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Extreme caution urged on roads during cold snap

Updates:

Wednesday, 9.12am – Motorists and the general public are advised to exercise extreme caution over the next 24 hours as road and footpath conditions could be hazardous.

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One Status Orange Low Temperature/Ice warning was due to expire this morning at 10.00am while a second will come into effect at 6.00pm (Wednesday), remaining in place until 11.00am on Thursday.

Road conditions across the county, particularly in rural and sheltered areas, are said to be in the worst state after overnight temperatures dropped to as low as -4.4C, recorded at Met Éireann’s Automatic Climate Station near Tulla.

The condition of roads across the county ranges from slippy to extremely treacherous. Freezing fo

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) motorway maintenance crews have been gritting the major motorway and dual-carriageway routes while Clare County Council staff have been treating the national, regional and local roads in the county. However, it is likely that some routes will remain untreated

Forecasters say it will continue to be extremely cold with widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow.

The possible impacts include:

• Dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot
• Travel disruption and delays
• Animal welfare issues

Meanwhile, Clare Civil Defence volunteers have been providing assistance to the HSE and An Garda Síochána during the ongoing cold weather.

Members have been involved in the transportation of HSE palliative care and public health nurses to patients around the county using 4×4 vehicles. They have also transported dialysis patients to their appointments and returned them home safely afterwards.

Volunteers have also assisted An Garda Síochána with a number of incidents where required.

A control room has been set up at Clare Civil Defence headquarters in Ennis to coordinate efforts and to monitor the health and safety and weather conditions for all team members.

Tuesday, 9.18am – Met Éireann has now issued two Status Orange Low Temperature/Ice warnings for much of the country including all of Munster.

Forecasters say it will be extremely cold with widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow.

The possible impacts include:

• Dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot
• Travel disruption and delays
• Animal welfare issues

The warning will come into effect at 8.00pm (Tuesday 07/01/2025) and remain in place until 10:00am (Wednesday 08/01/2025)

The second warning is in place from 6.00pm (Wednesday 08/01/2025) to 11:00am (Thursday 09/01/2025).

Tuesday, 9.00am – A Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice Warning issued for Clare at the weekend has been further extended as a bitterly cold Arctic airmass continues to dominate.

The warning, which came into effect on Sunday, was due to expire at midday on Thursday but was extended to midnight. It has since been further extended to 6.00am on Friday,

Met Éireann had previously advised the further warnings could be issued or existing alerts might be revised.

Forecasters say winds will drop off on Tuesday and Wednesday allowing fog and freezing fog to form, which may linger in some areas through the day.

Met Éireann’s Deputy Head of Forecasting Liz Coleman, explains:   “This prolonged cold spell will bring very hazardous conditions over the next few days with no real opportunity for melt of significant lying snow. Given there has been a lot of snow over the weekend, as well as rain which has now frozen, there will be really dangerous conditions on the roads.

The icy conditions will be particularly impactful for some road users, such as cyclists and motorcyclists, so alternative travel should be considered if possible. Really slippery on footpaths too so tricky conditions underfoot. We’d ask the public give extra time for any travel that they have to make.”

Shannon Airport remains fully operational this morning, with some delays to UK flights due to adverse weather in the UK.

Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information.

Given the road conditions, we also advise passengers to allow extra time for their journey to the airport and to drive with extreme care.

We will continue to update passengers across our social media channels.

While Shannon Airport remains fully operational this morning, passengers are advised to check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information.

Monday, 10.41am – Met Éireann has issued a second Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice Warning for a 24-hour period from midday Monday.

Forecasters have wintry showers will bring further accumulation of snow

They’ve also warned of potential impacts including hazardous travelling conditions, poor visibility and travel disruption

The warning will be valid from 12:00 Monday (06/01/2025) to 12:00 Tuesday (07/01/2025).

The earlier warning will remain in place until midnight on Friday.

Monday, 10.29am – The Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice Warning issued until midday on Thursday has now been extended to midnight on Friday.

Earlier: Met Éireann has issued Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice Warning for the entire country which will last until next Thursday.

Forecasters says we can expected “very cold nights with widespread frost and ice.’ They say temperatures will struggle to get above freezing during the day.

The potential impacts of the cold snap include hazardous travelling conditions; icy patches and travel disruption.

The warning came into effect at 5.00pm on Sunday and will remain in place until midday on Thursday, January 9th.

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