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LAST UPDATE | 3 Jan
IRELAND IS NOW heading into a severe cold snap.
It has been described by Met Éireann as a “multi-hazard weather event”.
Warnings have been issued for all 26 counties across Saturday and Sunday, including a Status Orange snow-ice warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary.
The weather system set to hit Ireland is still evolving, so the warnings could be updated further. Cold temperatures are likely to continue into next week.
Here’s how to prepare yourself for the next few days:
Make sure you know the weather forecast in your area and act accordingly.
Met Éireann offers an app with customisable alerts on both iOS and Android, in addition to their website and regular appearances on RTÉ.
While it’s clear that it will be cold and that it will rain, snow is often quite difficult to forecast. You can read why in more detail here from the UK’s Met Office.
That is the million-euro question.
The decision to schools and Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings is multifaceted and ultimately lies with managing authority. A Status Red warning will — generally speaking — result in a temporary closure, but Status Orange is less clear-cut.
Another factor here is the somewhat unpredictable nature of this type of weather event.
Met Éireann has been clear that it is likely that some schools will be unable to reopen on Monday. However, it will depend on how the weekend progresses and is something which would be communicated to parents by the school itself.
You can read all the fine print underpinning this decision here https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e1d49a-schools-and-severe-weather-be-winter-ready/
Now, listen. We are painfully aware that you have likely be dressing yourself for many years at this stage. We are not doubting your ability to dress yourself, but the last thing we would want is for you to end up caught outside in the cold.
If you are out and about during the cold weather for anything longer than nipping into the shops from the car, make sure you dress accordingly.
The easiest way of looking at this is by splitting your clothing into three layers: your base layer should be a form-fitting synthetic thermal or wool top; your middle layer should be the insulating layer, so a jumper, fleece, or hoodie that will keep you warm; your outer layer is your ‘shell’, so a decent jacket that will protect you from the elements.
That’s in addition to having thermal long-johns or leggings on underneath your trousers, boots, gloves, and a hat. This is a very simplistic explanation, so if you will be outdoors for a long period of time, do your research.
This is not your signal to head to the bunker you’ve been stocking with non-perishable goods and iodine tablets for the past few years.
This is highly dependent on your own individual situation, but if there is heavy snow, it could impact your ability to get out of the house for essentials.
Authorities advise keeping a small supply of easy-to-prepare non-perishable food in your home — think tins, rice, pasta, that sort of thing. You can also make sure your freezer is stocked up with a few bits.
Keep a supply of water in case your supply gets cut-off or frozen. The official advice is to that leaving a tap running will not prevent your taps from freezing. Some experts even call it a ‘myth’, although you won’t be short of people saying the opposite.
If you rely on fuel for heating your home, make sure you’re not running low.
If you have pets, you’ll find some essential advice here.
Contact your pharmacist if you are concerned about your supply of essential medicines, and be aware that cold weather can exacerbate existing health conditions.
At the time of writing, this is not due to be a storm event that could lead to widespread loss of power, but heavy snow can still cause power cuts in some situations. Make sure that your electrics are charged, in particular any power banks you can use to charge your phone. Find that torch you bought yonks ago for use in this exact situation.
Now is also a good time to contact the ESB to be put on the vulnerable customer list. This is for not only people who require electrically powered equipment for health reasons or for independent living, but it is also for anyone “particularly vulnerable to disconnection during winter months for reasons of advanced age or physical, sensory, intellectual or mental health”.
If there is severe snow or icy conditions in your area, check on your vulnerable or older neighbours — maybe even check in on them now to share your mobile number for them to call if they have any problems. This type of weather can be quite isolating and potentially dangerous.
We’re not good in Ireland at handling what other countries might consider normal winter weather as it happens so infrequently.
This means that a lot of us don’t have a massive amount of experience driving in such icy conditions.
Be extra safe on the roads. The RSA has a list of 10 essential tips here, ranging from making sure your tyres are pumped up, keeping some vital supplies in your boot, and understanding how to control your car in a skid.
As one traffic infrastructure expert put it, just because you have a 4×4, don’t get out on the roads thinking you’re ‘all that and a bag of chips’.
Well, you’re probably not. It’s likely we have some polar explorers among our readership.
Cold, snowy weather can be dangerous. If you find yourself lost or stranded somewhere, you will be at risk of hypothermia before you even realise. Paths are slippery. Clearing snow is a lot harder than you would expect.
Heading up a mountain to take in the stunning views sounds great — but rescue teams would much prefer if you didn’t take the risk and instead took in the views from a safer vista.
“Always check the weather forecast first. If it says ice, consider doing it another day if you’re a novice. Winter conditions are three times as tough to navigate,” Gerry Christie from Kerry Mountain Rescue told The Journal earlier this year.
If you do have to go out, make sure you’re wearing appropriate clothing, and walk like a penguin (yes, you heard us).
