Ó An Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitúil agus Oidhreachta
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
A Severe Weather Coordination meeting, was held today (Thursday, 11 February 2021), to review the weather forecast for the coming days, including the potential impact of snow and provide all key stakeholders with this information directly to enable relevant preparations to take place.
The Department’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) Crisis Management Team continues to meet daily, working with Met Éireann, OPW, local authorities and other Government Departments and agencies to monitor the forecasts and their predicted impacts.
Yellow weather warnings for snow/ice and wind are in place for Munster, Connacht and Leinster until Friday morning. Strong to gale force southeast winds in conjunction with rain, sleet and snow bring with them the potential for poor visibility and hazardous conditions.
Forecasts at present indicate a band of sleet and snow will gradually extend northeastward from Munster during Thursday with snow accumulations of up to 5cm anticipated in some areas but possibly higher over the mountains. Snow and sleet will transition to rain in the West and South on Thursday night. Overnight tonight temperatures are forecast to drop as low as -2oC in some areas.
Current indications are for some lingering wintery falls in Leinster early on Friday morning, rain will persist over southern counties on Friday, with a further band of heavy rain arriving later in the evening. Highest temperatures of 4 to 8 oC in Munster, but staying colder across the rest of the country with highs of only 1 to 4 oC.
A yellow rain warning has been issued for counties Cork, Kerry and Waterford for early Saturday morning until Saturday Midday. A further yellow warning for snow/ice affecting 20 counties (Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Laois, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow) has been issued for early Saturday morning until Saturday Midday.
Local authorities, Department of Transport, An Garda Síochána and HSE all outlined their levels of preparedness for this severe weather.
NDFEM Crisis Management Team are continuing to monitor this evolving situation with Met Éireann, and the relevant stakeholders.
The NDFEM advises that all unnecessary travel should continue to be avoided in line with current Public Health advice. When travelling for essential purposes people should pay close attention to local conditions and advice from Local Authorities.
ENDS