Ireland weather: Low temperature warning extended after overnight snow as Storm Bert to bring wet and windy weekend

Cold and frosty conditions are to continue for the next 24 hours with Met Éireann having extended a status yellow low temperature and ice warning until midday on Friday after snow fell in some areas overnight.
It advises that conditions across the State will be “very cold with widespread frost, icy stretches and lying snow persisting today, tonight and tomorrow”. The possible impacts include hazardous conditions on roads and paths and some travel disruption.
The unsettled weather is to continue into the weekend, with Storm Bert due to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall from Friday night into Saturday morning. Met Éireann has issued a status yellow warning and said the storm could result in localised flooding, travel disruption and fallen trees.
“Storm Bert will continue to dominate our weather through the weekend and into early next week and further warnings will be issued for this event.”
Temperatures fell below zero across much of Ireland overnight with status orange weather warnings having been in place for counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Cork and Waterford until midday.
Electricty grid operator Eirgrid said Ireland recorded a new peak of 5639 MW for electricity demand on Wednesday evening at 5.28pm due to the cold weather. This passed the previous peak of 5577 MW recorded on January 18th last.
Met Éireann’s deputy head of forecasting Liz Coleman said on Thursday morning that a band of rain has “shifted southwards” and snowfall was being reported in parts of Limerick and Cork.
“So not much in the way of thaw today. A lot of icy stretches and dangerous conditions on the road particularly when the sun sets,” she told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
The Road Safety Authority urged advised motorists in impacted areas to “avoid unnecessary trips”.
Fallen trees, frost, ice and spot flooding were reported across the south, particularly in Cork, where there was heavy rain overnight, leaving roads “treacherous” on Thursday morning.
In Co Mayo, some rural roads were blanketed with several inches of snow this morning and there were reports of slow moving and sometimes stranded vehicles. Main routes were also affected with treacherous conditions reported on the N5 linking east Mayo to Westport.
Substantial depths of snow were reported on routes around Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris, Mulranny, Ballycroy and Bangor. The Windy Gap road between Castlebar and Bofeenaun was closed with local communities reporting particularly deep snow.
Ken Wright, a retired photographer living near the Windy Gap, said his family’s car was “buried up to the bumper”.
“We are snowed in indefinitely. There’s isn’t a hope of moving. We were supposed to go shopping today but we’ll have to make do with bread and water,” he said. “We expected some snow but didn’t think it would be this bad. But there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll have to sit tight and enjoy it”.
The HSE said its services had been “significantly impacted” in Co Mayo, with members of the public advised not to attend Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar except in emergencies.
“Unfortunately, some elective procedures and outpatient care appointments have been postponed,” it said in a statement. “If you have an appointment in a HSE community healthcare setting in Mayo please only travel for your appointment if it is safe to do so.”
Some public transport services were impacted early on Thursday, with Bus Éireann advising commuters to use the Transport for Ireland phone app to get up to date information. Irish Rail said trains were operating on all routes as of Thursday morning, though there were some weather-related delays. Services from Westport to Athlone and Westport to Achill were among those affected. The morning train service between Westport and Dublin was delayed by 45 minutes.
More than 15,000 homes and businesses are without power as of Thursday morning, according to ESB. The vast majority of power outages were along the southwest and west, with Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo most affected.
Met Éireann said “wintry outbreaks of snow, sleet, rain will clear most areas by midmorning, and southern counties” by midday on Thursday.
“While sunshine will develop, a few scattered wintry showers will follow into Atlantic counties. Icy stretches will linger through the day in places. Highest temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees in chilly northerly winds, brisk across Munster,” it said.
“[Thursday night] will be very cold with widespread frost and icy stretches. Scattered wintry showers of rain, sleet and snow will occur with clearest skies across the midlands and southeast. Lowest temperatures of -4 to +1 degrees in moderate westerly winds.”
Conditions will improve on Friday, which is to be mostly dry with spells of sunshine after a frosty and icy start. “A few well scattered wintry showers will occur early on too with a dusting of snow in places. Highest temperatures of 3 to 7 degrees in moderate southwest to west winds.”