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Temperature drop

Status Orange low temperature and ice warnings in effect for most of country

The UK Met Office has issued a snow and ice Status Yellow warning for Northern Ireland.
7.24am, 7 Jan 2025
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LAST UPDATE | 7 Jan 2025

A STATUS ORANGE low temperature and ice warning is now in place for most of the country, with temperatures forecast to drop to between -3 and -8 degrees tonight – with even lower temperatures possible in some local areas.

The Met Éireann warning, which was issued this morning, came into effect at 8pm tonight and will stay in place until 10am on Wednesday.

It covers Munster, Leinster and all other counties in the Republic except Donegal, Dublin, Louth and Wexford.

Met Éireann has warned of potential impacts including hazardous travel conditions, travel disruption, poor visibility and animal welfare issues. 

A further Status Orange low temperature and ice warning will come into effect on Wednesday evening for all counties in the Republic except Donegal, where there will be a yellow warning. The Orange warning will be valid until 11am on Thursday.

In Northern Ireland, the Met Office has issued a Status Yellow snow and ice weather warning for the six counties for today until 11am, with a further warning in place from this afternoon until 12pm tomorrow.

Snow and icy patches may lead to some disruption to travel.

Drivers are warned of poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions this morning.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said that the National Emergency Coordination Group met today and briefed him on what he says is “transitioning from a snow event to a very low temperature event”.

“We’re going to experience weather, the likes of which we’re not very used to … and in many ways it could be a more dangerous period of time, because while snow may not be visible everywhere, footpaths and roads can be extremely dangerous,” he said.

A decision has been taken to increase salting and gritting from twice per day to three times per day.

Harris urged people to heed the weather warnings, and to not let them “become background noise” over the next few days.

‘Treacherous’ road conditions 

In a statement following the meeting, the National Emergency Coordination Group said local Authorities have confirmed that beds will be made available for any rough sleeper who requires one.

“Cold weather initiatives are in operation across all local authorities to provide additional emergency beds for rough sleepers where needed. Outreach teams are continuing to work with rough sleepers and encourage them to avail of accommodation,” it said.

Public transport is continuing to operate, but people are advised to check with their operator before undertaking any journeys, as services may be affected depending on local conditions.

Those availing of public transport are also asked to allow extra time for their journey.

Road users are asked to treat every road as treacherous in the context of widespread black ice, make only essential journeys, take it slowly and allow extra time for travel to reduce risks for all and to relieve the pressure on the emergency services.

Cork County Council has urged people to avoid any unnecessary journeys in the county due to widespread ice.

In a statement this evening, the council said it will continue to treat priority routes overnight and tomorrow morning, “however, due to the low temperatures, widespread icy patches can be expected even on treated roads”.

“Diversions remain in place westbound on the R585 in West Cork due to icy conditions. Traffic is advised to divert via the R587 at Shanlaragh to Dunmanway and then via the R586/N71 to Bantry,” the council said.  

“Clearing and salting is continuing on the R579 Banteer to Nadd which is expected to reopen tomorrow. Conditions remain extremely challenging on many routes in north-west and north Cork where lying snow continues to be an issue.”

Temperatures as low as -10 degrees are forecast for some areas of the midlands tonight. 

Deputy Head of Forecasting Liz Coleman told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland the reasoning behind the Status Orange warning.

“The snow on the weekend is now cleared away, and we’re into this cold, clear air mass coming down from the Arctic.

“So what we’re going to see is temperatures plummeting as the sun sets tonight, and then they’ll struggle to recover, to get above zero through the day tomorrow, and then a further freeze tomorrow night as well.”

She also said that clear skies will make for severe frost, and freezing fog is expected in some areas too.

The low temperatures are pretty widespread across the country, Coleman said, except for Donegal, which will be slightly warmer.

Homes still without power

As of this evening, there are approximately 6,500 homes, farms and businesses without power, down from 10,000 people earlier today.

According to the ESB, the main locations affected are Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary.

ESB networks regional manager Brian Tapley told RTÉ’s Drivetime programme this evening that crews will continue working late into the evening to restore power to those affected. 

“I’d say a large amount of restoration will take place tomorrow, but we may have still some some customers out until Thursday,” he said.

Tapley said conditions in the areas that remain without power remain “very difficult”, adding that ESB crews are working with the Irish Air Corps local authorities “to physically get access to repair the faults”.

In some cases, they have been using helicopters to get network technicians to an area to repair networks, he said.

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“We’re really down to large amounts of work to be done to get small numbers back, and that large amount of work is in very difficult places.”

Real-time information on power outages and restoration times is available on www.PowerCheck.ie.

Meanwhile, some 8,000 people remain without water this evening, down from 30,000 at the same time yesterday.

Water outages

However, Uisce Éireann has warned that that figure is expected to rise in the coming days, with weather-related bursts on the water network “likely to continue as a result of sub-zero temperatures”. 

Crews will continue to work to maintain and restore water supplies for customers across the country, while taking into account all necessary safety measures.

Uisce Éireann’s head of water operations Margaret Attridge urged people to continue to conserve water and to report any leaks on the public network as early as possible. 

“Conserving water at home and at work can help safeguard water supplies for as many people as possible, especially for our vulnerable customers and essential services such as hospitals and nursing homes,” she said.

“We’re asking people to do simple things like being mindful of shower times and turning off the faucet when brushing teeth. We are continuing to ask people to insulate outside taps, exposed pipes and tanks, to check for leaks and to turn off water to exterior pipes or unoccupied premises.

“We are especially asking people never to leave taps running as this will not necessarily prevent pipes from freezing and can impact on local water supply.”

Heavy snow has disrupted trains this morning, with Iarnród Éireann reporting delays to some trains. You can find the updates on individual services at @IrishRail on the social media platform X.

Farmers are mobilising to deliver essential medical supplies to personnel in hard-to-reach areas.

Chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association in Kerry Jason Fleming told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that while they would previously have helped get things like cattle feed to elderly farmers in rural areas, their partnership with the HSE is a “new dimension” to the support they provide.

“We are stepping up to the mark … we can join nurses for the night shift.”

A number of schools closed yesterday and it is expected some may take that decision today too.

Snow caused the roof of a sports complex in Tralee to collapse, as well as the roof of a Cork pub’s outdoor area.

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