CLARE County Council took precautionary road safety measures on Sunday night when main roads and many secondary roads were gritted, as wet conditions followed by a drop in temperature, were expected to lead to icy roads in the morning.
With mixed weather conditions forecast for the coming days, motorists have been advised to exercise caution and to slow down.
A number of accidents last week were attributed to flashes of sleet on roads. Ten incidents occurred on one stretch of the M8 motorway between Crusheen and Gort on Thursday last.
Earlier, Met Éireann issued a new weather warning, warning of wind gusts that could reach up to 130 km/h.
The Status Orange Wind Warning was issued on an all-Ireland basis.
It stated: “Preliminary Warning : A vigorous Atlantic storm depression is forecast to pass just to the northwest of Ireland overnight on Monday.
“The exact track is still not certain, but it is likely to bring some severe winds in over the country for late Monday night and for a time on Tuesday.
“Blustery southwest winds are expected to gust to between 100 km/h and 130 km/h.
“The highest gusts, at this stage, are expected in western and northern coastal counties. High Seas are expected also.”
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.