Some make the most of our winter wonderland

THE AA was receiving a call-out to stricken drivers every 30 seconds at one point yesterday as commuters fought through sub-zero temperatures to get to school or work.

The biggest culprit was flat batteries in cars which had been left at a standstill in the freezing temperatures for too long.

By 3pm, AA’s breakdown service had received 760 calls from stranded motorists, twice the average number of breakdowns it would expect to attend to within a full 24-hour period up until midnight.

“With temperatures as low as they are, I’d expect most batteries to be functioning at about 50% of their normal power,” said Noel Keogh, head of AA Rescue.

“If you have a weak battery chances are it won’t be able to stand up to the severe temperatures that we are experiencing this week. We’re also urging motorists who have had their battery jump started today to switch on their engine and let it run several times a day until we see an improvement in temperatures.”

The severe weather conditions yesterday hit all parts of the country to varying degrees.

Driving conditions were very hazardous in Louth, Wexford and especially Wicklow where road temperatures fell to -13C overnight. In Donegal more than 80 schools were forced to close by heavy snowfalls and are expected to remain shut for a number of days.

Kerry and north Cork were also badly affected.

Many parts of rural west Cork remained under a blanket of snow with a number of ‘non-priority’ roads unsuitable for driving, according to gardaí.

Electricity supplies were affected early yesterday on the Mizen peninsula and most national and post-primary schools will remain closed today throughout the coastal region.

Cork County Council said the N71 and selected regional roads had been gritted to ensure traffic flow between Glengarriff, Bantry, Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Bandon.

However, most local roads leading to dozens of villages were left untreated. Garda Inspector Brendan Fogarty said there were no serious accidents but described some coastal routes, including Timoleague, Kilbrittain, Kinsale and Belgooly as being “quite dangerous”.

In Kerry, the Conor Pass in the Dingle Peninsula was closed all day yesterday because of icy conditions.

Many regional and minor roads were extremely dangerous and among the roads closed were that from Camp post office to Camp church and the pass from Aughills to Camp.

Kerry County Council crews had been busy throughout the day and Sunday night spreading grit on roads and some routes were salted three times in a 24-hour period.

Nonetheless schools were closed throughout the county as buses were unable to travel in dangerous road conditions.

Most Bus Éireann services operated as normal, however, while all flights to and from Kerry Airport operated with slight delays.

Age Action Ireland spokesman Eamon Timmins is calling on members of the public to check on their elderly neighbours during the cold snap.

The Defence Forces have been providing support to hospices in Dublin, and are assisting the Meals on Wheels service in Balbriggan in getting hot meals to the elderly.

A Muintir na Tíre helpline has also been set up for people who are housebound and need advice on how to cope with the cold conditions.

The helpline is in operation daily from 10am to 8pm for the duration of the spell.

The Muintir na Tíre national helpline can be reached on 086-6000751.

Met Éireann said that they wished to remind people that the weather situation is constantly evolving and to listen to the news and weather forecasts for updates about their area.

Picture: The Crowleys (from left) Alannah, Shane, Caimin and Bébhinn, Youghals, Clonakilty, with the snowmen they made. Picture Denis Minihane.