AA warns motorists of freezing hazards on roads

THE AA has issued a warning to drivers to take extra care this morning after temperatures were expected to dip as low as minus five degrees last night.

Freezing snow from the weekend snowfalls, particularly in the north and northwest, was expected to make driving conditions hazardous.

The AA advised motorists that journeys should be delayed by one hour.

Today's racing at Gowran Park was also in doubt last night as a spokesman for the Turf Club said the track would be inspected again at 7.a.m.

The track was frozen yesterday and unless there was an early thaw, the race meeting would probably be cancelled, according to the spokesman.

Further inspections would be carried out today and early tomorrow for scheduled race meetings at Fairyhouse and Tramore.

Stena Line reported its ferry services were running as normal but last night's Irish Ferries service from Rosslare to Cherbourg was expected to be delayed several hours due to a technical fault.

Over the weekend, electricity supplies to a number of homes in Co Donegal were disrupted due to adverse weather conditions.

About 90 homes in the Inch Island area of south Buncrana lost supply on Saturday evening while in Donegal town the ESB was called out to make safe a house after it was hit by lightning.

The holiday home, which was extensively damaged in a blaze following the lightning, was occupied at the time but there were no injuries, according to the ESB.

Electricity supply was also cut to the inhabitants of Arranmore Island off the Donegal coast from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, as ESB crews were hampered from reaching the island. A new transformer was eventually ferried out by the local lifeboat.

In Milford, Co Donegal, a local man was found dead behind the front door of his house after a fire broke out. Garda∅ have not named the man. It is thought the fire was started by an electrical fault.

According to Met ╔ireann, the snowfalls are likely to have finished by this morning, but last night's temperatures were expected to be among the worst of the recent cold spell.

Met ╔ireann said the coldest areas would roughly correspond to where the snow had fallen, the midlands, the north and the north-west. Highest temperatures today were expected to reach four to six degrees and there was a danger of ice and freezing fog.