Arctic conditions expected to see Mayo temperatures plummet to close to -10

A STATUS Yellow low temperature/ice warning will remain in place for Mayo until midnight on Friday with temperatures expected to plummet to close to -10 degrees in parts of the county.

Mayo largely escaped the heavy snowfall which shut down many parts of Munster and Leinster over the weekend although Ireland West Airport Knock did experience a significant level of snowfall on Sunday and Monday morning.

A Met Éireann Status Yellow warning for ice and snow is expected to end at midday tomorrow but the low temperature/ice warning is expected to remain in place until the end of the week.

Met Éireann have warned the public in Mayo to expect very cold nights with widespread frost, ice and lying snow with temperatures in many parts of the county struggling to get above freezing during the day.

The coldest temperatures are expected to occur in the early hours of Wednesday morning with temperatures expected to plummet to close to -10 degrees Celsius in parts of Mayo. The south and east of the county is expected to be the worst affected with Met Éireann forecasting that temperatures around Claremorris are expected to drop to -8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning.

A Status Yellow warning is the lowest of Met Éireann's weather warning system and is issued when the weather does not pose a threat to the general population but is potentially dangerous on a localised scale.

Gritting

In light of the weather warning, Mayo County Council have stated that their gritting teams will be gritting designated roads as part of their Winter Maintenance Plan and urged motorists to exercise caution on roads which are not gritted.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met on Monday morning to discuss and co-ordinate the ongoing response to the disruptive weather. Keith Leonard, National Director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management also urged the public to exercise caution.

“We will continue to see wintry showers and extremely cold temperatures over the coming hours and days, and hazardous travel conditions will continue for much of the week. Given the prevalence of extremely low temperatures throughout the country over the next few days, road and path surfaces will present a hazard to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Even where there has been no snow, icy conditions will prevail and surfaces may look deceptively safe.

“Furthermore, it’s important to emphasise again that even where roads have been salted, people should slow down, drive with caution and allow extra time for their journey. Drivers travelling longer journeys should be aware of conditions right along their route, as conditions are differing widely across different parts of the country.
“As well as looking after yourself, we are also asking you to look out for others,” he added.