Winter’s last blast
Snow, frost and temperatures as low as -6˚C are on the way
SNOW is expected to fall from Tuesday as a bitterly cold Siberian weather front – dubbed the ‘Beast from the East’ – is set to take hold from mid-week, bringing with it freezing temperatures as low as -6˚C in some places.
A Status Yellow low temperature warning has been issued for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal – forecasting temperatures as low as -3˚C today. A second Status Yellow weather alert has also been issued for the whole of Ireland and will remain in place until next Saturday. It predicts ‘exceptionally cold weather’ with significant wind chill and severe frost and, from Tuesday onwards, disruptive snow showers.
Met Éireann Forecaster Liz Gavin said: ‘Exceptionally cold weather is expected next week with significant wind chill and severe frost at night. Disruptive snow showers are expected from Tuesday particularly in the east, north and south east.’
Ms Gavin said daytime temperatures will struggle to rise above 0˚C in some places, while winds will pick up from Thursday or Friday which will make temperatures ‘feel much colder’. Overnight temperatures could plunge to as low as -4˚C and -6˚C in some places.
From Wednesday through to Friday, widespread snow showers are expected at times, most especially in eastern, southern and northern counties and some disruptive accumulations are likely in these areas.
Cathal Nolan, who runs the Midland Weather Channel on Facebook, has gone further – predicting ‘blizzard conditions’ and snowfalls of 30-40cm in some areas of the Midlands. He issued a precautionary red weather alert warning and said he believes Met Éireann will follow suit at some point on Wednesday.
‘Having further assessed the latest run of weather models and carefully pieced together the likely physical make-up of the weather event it now looks increasingly likely that Ireland will be impacted by one of the worst spells of wintry weather since 1982,’ Nolan forecast on his Facebook page yesterday.
‘Given the vast quantities of snow which have the potential to fall, it’s highly likely that severe disruption will occur in all areas of the Midlands and east of the country during the second half of next week.’
‘By Thursday, I believe most schools in the Midlands will be closed, as well as most universities. Road travel will grind to a halt due to the quantities of snow, with even motorways likely to become impassable if the worst develops as forecast. Businesses are likely to close right across the region also due to the lack of transport options,’ he claimed.
‘This truly has the potential to become an extreme weather event and, with that in mind, I have taken the precautionary measure of issuing a Red Weather Warning, which I believe will be issued by the national authorities at some point next Wednesday, a little too late – as ever –in order to give people adequate time to prepare sufficiently.’
Met Éireann’s Ms Gavin said there were a lot of things that could come into play yet and she asked the public to monitor forecasts.
As the situation evolves, she said Met Éireann would be updating its warnings, which are usually issued for specific areas 24 hours in advance. She said the weather advisory which is in operation will be
‘Exceptionally cold weather is expected’ ‘I believe most schools in Midlands will be closed’
continuously updated. Local authorities are expected to resume road salting and gritting operations as the weather hits, and Age Action Ireland has urged people to check on their elderly or infirm neighbours to ensure they have proper heating supplies, meals and medicines especially those living in rural areas.