Although longer nights and warmer weather are just around the corner, right now, Ireland is being blasted by cold weather.
As it stands, most of the country is braced for heavy snow, with both Status Orange and Status Yellow warnings in place in Ireland and a Status Amber warning in place in Northern Ireland.
The cold weather has also brought with it school closures throughout the country and traffic updates from Gardaí as roads around the country become unpassable, with accidents occurring on some. Here is everything you need to know about the current cold snap:
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Weather warning updates
A further weather warning has been issued on top of the current Status Orange snow and ice alert in place for most of the country until Friday as temperatures continue to plummet nationwide.
The new Status Amber snow and ice weather warning, put in place by the UK Met Office on Thursday morning at 11am, is in place for the three northern counties Antrim, Armagh and Down, making them the latest areas to be included in the second most severe weather warning.
The warning came into effect at 3pm on Thursday and will last until 4am on Friday. The warning comes into play just after the Status Orange warning takes effect in Ireland but will continue for a short period after the warning ends. A Status Yellow warning for the entire country remains in place.
Issuing the warning, the UK Met Office stated that in these counties during this time there would be: “Periods of heavy snow causing disruption to travel and impacts on infrastructure.”
According to Met Éireann, an Orange warning is referred to as Amber for Northern Ireland as this is the colour coding used by the UK Met Office. So in the UK rather than Yellow, Orange and Red, they use Yellow, Amber and Red.
Road travel updates
An Garda Síochána have taken to social media to issue multiple warnings on the Garda Traffic Twitter page amid the snap of cold weather that hit Ireland on Thursday, covering a portion of the country in snow.
The updates began on Wednesday night with a post that advised motorists to be mindful of icy conditions, posting: “An Garda Síochána are advising all those travelling on our roads to be mindful of the conditions and to take care overnight and tomorrow morning.”
On Thursday morning they added: “We continue to remind motorists to exercise caution when driving today as visibility and road conditions may be poor in some areas.”
However, as the weather warnings began to come into effect, the updates became more specific, warning motorists in specific counties.
Firstly, a traffic alert was issued for County Clare that said: “Poor driving conditions currently reported on the N68 between Kilmihil and Lissycasey and local roads in the area, due to recent falls of sleet. Reduce speed and exercise caution.”
Next, a traffic alert was issued for County Wicklow that said: “Roads in the Wicklow Gap / Sally Gap area are currently impassable in places due to sleet and snow accumulations. Motorists are advised to use other routes.”
Most recently, a traffic alert was issued for County Tipperary, which said: “Current weather conditions have led to increased difficulty driving on certain road stretches" It was added that in particular, motorists should be careful travelling on:
- M7 (Southbound) at Junction 26 between Nenagh & Birdhill
- M8 (Northbound) at Junction 8 near Cashel
Furthermore, Carlow Weather has issued travel updates on Twitter, adding that the "R440 between Mountrath in Laois and Kinnitty in Offaly is not passable near the county borders."
The page, run by Alan O'Reilly, warned people of traffic accidents occurring on roads, posting: "Two trucks and a Bus off the road just outside Lissycasey on the Ennis side. Photo sent in by follower. I also came across a car gone off the road in Laois. Take great care on roads in areas seeing snow."
School closure updates
As the icy conditions continue to impact people’s travel, many schools throughout the country have made the decision to shut down for the day amid the cold snap that has caused treacherous roads.
On Thursday, RTÉ confirmed that the post-primary schools, Hazelwood college in Dromcolligher, Desmond College in Newcastlewest and Coláiste Íde agus Iosef in Abbeyfeale were all shut.
Furthermore, in Clare post-primary community colleges at Kilmihil and Kildysart were closed as well as a number of primary schools.
However, with the school day nearly done, many people may be wondering if schools will be open tomorrow. Earlier this week, the Department of Education explained to the Irish Mirror that this would be decided by school management and not the department.
"Any decision to close is taken in the interest of child safety, having assessed the local risks and having consulted, as appropriate, with school transport operators,” the department said.
Click here for live snow updates from the Irish Mirror.
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