Orange weather alert: National Emergency Team meet as temperatures to plunge to -5C
A general view of the village of Dunlavin in County Wicklow. Parts of Ireland have been blanketed in snow with forecasters warning that freezing conditions are set to continue. Picture date: Friday December 9, 2022 (Niall Carson/PA)
The National Emergency Coordination Group is meeting in Dublin this morning, to discuss how best to tackle the current cold snap.
All Government departments will attend along with Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien, Met Éireann, transport operators and councils.
It comes as the current status yellow low temperature/ice warning switches to orange later this evening at 5pm.
The status orange warning will be in effect until noon tomorrow with Met Éireann warning of “severe frost.”
The forecaster also said that further icy conditions are to set in later tonight and temperatures are likely to fall below minus 5C in many areas.
A yellow snow warning ended at noon for counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.
The icy weather has caused disruption for motorists and road users, and drivers have been warned to look out for hazardous conditions such as black ice.
Dublin Airport has said the majority of first wave departures took off today without any undue delays.
They said "any delays were due to aircraft that had to be safely de-iced by the airlines and their ground handling operators."
They have also advised travellers to "check the status of your flight with your airline in advance of travel."
The majority of 1st wave departures took off today without any undue delays. Any delays were due to aircraft that had to be safely de-iced by the airlines & their ground handling operators. Please continue to check the status of your flight with your airline in advance of travel. pic.twitter.com/LobOJFKjPZ
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) December 11, 2022
Yesterday, dozens of flights were cancelled in and out of Dublin.
Airlines cancelled at least 23 outbound flights and 27 inbound flights.
69 departing flights and 74 inbound flights were also cancelled on Friday night.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said airlines have responsibility for de-icing planes, and this is what has caused the delays.
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.
“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.
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.
Check out the Irish Examiner's WEATHER CENTRE for regularly updated short and long range forecasts wherever you are.
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