The first of the pending snowfalls has begun in Clare this Tuesday evening with shoppers scurrying for cover from the hail and sleet which began falling.
As people buy up milk, bread and other emergency supplies ahead of the Beast from the East’s arrival Clare County Council has advised the public that it currently has 1,300 tonnes of rock salt are currently in storage at the local authority’s Depot/Maintenance facility at Beechpark which will facilitate 24 separate treatments of the entire road network.  An additional 500 tonnes of rock salt may be drawn down by the Local Authority if it is required.
A Status Yellow Weather Alert is in place for Clare with Met Éireann forecasting that air and ground temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees below normal, with significant wind chill and penetrating severe frosts. Snow showers, mainly affecting eastern areas on Tuesday, will progressively become more widespread and heavier through midweek. A spell of persistent and heavy snow is expected to extend from the south late Thursday and Thursday night, with significant and disruptive accumulations.
Shannon Airport have confirmed that at this time, its schedules are set to run as normal over the coming days. However, we will be closely watching weather patterns as they develop later in the week and taking guidance from the National Emergency Planning Committee. Our Operations team are currently scaling up our snow and ice plans to deal with more adverse weather conditions in order to minimise any possible flight disruptions.
“As the weather takes hold we would, however, urge passengers, or those travelling to Shannon to collect passengers from, or bring them to the airport, to contact their relevant airline or check in on their website in advance of their journeys. In the event that there are delays or changes to schedule, we will post same on our twitter account @shannonairport and on our website www.shannonairport.ie as soon as we are notified.
“People travelling to the airport are also welcome to contact our information desk at 061-712000 for any updates before making their journey.”
Clare County Council is urging members of the public to view the ‘Be Winter-Ready’ advice and information guide, which is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of preparing for severe weather at www.winterready.ie.
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.