A Status Orange low-temperature and ice warning has been issued for Sunday across Ireland.
The warning comes into effect from 5pm on Sunday until noon on Monday, with Met Éireann warning of “severe frost” and said that further icy conditions are to set in on Sunday night.
Temperatures are likely to fall below -5C in many areas, it said.
For counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, a snow and ice warning is to take effect from 11pm on Saturday until noon on Sunday, with the most substantial snowfall expected on high ground.
It comes as the icy weather caused disruption for motorists and road users, and drivers were warned to look out for hazardous conditions such as black ice.
Earlier on Saturday, Met Eireann extended ice and freezing fog warnings for Ireland by 24 hours as dozens of flights were cancelled in and out of Dublin.
As of 9am, airlines have cancelled at least 23 outbound flights and 27 inbound flights on Saturday.
It comes after 69 departing flights and 74 inbound flights were cancelled last night.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said airlines have responsibility for de-icing planes, and this is what has caused the delays.
Dublin Airport is once again fully open & operational today (Saturday). However, as a knock on from the issues faced by airlines yesterday, a number of flights have been cancelled. Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the latest info regarding their flight. pic.twitter.com/ErnoV3ZJ0B
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) December 10, 2022
DAA media relations manager Graeme McQueen said personnel were stationed in the airport terminals overnight to try to help passengers rebook.
“All surfaces at Dublin Airport including runways, aprons, stands, roads and walkways were pre-emptively treated through the night and are fully open and operational again today as they were for the entire day on Friday,” he said.
“DAA’s teams were on hand in the terminals during the night to help passengers seeking to rebook their cancelled journeys from Friday, providing water etc to those waiting at airline desks.”
In a statement to the PA news agency, Ryanair said: “We are experiencing only some very minor delays/cancellations to our flights from Dublin today as a result of the ongoing icy weather conditions.
“While our teams are working hard to minimise any disruption caused to our customers as a result of these severe weather conditions, which are entirely beyond our control, Ryanair advises all customers flying from Dublin Airport today to check the Ryanair website/app for flight status updates before travelling to the airport.
Very cold overnight with minimum air temperatures below average 🥶🌡️📉
Temperatures will continue to fall over the coming days so do take heed of warnings➡️https://t.co/BoUueCJ5zI
and advice from ➡️https://t.co/GgyXeUmEfC pic.twitter.com/5BCnsdk8In— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 10, 2022
“We sincerely apologise to affected customers for any inconvenience caused.”
A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said that it plans to operate “almost all flights today as scheduled”.
“We will continue to monitor the weather conditions across the weekend and wish to reassure customers our teams are doing all they can to minimise any disruption to their travel plans.”
Amid the cold snap, concerns have been raised in particular for the welfare of older people who live alone, for those sleeping rough, and asylum seekers housed in tented accommodation.
Temperatures are expected to be between 0 to 4C and are due to drop to as low as minus 5C on Saturday night.
In Northern Ireland, a snow and ice warning that had been in place for counties Antrim and Down until noon on Sunday was lifted, as the worst of the cold weather moves southeastwards.
The Met Office said some disruption is likely due to icy surfaces, with snowfall in a few places. Temperatures could fall as low as minus 5C overnight, it said.
Cold weather payments are to be issued to people living parts of Northern Ireland as a result of the conditions.
Payments of £25 are issued automatically to certain regions when the average temperature is recorded or is forecast to be 0C or below for seven days in a row.
