Tag Archives: Storm Emma

WHILE a yellow weather warning remains in place for Clare until noon tomorrow, normality is returning to the county, following the heaviest snowfall in decades. Met Éireann has warned that lying snow and ice will continue to cause hazardous conditions, until at least noon tomorrow. In an update earlier today Clare County Council stated, “There has been a very significant thaw which started at circa 12 noon yesterday and continued overnight-temperatures averaged one to two degrees Celsius overnight. Depths of snow vary from 2-10cm in general terms away from treated roads-yesterday the equivalent depths were 10 to 25 cm.” By noon today the local authority was in a position to say that “Most roads are now passable with clear tracks made by traffic to tarmac level and in many cases, roads have become totally clear as a result of treatment the thaw and traffic activity on them.” By the early afternoon the N67 at Corkscrew Hill was the only national …

WHILE some parts of Clare are seeing a thaw, it is expected that it will take at least a couple more days for all areas to fully return to normality. At the time of writing the temperature in most parts of the county is at two or three degrees celsius, but temperatures are slightly lower at more elevated locations. Clare County Council have seven gritter trucks and five snow ploughs currently in action. It is understood that all of the national secondary routes under the Council’s authority have now been treated, while they are working on the next tier of tertiary roads. However it may be some time before less used local roads receive any attention. Schools have the discretion to open on Monday, but it is thought that in certain areas where access will still be difficult, they may have no option but to remain closed for another day. Met Éireann issued a status orange snow-ice warning for Clare …

WHILE the worst of the snow is now over, driving conditions around Clare are still very poor in many areas, while a Met Éireann status orange warning remains in place until 6pm. The warning, which was issued at 6am, states, “Some snow this morning, widespread treacherous surfaces due to ice and lying snow. Rain will begin to spread from the south today and this will start the melting process with potential flooding. Updates will follow.” Shortly after 10am this morning Clare County Council tweeted that its crews are currently clearing streets and footpaths in the county’s main towns, while its trucks are out gritting roads. It has also said that the Active Ennis Leisure Complex, Lees Road, Cloughleigh Astro Turf and Kilrush Sports Complex will be closed all day. There was disappointment for a number of families after it was announced that Ennis CBS confirmation had been postponed. All Clare District Soccer League games that were fixed for this weekend …

CLARE has experienced its most severe snowfall in decades, with virtually all parts of the county badly affected. Commercial life in the county was almost non-existent today, with many businesses closing and few people leaving the safety of their homes. Shannon Airport is closed until tomorrow morning, while the annual Ennis Book Club Festival, which was due to be held this weekend, has been cancelled. This afternoon all but a handful of businesses in Ennis town centre were closed. Very few vehicles made their way into the central parts of the town, and some of those that did were clearly struggling with the conditions. With inches of snow lying on the footpaths it was also very difficult for pedestrians. “I’ve never seen the likes of this before,” said Councillor Joe Cooney, of the conditions around East Clare. “A number of roads are impassable today and will be tonight as well,” he added. In the west of the county things are …

CLARE County Council have said that the depth of snow has generally varied from 10-20cm, but it has been deeper on elevated ground in the north and east of the county. There are reports of drifting in some places, and it says that it expects many roads to be impassable. While the N67 at Corkscrew Hill was impassable for 48 hours, it expects this situation to improve soon. Eighteen calls were made to its helpline up to 9.30am this morning, while the local authority is still advising people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. The Council has five snow ploughs, that it says are currently engaged on clearing snow along the county’s national secondary and main regional routes.   Owen Ryan  

THE county has been hit by the heaviest snowfall seen here for many years, which has seen schools and businesses close and made travel near impossible. More snow is set to fall throughout the day, and into the early hours of tomorrow morning, with some improvement expected later on Saturday, although temperatures are unlikely to rise above five degrees Celsius. Met Éireann’s forecast for Munster states, “There will be further snowfall across the province in strong and gusty northeasterly winds; the heaviest snowfall will continue to be across the east of the province. Later in the day the snow may turn to rain or sleet near the south coast. Highest temperatures between -1 and +3 degrees. Strong and gusty northeasterly winds. “The snow will continue overnight but it will become lighter and the northeasterly winds will ease a little also. Lowest temperatures of 0 to -3 degrees. “Snow showers on Saturday will gradually turn back to rain or sleet through …

SHANNON Airport is closing down from 6pm this evening until 5am on Saturday, due to the weather. A spokeswoman said: “Due to full flight cancellations by our scheduled carriers, and in light of the Red weather alert for the area, Shannon Airport has decided to close the airport from 6pm this evening. The airport will reopen, weather permitting, at 5 am on Saturday, March 3.” “Shannon Airport remains fully operational as of now, with a number of scheduled flights taking off, due to the efforts of airport staff working through the night in challenging conditions to keep the runway operational. However, a number of airlines, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair, have now made the decision to cancel services in the interest of safety. “We strongly advise passengers intending to fly from, or travel to, Shannon Airport on Saturday to contact their relevant airline or check their website before travelling. She added, “We will post regular flight updates on our twitter account …

PARTS of Clare were hit with heavy snow last night and this morning, but the worst seems yet to come. Temperatures around the county are well below zero at the moment, and with snow having accumulated in many areas last night, driving conditions are already very challenging. All schools are closed, while many businesses have closed their doors, even in the centre of Ennis where paths and roads have been treated extensively. At the moment, a status red warning is in operation and it will remain in place until 3pm on Friday. In a Met Éireann update this morning it warned that “During the afternoon and evening blizzard conditions will develop across Munster and Leinster as heavy snow together with driving easterly winds spread northwards to all areas through the rest of the day.” Strong winds are forecast for the afternoon, while many parts will see heavy snow this evening, tonight and tomorrow morning, with large accumulations very likely. In …