Weather continues to cause transport problems

Motorists have have been advised to take care as adverse weather conditionsmake driving difficult in many areas.

The torrential rain experienced by the rest of the country yesterday eased overnight and road conditions have improved. However excess surface water remains a problem on many roads and drivers are being advised to slow down and keep a safe distance from the car in front.

Met Éireann has a status yellow weather warning in place, which applies to conditions that do not pose an immediate threat to the general population, but only to those exposed to risk by nature of their location and/or activity.

It said showers will die out across Munster this evening, but overnight further scattered wintry showers will affect Ulster and Leinster.

It will be yet another cold night with frost in places and lowest temperatures of minus 1 to 3 degrees in fresh southeasterly winds.

It’s not all bad news, though, with Met Éireann forecasting improved conditions tommorow, with dry spells and even some sunshine bravely battling through the gloom.

However, it will stay extremely cold for most of the week with severe frost in many areas at night. The worst of the weather will be in eastern areas, with wintry showers blowing in from the Irish Sea.

Transport services remain disrupted today.

Care is needed in the Enniskerry area due to flooding, especially on the Knocksink Road between Enniskerry and Monastery and also at the Twenty Bends.

The left lane of the M1 Belfast/Dublin Road northbound remained closed at J20 Jonesborough for most of today following a landslide.

All Jonathan Swift fast craft sailings between Dublin and Holyhead have been cancelled because of poor weather on the Irish Sea. Passengers booked on these sailings will be accomodated on MV Ulysses Cruise Ferry sailings.

All other Irish Ferries sailings were expected to sail to schedule.

In Dublin, DART services are fully operational again between Howth and Howth junction following flooding yesterday.

Meanwhile, some 1,000 homes were without water and many more lacked power after fierce snow storms in Northern Ireland disrupted services.

Electricity poles collapsed and lines sagged in blizzard conditions while water in some remote areas dried up because powered pumps stopped working.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has been working flat out to restore supplies but 29,000 homes are still waiting and it could be days before they are all reconnected. Water stopped running to around 1,000 properties in south Antrim and parts of County Down.

Northern Ireland's World Cup football qualifier with Russia at Belfast's Windsor Park was the highest profile casualty on a day of widespread cancellations of sporting fixtures.

NIE has used a helicopter to patrol electricity lines in hard to reach areas. Repair teams from the Republic and Scotland were called in.

Weather warnings remain in place in Britain as the country endures continuing winter storms, which are believed to have already claimed the life of one woman.

Snow, rain, high winds and freezing temperatures are expected to cause more disruption to transport and sparking travel safety concerns.