Heavy snowfall is expected across much of Ireland over the next 24 hours with Met Éireann extending its warnings to more counties.
Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway and Waterford will be under a status orange snow warning from midnight, with significant snowfall accumulations expected.
A yellow alert for snow and ice has come into effect for 17 counties (Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow, Munster, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon) until 12pm on Thursday.
Heavy rain moving up from the south will transition to sleet and snow on Wednesday night and will continue through Thursday morning, with accumulations of 5cm or more in 12 hours likely.
Met Éireann said this will cause significant travel disruptions and difficult ground conditions during Thursday, especially during the morning rush hour.
Lower snow accumulations are expected in other counties of the west, south-east and midlands through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, with accumulations of 1-5cm in 12 hours likely.
A nationwide status-yellow warning for low temperatures and ice will also be in place until 12pm on Thursday.
Rain, sleet & snow will continue to spread from the W tonight, with accumulations likely🌧️🌨️
Scattered wintry showers will affect parts of the N & NW ⚠️🌨️
Very cold with lows of -4 to 0°C🌡️
Frost and icy stretches will develop🥶https://t.co/BgwnlFfuRbhttps://t.co/lvQFgW9biq pic.twitter.com/q7ylgTp7OQ— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 20, 2024
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Keith Leonard, of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, said the significant snowfall expected to hit parts of Munster would be very disruptive.
“If anyone is travelling [on Thursday], they'd really need to give themselves as much extra time as they can to complete the journey, to expect disruption in any area across the country tomorrow and plan your journey accordingly,” he told RTÉ radio’s News at One.
“Driving conditions are going to be hazardous and we would appeal to motorists to just slow down and be very cognisant of the road conditions and other vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists.
“And I'll add this afternoon and this evening that people could check in on their vulnerable and isolated elderly neighbours. That would be very helpful, I think, for the next 24 to 48 hours.
“People are advised to be prepared for disruptions and severe weather. And if you find an emergency situation just call 999 or 112 and somebody will help you as quickly as possible.”
Mr Leonard said all school transport services will run on Thursday, although there may be some disruptions.
“Schools will probably need to assess the conditions locally and maybe possibly close their doors if it's not safe to open. But generally speaking, we would expect schools to be open tomorrow.”
Met Éireann said it was monitoring the track of another low-pressure system which will bring unsettled weather at the weekend.
A storm has not yet been named at this time, but forecasters are closely monitoring the situation.
