Drivers have been facing treacherous road conditions on their journey this morning (Wednesday) following heavy overnight snowfall.
The main roads were gritted through the night by Clare County Council personnel but drivers are being warned they still need to exercise caution.
Roads which were badly affected include:
Ennis-Kilrush
Ennis-Ennistymon
The M18 motorway
Shannon Town
Kilmaley
The hill at Kilnamona
The Hand
Kilcolgan and Ardrahan in Co. Galway
While thaw is setting in, back roads are likely to remain slippery for several hours to come.
Power cuts have also been reported in Smxilebridge, Tulla, Killaloe and Lahinch. At one point the ESB said nearly 800 customers were affected.
Services on the rail-line between Ennis and Athenry have been suspended due to frozen points. Bus Éireann says most services are running with delays, though the Scariff-Clonlara-Limerick service was cancelled.
It will be a case of snow to heavy rain and stormy conditions later today. Met Éireann is warning of heavy rain showers this afternoon and evening, with around an inch of rain expected.
They’ve also issued a mid-level Status Orange warning ahead of stormy conditions which will begin this afternoon, and then continue into tonight. Winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour are forecast, with stronger gusts exceeding 100 km/h as well.
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.