IRELAND will be blasted by a North Atlantic storm as early as tomorrow after snow wreaked havoc across parts of the country today.
Met Eireann has officially named Storm Bert as the next weather event to hit Ireland and warned that the vicious conditions would last until Tuesday.
Ireland faced a “cold and treacherous” start to the day after 5mm of snow hit the country overnight and traffic and travel chaos ensued this morning.
And just hours after thousands of people across the country woke up to a blanket of white snow in their front garden, Met Eireann confirmed that we would be hit by a wicked storm.
A Status Yellow country-wide wind and rain warning will come into effect at 10pm tomorrow night and remain in place until Saturday afternoon.
Met Eireann warned that possible impacts of the miserable weather include localised flooding, travel disruption and fallen trees.
The weather boffins added: “Very strong southeast to south winds coupled with heavy rain.”
Storm Bert is set to move close to Ireland and displace the recent cold Arctic airmass that saw temperatures plunge as low as -4C in recent days.
Forecasters warned that “very strong winds and heavy rain” will track northeastwards over the country on Friday night.
Met Eireann confirmed that the storm, which is expected to last from Friday until Tuesday, will batter the entire island.
They added: “Storm Bert will continue to dominate our weather through the weekend and into early next week and further warnings will be issued for this event.”
Currently, a Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning is in place for the entire country – and it’s expected to remain in place for another 24 hours.
And a Status Yellow snow and ice warning kicked in for Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow, Munster, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon at 8am this morning. It will be lifted at 12pm this afternoon.
A 12-hour snow and rain orange warning that kicked in for Cork and Waterford from midnight will also be lifted at 12pm this afternoon while Clare, Limerick and Tipperary will be on orange alert for snow and ice until the same time.
Met Eireann have previously explained that Orange weather warnings represent “infrequent and dangerous” weather conditions which may pose a “threat to life and property”.
STORMY CONDITIONS & FLOOD ALERT
Friday will be a mostly dry with spells of sunshine, although it will be frosty and icy starting out.
Met Eireann said there will be a few well scattered wintry showers with a “dusting of snow” in some places as highest temperatures reach between 3C and 7C.
And looking further ahead, they warned: “Very unsettled this weekend, with wet and windy, possibly stormy conditions. Becoming milder however.”
Friday night will see conditions take a turn to wet and windy, with “heavy rain” extending from the southwest, accompanied by very strong and gusty southeasterly winds.
People have been warned that spot flooding is likely alongside falls of sleet in some places too, mainly across north and northwest counties, as temperatures hit their lowest between 0C and 5C.
COLDEST TEMPS EVER RECORDED IN IRELAND
AS freezing conditions and low temperatures hit Ireland, the country is set to bask in ice, snow and sleet.
With temperatures setting into minus figures, it won’t beat the coldest days ever recorded on the island.
The coldest areas in Ireland are usually found inland, with coastal areas benefiting from sea breezes to keep warmer.
Mullingar, Co Westmeath has the lowest average temperature at 9.3C yearly, but it is not the coldest ever recorded area.
Here are the areas in the country that have recorded the lowest ever temperatures:
- Co Sligo: On January 16, 1881, –19.1C was recorded at Markree Castle in Collooney.
- Co Kildare: On January 2, 1979, -18.8C was recorded in Lullymore.
- Co Longford: On February 7, 1895, -17.8C was recorded in Mostrim while the area also saw the coldest July temperature ever at -0.3C on July 8, 1889.
- Co Sligo: Again at Markree Castle, -17.2C was recorded on March 3, 1947, -8.3C on October 31, 1926 and -7.7C on April 15, 1892.
- Co Donegal: The coldest ever temperature in May on record was detected in Glenties at -5.6C.
- Co Offaly: On June 1, 1962, Clonsast saw temperatures drop to -3.3C.
- Co Wicklow: The coldest ever day in August was in Rathdrum with temperatures dropping to -2.7C on August 30, 1964.
- Co Wexford: On November 29, 2010, Clonroche saw temperatures drop to -11.5C.
- Co Mayo: Also in 2010, temperatures in Straide dropped to -17.5C on Christmas Day.
Saturday will be wet and windy with widespread heavy rain, leading to localised flooding and some lying snow likely starting out across northern areas.
Winds will ease off into the afternoon, and the rain will push off but a further band of rain will follow from the west.
It will be “noticeably milder” with highest temperatures of 12C to 15C before temperatures drop to overnight lows of 8C to 10C on a “wet and windy” Saturday night.
Looking towards Sunday, Met Eireann warned it will be “very windy or stormy” with “strong to gale force” southwesterly winds.
They added: “While many areas will remain dry with sunny spells, scattered heavy showers will occur too, the focus of these across Atlantic counties.
“Highest temperatures of 11C to 14C. Very windy Sunday night with clear spells and heavy showers. Lows of 5C to 8C.”
