “drivable with caution” this morning. “However, all other roads have reports of frozen patches of snow and water and reports of black ice on many roads,” it said.
“Roads on higher ground still have a significant amount of snow present.” It has advised that only “absolutely essential journeys” are taken.
Shannon Airport says it remains fully operational this morning, with some delays to UK flights due to adverse weather in the UK. It has advised passengers to check with their airline for up-to-date flight information and allow extra time when travelling to the airport.
Cork County Council says its crews will continue to treat priority routes this morning. However, due to the low temperatures, widespread icy patches can be expected even on treated roads, it added.
Why is the weather so cold and how does it compare to previous winters? Our environment and science editor Kevin O’Sullivan answers those questions in a piece here.
As of 6.45am, there were approximately 4,000 homes, farms and businesses without supply, according to ESB Networks.
The main locations affected are Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
Senior forecaster Gerry Murphy has told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that so far Dublin has recorded the lowest overnight temperature with -5.8 in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.
There were also values of -5.7 in Mullingar and Gurteen in Tipperary and in Mount Dillon in County Roscommon.
“Now, the temperatures are still dark. It still hasn’t reached dawn yet. So we may see even lower temperatures over the next hour or so,” he said. “But broadly speaking, for most counties, this temperature range between -3 and -6 degrees overnight and a little less cold in Donegal and a few coastal areas.”
Keith Leonard, director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, has said the country is facing “very difficult and very challenging” conditions on account of the extremely low temperatures.
“Because the snow stopped falling, there might be an air of complacency building, particularly about the condition of roads,” said Mr Leonard. “But these [current] conditions are very difficult and very challenging, and probably have a disproportionate effect among the most vulnerable in our communities.”
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group is due to meet on Wednesday and again on Thursday, said Mr Leonard, and possibly on Friday.
A status orange weather warning remains in place this morning for most of the country as extremely cold temperatures overnight means widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow add to treacherous travelling conditions.
Met Éireann said this morning will be bitterly cold with widespread frost, ice and patches of freezing fog. There will be some scattered wintry showers in the northwest and highest temperatures of -1 to 4 degrees. Tonight will be extremely cold with temperatures potentially dipping as low as -8 degrees.