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Jayses do we really need to be treated like kids. The cold snap will be exactly like every other cold snap this country has had. Treating it like it’s a new thing we haven’t seen before is ridiculous
@Ger Whelan: might not be the same.
@Ger Whelan: this is only the warm down for next week. Could hit near the minus 10s in places next week if long range forecast rings thru.
@Ger Whelan: There are plenty of contributions from people who behave in quite an immature manner on here so maybe this article is aimed at them.
@Ger Whelan: then grow up. It can’t help to be reminded on what to do ….if. you might be a smart kid but many aren’t.
@Ger Whelan: Yes people do because day are brian dead
@Alan Moloney: day what?
@Patricia Mc namara: I consider myself smart and sensible when it comes to this sort of weather.. but reading this article made me add bottled water to my list for this evening’s grocery run, just in case.
I live on a hill that has, in the past, become impassable to cars, and I’m out in the country, so can’t walk to a shop either. Need to be prepared.
We have water butts on the garden, and a stream for utility water, like for flushing, if the pipes or butts freeze over, but I’d be without drinking water if that happened. So.. 4 x2l bottles of water, plus keeping a couple I drink from anyways filled will be a good idea.
If you need to be told what to wear when it’s cold, you are not worth saving.
@Michael Cummins: “Global Cooling” alive and well.
@Michael Cummins: who are you to say, who is worth being saved or not.
@Patricia Mc namara: Its an expression you soft clown.
@Marvin Dollery: dope
@Michael Cummins: I have cousins who are Irish, but were raised in Dubai. This isn’t information they would have ever needed before moving back home.
@Michael Cummins: this made me laugh all day :):)
Weather warnings all over the place but still there will be gbshites having to be rescued from mountains in the middle of it.” We just went out for a walk”
Wait and see.
@Basildon Joe: the lowlife jacket.
Figures that you’d have one..
Barricade Lidl in Fortunestown, quick! Maybe Paul Murphy can organise a gang of locals to surround it and refuse to move for anyone like he did to Joan Burton.
@Ronan Mc: I’ll see what I can do
If there was ever a major event, say like a power outage for an extended period of time (months) then society will collapse, people will kill each other over stuff that right now they wouldn’t think twice about throwing away & the amount of people who would die simply because they haven’t a clue how to cope without all the mod cons would be staggering.
@Matt D: Weeks, not months… we should learn at least the basics in school, along with driving and a host of other sensible things.
@Thesaltyurchin: you can learnt that at home surely
@McWingy: Our base level education should include these learnings (imo).
Brennan’s Bread and Jameson,few tins stew ,ye be grand .
@Ann Nugent: How long do you soak the bread in the Jameson for?
Last big snow fall was 2018 and the summer of 2018 was fantastic ☀️☀️
Traction control: Off
@Thesaltyurchin: Dont forget to leave a tap dripping!
Just got to Dunnes before the rush on toilet rolls begin
You mean ‘exacerbate’ NOT exasperate!
@Ciarán MacGonigal: is a jockey an exasserbater?
Bring it on I have the mountain gear ready you’ll find me on top of lugnaquilla
@ken donegan: bring it on. There’s teams going upto the masts every time the weather is poor to ensure people have Wi-Fi, so if you need help, look for one of us, we can wave
If we’re advising people on how to keep warm during cold weather in Ireland in 2025…..then I’m sorry, STOP ✋️ turn around, we need to go back a few shteps on the evolutionary scale…..somewhere between flint spears and our indigenous Stags should do
@Nigel McAtamney: I used this article as a check list, personally, so it was useful.
I went through it, worked out how each applied to me, and how I was sorted.. and found that actually, buying in some bottled water would be a good idea, in case our pipes freeze, as I don’t live in walking distance of a shop, and I’m on a hill anyway, so even driving somewhere could get dicey.
@Nigel McAtamney: May I ask why you wrote “shteps” instead of steps?
Pretending to have an accent when speaking is sad enough and there are many who do this but spelling in such a manner is beyond sad.
Brrrr
@Phillip Smyth: Tullamore too.
Leaving a tap running will prevent it from freezing, what it does not prevent is the authorities running out of a supply of water because they have only recently started to invest in the infrastructure after 30 or 40 plus years of FF and GG neglect. They won’t tell you that though they’ll tell you that leaving a tap running will not prevent it freezing which is absolute bs. Leaving your tap off and the water freezing inside will also increase the likelihood of it or a fitting bursting.
@Thomas Meaney: I did this a couple of years ago… small trickle of water overnight… pipes froze.
@Emit Relevart: you need to know what your doing so.
more woke drama …its January…get over it
Mayo is a model for the rescue team.
@Phillip Smyth: where??!
Fc uk me , ye swear it was the film 2012 , comical now
How how under gods earth can a man who 2 people because he was drunk. Can walk out of court on Bale as if it was a minor matter. What so of laws do we have. Hang ur head in shame mrs mc endee. Shame on you.
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