Ireland weather: Orange warnings issued for six counties with ‘heavy’ snowfall expected

Two status orange weather warnings for snow, ice and rain have been issued for six counties with “heavy” snowfall accumulations expected throughout the night on Wednesday.
The orange warnings are in place for Clare, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford from midnight until 12pm on Thursday with “very difficult” travelling conditions, poor visibility and disruption to public transport expected.
Met Éireann said “heavy snow” is expected on Wednesday evening and overnight with “significant snowfall accumulations” across parts of Munster, Connacht and the midlands.
Heavy rain will transition to sleet and snow on Wednesday evening and night and will continue through Thursday morning, with accumulations of 5cm or more in 12 hours likely.
This will cause “significant travel disruptions and difficult ground conditions” during the day, especially during morning rush hour.
Significant snowfall is expected in Clare, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary while heavy rain is expected to transition to sleet and snow in Cork and Waterford, with Met Éireann also warning of potential flooding in both counties.
A yellow snow-ice warning is in place for Clare, Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon until 9pm on Wednesday.
A nationwide yellow warning for low temperatures and ice is in place from 8pm on Wednesday until midday on Thursday.
A further yellow snow and ice warning has been issued for Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow and Munster until Thursday at noon. Accumulations of 1-5cm of snow are likely. Travel disruptions can also be expected in these areas.
Waterford City and County Council has activated its severe weather plan, with ground crews attending priority roads networks where gritting will be undertaken as required for the duration of the weather warning.
Gabriel Hynes, senior engineer with the council, urged all motorists to exercise caution by reducing speed and allowing extra distance between vehicles as travelling conditions will potentially be “hazardous”.
The forecaster said heavy rain is possible. The rain may not transition to sleet or snow in all areas of the south, so some surface water accumulations could be expected, leading to localised flooding.
Met Éireann meteorologist Rebecca Cantwell said: “This evening and tonight rain will meet colder air in Ulster and parts of north Connacht turning to sleet and snow in some areas. This will bring tricky travelling conditions as visibility is greatly reduced in wintry showers.
“As the rain clears through tonight and tomorrow, the cold arctic air will move southwards over the country. So, a notably colder day tomorrow but brightening up too with some sunshine.
“It will continue cold right through the working week with daytime temperatures struggle to rise above 2 to 6 degrees, and temperatures falling widely below freezing at night.
“We’ll see a widespread frost developing and icy stretched too, leading to slippery conditions under foot and possibly travel disruption in some areas.
“That northerly airflow will also bring scattered showers of rain, sleet and snow through the week and with those cold temperatures, that precipitation will tend to freeze, increasing icy conditions, so do take care when out and about.”
A yellow ice warning from the UK Met Office remains in place for Northern Ireland until 10am on Thursday.
“Very cold” conditions are forecast for Wednesday night, reaching lows of between minus 4 and 0 degrees with more widespread frost and ice.
Sleet and snow accumulations are possible, Met Éireann said, as rain spreads across the southern half of the country later on Wednesday, turning to sleet and snow at times away from coasts.
It will be mostly dry further north, with scattered wintry showers continuing in Ulster and north Connacht.
Outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow will then clear to the south on Thursday morning, leaving another “very cold day” with showers of rain, sleet and snow most frequent across Connacht, Ulster and west Munster.
Some icy stretches will linger throughout Thursday with temperatures reaching just 1 to 4 degrees.
The wintry conditions are set to continue until the end of the working week when it will turn milder, reaching highs of 12 to 15 degrees on Saturday.
However, conditions will turn more unsettled with potentially wet and windy weather, the forecaster said.