So can St Patrick drive out snow too?
IT’S going to snow on our parades this St Patrick’s Day, forecasters have warned.
Families will be pinning their shamrock to hats and scarves come Saturday, as another cold front moves in from Eastern Europe.
Met Éireann said snowfall won’t be as heavy as during last month’s Storm Emma but warned of flooding today and tomorrow due to heavy rain.
SNAKES may have been a doddle but driving away more snowfall could be outside St Patrick’s control this weekend.
Families attending parades around the country this Saturday have been urged to wrap up as a cold spell is forecast and there may even be snow.
The chilly front arrives from Eastern Europe but Met Éireann stressed that it will not be a return of The Beast from the East that dumped tonnes of snow across Europe earlier this month.
A forecaster told the Irish Daily Mail that temperatures will be four or five degrees below normal, and that there will be exceptionally cold weather for mid-March.
The north of the country will fare the worst, with highest temperatures of just 1C or 2C.
While there will be flurries of snow in some areas, it is still too early to predict exactly how this will develop, the forecaster said.
Met Éireann warned of significant wind chill for St Patrick’s Day parades on Saturday.
The biggest risk of snow will be in the east and south.
A Met Éireann forecaster said that the immediate concern for the country should be heavy rainfall and flooding – expected today and tomorrow. Rain will be widespread today with strong to galeforce southeast winds and temperatures between 9C and 11C.
Met Eireann issued a yellow weather warning – with accumulations of 30mm-50mm of rain expected in areas, with the south expected to fare the worst.
Meanwhile, gardaí have warned they will not tolerate street drinking during the St Patrick’s Day festival.
Yesterday the force issued an information notice for the festival, which begins tomorrow, in which it reminded the public that it is ‘illegal to drink alcohol in a public place in Dublin city’.