Tag Archives: weather

IT won’t be a white Christmas, at least from Christmas Eve until St Stephen’s Day, according to Met Éireann’s forecast. Monday ON Christmas Eve, it will be mostly cloudy with patches of mist and fog in the north, although a few bright spells are possible. It is more likely to be cloudy with patchy rain in the south. Light and variable winds. Max temp 8-11°C (46-52°F). Tuesday CHRISTMAS Day is likely to be rather cloudy and damp, perhaps with the odd spot of light rain or drizzle. Mist or fog could linger throughout the day in one or two locations. Light south to south-easterly winds. Max temp 8-11°C (46-52°F). Wednesday ST STEPHEN’S Day will be mostly cloudy once more with low cloud or mist likely at times. A few bright spells are possible around coasts during the afternoon, however. Gentle south to south-easterly winds. Max temp 9-12°C (48-54°F).

EXTREME heat is the story of the week in Clare, and on Thursday Shannon Airport recorded a phenomenal 32 degrees celsius, the hottest Irish temperature seen since July 2006. It was also the hottest June temperature recorded anywhere in the country since 1976. A staus yellow high temperature warning remains in place until 10pm on Saturday for the whole country. Temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius are expected in the Mid West again today, while in excess of 27 degrees are expected on Saturday. Clare County Council have said that their gritters are continuing to treat roads that are affected by melting tarmac, while a road temperature in Scariff hit 56.9 degrees celsius on Thursday. Road users are advised to be cautious, particularly on minor roads and when braking. Owen Ryan

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 …

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  

THOUSANDS of Clare homes have been left without electricity due to Hurricane Ophelia and it may be several days before some people have it restored. According to the ESB Networks in the region of 4,000 customers in Cranny, Miltown, Drumquin, Ennistymon, Kilrush, Ennis, Shannon, Cratloe, Tulla, and Scariff as well as their surrounds have been left without power. In a statement ESB Networks warned that many people will not have their electricity restored for some time. “As of 4:30 pm, approximately 360,000 electricity customers are without power as a result of over 3,200 individual faults on the network across the country. Fallen trees on overhead lines are responsible for most of the damage to the network. “The majority of customers who have lost supply at present will be without power tonight and over a number of days. Based on previous experience of Storm Darwin in 2014, where about 280,000 customers were left without supply, we can predict that it will …

County Clare experienced its first snow of 2017 today (Thursday).  The snow was was mainly on higher ground early on but as night approaches it may well become more widespread. The gardaí and AA Roadwatch have issued warnings in relation to travel, asking motorists and pedestrians to exercise particular care. Met Éireann has forecast more sleet and snow  arriving from the north west through Connacht and into Munster. Clare Champion photographer John Kelly braved the cold to capture some of the beauty of the snow-capped high ground.

ICSA Rural Development chairman Seamus Sherlock has expressed concerns for the health and well-being of vulnerable farmers, who are experiencing difficulties coping with bad prices and the recent bad weather. Mr Sherlock was speaking ahead of a meeting on Rural Isolation and Mental Health in farming to be held in Carrigaholt on this Thursday evening. “ICSA understands what these farmers are going through and we will support them through these difficult times. The reality of the situation is often very different to public opinion. Poor prices coupled with high costs makes farming very difficult and stressful. Bad weather is also placing a very heavy burden on already struggling farmers”, said Mr Sherlock. “The fodder crisis of 2013 is still ingrained in many farmers’ minds and I hope lessons have been learned by government so that this will never be allowed to develop again. I am looking forward to meeting the people of west Clare on Thursday night and I will …