D-icey driving on high as cold bites
CHAOTIC SCENES AS CARS FLOUNDER ON ICY CONOR PASS FOLLOWING MINI ‘BLIZZARD’
DRIVERS abandoned their cars to hitch lifts from braver motorists on the top of the Conor Pass on Monday as the cold snap led to chaotic scenes on high.
One motorist said conditions deterioriated rapidly on the pass on Monday morning as what they described as a ‘mini blizzard’ struck the already dramatic route.
The sudden icy conditions rattled many motorists to the extent they opted to simply leave their cars in the viewing park at the top of the Conor to catch lifts down into Dingle on safer wheels.
The driver of one set of safer wheels, a four-wheel-drive, was meanwhile kept busy towing vehicles that struggled on the icy surface off the road and into the car park.
The conditions on the Conor Pass were far from unusual for this time of year on the county’s highlands, with snow generally present on our peaks by the turn of February into March.
But the sudden bite of the ice caught many motorists unawares midway through their commute. On a narrow pass where drivers are frequently forced to come to a complete halt against oncoming traffic, many felt the wiser course was to leave their vehicles for collection at a safer point in the near future.
The snow and ice was just part of a mixed bag of wintry weather to hit the county over the week, including the powerful gusts of Sunday morning’s Storm Ewan. Wind, hail, sleet and snow were all experienced in Kerry following a welcome period of mild conditions earlier in the week.
Though the county escaped the worst of Ewan’s lash, the storm did lead to minor damage in some parts.
Met Éireann’s Valentia Observatory in Cahersiveen recorded a maximum gust of 47 knots from Storm Ewan on Sunday with a mean wind speed of 18.8 knots for the day.
12.2mms of rain was recorded there on Sunday, with a maximum temperature of 11 degrees and a minimum of 4.2. Valentia data for Monday February 27 was not available at time of press however.