Careful driving urged as temperatures drop

OVERNIGHT frost was due to bring icy stretches to some roads this morning, making driving conditions hazardous.

With temperatures expected to drop back to between 1 and -3 degrees last night, Met Éireann warned commuters to take extra care, particularly in sheltered areas.

With icy patches forming in the south by midnight last night and temperatures falling to as low as minus three in the Wicklow Mountains before dawn, slippery stretches on many roads are expected.

“Temperatures in the south will be hovering around zero degrees from midnight until after dawn, so people going to work should be careful,” Met Éireann’s Sandra Spillane said last night.

Ms Spillane noted that in Dublin and the east it would be even colder.

She said that, with high winds overnight, it was hard to know if frost would form, but sheltered areas and high ground were most at risk from frost and snow.

While wintry showers are expected to continue today, especially in the south and on high ground, the sleet and snow is “not expected to stick”. Winds are expected to ease but may remain strong in the south.

Declan Geoghegan of the Irish Coast Guard warned yesterday that “the combination of tides, forecasted gale warnings for the next day or so, high sea conditions and swollen rivers may result in very dangerous conditions”.

The warning came after management at the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare were yesterday forced to close and evacuate the facility after winds there reached more than 70km an hour. It was the first time this year and only the fourth time in five years that authorities at the country’s most popular natural attraction invoked a protocol to clear the site completely.

Mr Geoghegan also urged members of the public “not to attempt to cross a fast-running river or floodwater fords, as they may be stronger and deeper than you think”. Those in flooded urban areas were warned to watch for hazards such as submerged open manholes and downed power lines.

The ESB says power has been restored to most of its 4,000 customers who were without power along the western seaboard from Cork to Donegal.

The worst affected area was the Glenties and Killybegs area of Co Donegal, where an outage occurred just after midday.

While winds will abate today, the Road Safety Authority has urged motorists to continue to watch out for fallen debris on roads.

Ms Spillane said a band of rain due on Sunday night was set to bring milder weather for the early part of Christmas week.