Ireland weather: Status-orange weather warning due to come into effect on Tuesday for 22 counties

Main points

• A new status-orange low-temperature and ice weather warning issued by Met Éireann will take effect from 8pm and last until 10am on Wednesday. A second status-orange warning comes into effect on Wednesday and lasts until Thursday.
• New Met Éireann status-yellow warning of more snow, ice is in effect until noon on Tuesday. Met Éireann says the cold weather will persist until Friday morning, while daytime temperatures will struggle to climb above freezing, and night-time temperatures will plunge as low as -10 degrees in some places during the week.
• About 10,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without electricity, predominantly in counties Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
• Some 25,000 waiting for their water to be connected.
• The National Emergency Co-ordination Group warns that hazardous travel conditions will continue for “much of the week”.
• Schools and childcare facilities have been closed in parts of Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary and Wicklow and others on an individual basis. The Department of Education has said local decisions will be made on school closures.
• The HSE has said some outpatient services are still affected.
• Cold snap grips Ireland: how have you been impacted?

Temperatures could plummet to -10 in some areas

Temperatures could plummet to -10 degrees in some areas while status-orange weather warnings are in effect, Liz Coleman, Met Éireann’s deputy head of forecasting has said.

Lowest temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday at night will be recorded in the midlands, and generally where snow is lying, she said.

“You’ll see temperatures maybe dropping down to -10 in some areas but generally across the country, it will be -5 for the next few nights,” she told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.

While there have been reports of scattered showers of snow and sleet on Tuesday, “accumulations are not expected to be huge”, she said, adding that there will be little to no precipitation in the coming days, “just that cold clear air and those hard frosts at night-time.”

Rain due on Thursday night will transition to further sleet and snow as it meets the cold air, she said, though it will be followed by milder air.

Lying snow will not melt until the weekend when temperatures climb beyond 5 degrees during the day, Ms Coleman said, adding that “treacherous conditions” on roads and paths will continue until then.

Although fully operational, flights at Dublin Airport may be delayed throughout the day due to adverse weather effects on airports in the UK, Dublin Airport has said.

Cork Airport, meanwhile, is advising passengers to allow “ample time” to get to the airport while Shannon Airport has reported delays to UK flights due to weather in the UK.

Snow and ice teams are currently clearing the runway at Ireland West Airport in advance of the arrival of its first wave of flights.

Two orange weather warnings issued

A status-orange low temperature and ice weather warning due to come into effect on Tuesday evening has been issued for 22 counties by Met Éireann.

The warning is in place for Munster and Connacht as well as counties Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Cavan and Monaghan.

The alert, which comes into effect at 8pm tonight and lasts until 10am on Wednesday morning, warns that conditions will be “extremely cold with widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow”.

The alert issued by Met Éireann shortly after 9am warns of dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, travel disruption and delays and animal welfare issues.

A second status-orange low temperature and ice weather warning has been issued for Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Cavan and Monaghan, which lasts from 6pm on Wednesday until 11am on Thursday.

ESB Networks regional manager Brian Tapley has spoken of the “challenging” conditions in their efforts to restore electricity to the 10,000 customers who remain without power during the current cold snap.

Mr Tapley told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that helicopters were being used to transport repair crews to some areas where the difficulty was in identifying the location of faults and then repairing.

The worst affected counties are Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.

He gave the example of Newcastlewest in Co Limerick where the line feed to the village is damaged in a number of locations. Crews are being brought in by helicopter each morning, he said.

ESB Networks is working with the Department of Defence, local authorities and agricultural contractors to assess the situation. Snow and ice storms cause different problems, he explained, which has led to situations where roofs have collapsed due to the weight of snow as have trees.

In some cases ice has frozen the controls on transformers leading to short-circuiting, he said. – Vivienne Clarke

Back in Cork, an articulated truck is stuck on the R585 at Cousane, Cork County Council has warned, amid “very challenging” road conditions across the county “even on routes that were recently treated”.

The R585 road will be closed, the council said.

“Our salters and ploughs were out throughout the night. However, there are reports of dangerous conditions right across the county,” it posted on X.

Limerick City and County Council has joined other local authorities in warning of “hazardous conditions” on roads this morning caused by snow and ice.

“Motorists are strongly advised to stick to treated roads whenever possible, but even on these routes, great care is essential,” it said, urging motorists to travel “only if absolutely necessary”.

The chairman of Kerry Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Jason Fleming, has called on the Government to have a “plan B” when it comes to remote areas during extreme weather conditions.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Fleming said his members were utilising farm vehicles that could travel roads in bad weather conditions to bring supplies to people stranded in remote areas without power.

The IFA is also assisting the HSE in getting medical supplies to remote areas and in transporting medical personnel to work. They are helping to “pull cars from ditches” and to remove trees and debris from the roads, he said. – Vivienne Clarke

Irish Rail warns of possible delays and disruption.

Kerry County Council, meanwhile, is urging motorists to travel “only where absolutely necessary” and to do so with “extreme caution” due to a combination of snow and ice on roads this morning.

“Where possible, motorists are advised to remain on treated routes and even on these routes, extreme caution is advised,” it said.

Cork County Council has warned of treacherous conditions across the county this morning with widespread black ice, “even on treated routes”.

Weather warning likely to be upgraded as temperatures to drop to -8 degrees

Met Éireann has issued an appeal to motorists to take extra care on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as freezing fog is likely to make for very hazardous travel conditions.

Forecaster Andrew Doran-Sherlock told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that current frost and ice conditions are unlikely to change as temperatures will not rise above freezing during the day and will drop to -8 degrees at night.

“There’s going to be severe frosts and icy stretches,” he said. “Then tomorrow it’s going to be a bitterly cold day with highest temperatures not even getting above freezing in some areas. It will be followed by another extremely cold night on Wednesday night with another very cold day on Thursday.

“So really, anywhere that’s got frost and ice, there’s a good chance that it won’t shift through the days,” he adds. “And we’ve got the other complication: that there’s going to be freezing fog developing during the night. And again, that’s really not going to shift in places through the day and that’s going to make for very hazardous travel conditions.”

The current status-yellow warning is likely to become a status-orange alert later today in some parts of the country, he added. The “wintry” showers, however, will begin to ease through Wednesday and into Thursday and will be most frequent in the north and northwest.

Mr Doran-Sherlock said it was anticipated, from the current models, that the temperatures would turn warmer by the weekend with likely highs of six to 10 degrees, “which is a significant rise on what we’re getting at the moment. And the nights will be a little bit chilly, but nothing like what we’re expecting at the moment. So by the weekend it will be a lot less cold.” – Vivienne Clarke

Good Morning,

Status-yellow weather warnings remain in place for the entire country as Met Éireann has said that these could be upgraded to status-orange.

Commuters have been warned that frost and ice along with some lying snow will persist in some areas all day.

While rain showers are spreading across the west and north, it is falling as snow further inland.

It will remain cold and largely dry throughout the day with temperatures of just 0 to 5 degrees while temperatures could drop as low as -8 overnight on Tuesday night.