SNOW TOURISTS ARE being warned to stay away from the Wicklow Mountains this weekend due to the potential for avalanches.

Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue spokesman John Kavanagh said there is still quite a lot of snow in the region which can come loose and pose a danger to the public.

The message is to stay away for the weekend and to take a mature approach to the snow.

Kavanagh told TheJournal.ie: “There is an avalanche risk there. There is still quite a lot of snow on western and northern slopes. Because of the type of snow and direction that it came from, it tends to stick to structures on sheltered sides of hills and mountains. So there is a chance for it to build and it all has to come off at some stage.”

Kavanagh explained that the snow should only pose a problem for inexperienced people who are in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.

“What we’re advising is that people who are not skilled or experienced need to recognise the hazards. What we advise is for people to take a mature attitude and try to stay away. A lot of the roads are still blocked or down to a single lane. There are people who live in these mountainous regions so we’d ask that people be considerate of them.”

Met Éireann said temperatures are expected to increase in the coming days which is set to help rid the rest of the snow from mountainous areas.

Read: Government wants to know how much the clean-up bill for Storm Emma is going to cost >

Read: ‘Snow tourists’ hampering clean-up operation >

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