SNOW SURPRISE MET ÉIREANN GOT IT WRONG
A ‘CRYSTAL ball’ was the only way Met Éireann could have predicted the heavy snow in the capital and several counties yesterday, as the forecaster admitted it was ‘taken by surprise’.
A status-yellow warning was issued for several counties – but not Dublin city and county, and Wicklow – which caused major travel disruption as the spring surprise landed.
Met Éireann later said the amount of snow that fell in such a short time should have merited a status orange warning. It issued a yellow warning at 5pm on Thursday for heavy rain with sleet and snow on high ground.
Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1, Met Éireann forecaster Brandon Creagh said it ‘wasn’t clear until this morning that the snow would be as heavy as it is and as widespread as it is’.
Mr Creagh said forecasting models had the freezing levels high up over hills and higher areas, but the ‘complex dynamics in the upper air’ pushed the snow down further ‘and that is what led to lying snow in many areas’.
He added: ‘Snow is notoriously the most difficult to predict in Ireland. Maybe if we had a crystal ball we would have issued an orange warning but, if we overwarn people won’t believe warnings when they come.’
However, the forecaster was criticised widely, including by Dublin Fine Gael councillor and general election candidate for Dublin Bay South, James Geoghegan.
‘Met Éireann’s statement that it does not have “a crystal ball” for today’s snowfall was churlish,’ Mr Geoghegan said. He said it was a ‘bit glib’ of Met Éireann when ‘traffic is at a standstill with road and footpath conditions in a treacherous state.’ He added: ‘No lessons seem to have been learnt from past events, and whatever about predicting the weather, when the snow does come, our local authorities and public transport providers should have a plan in place to protect public safety and avoid the city simply shutting down.’ Many parts of the country faced travel disruption and school closures. The problems were most acute in the greater Dublin area with long delays on routes into the city.