Blizzards hit Border counties but thaw is on the way

Widespread snow and ice were reported by Met Éireann as blizzards hit the Border counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan yesterday…

Widespread snow and ice were reported by Met Éireann as blizzards hit the Border counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan yesterday. The weather station at Clones, Co Monaghan, was under two to three centimetres of snow for much of the day. Sharp frost last night was expected to freeze wet roads in Donegal and Cavan.

Gardaí issued warnings to motorists to be careful on side roads. Sporadic snow showers fell along mountainous areas in the east, with the Cooley mountains, Wicklow mountains and Dublin mountains under "significant snow cover," according to a Met Éireann spokesman.

Dundalk gardaí reported a minor car crash on ice near the M1 motorway.

The Wicklow Gap and the Sally Gap were both completely closed.

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Snow fell on Knock airport on Monday night but all flights landed as scheduled yesterday. Roads in Roscommon and Cork were being gritted last night in anticipation of further severe frost.

Cork city and county bus services were severely disrupted after frost left roads treacherous.

The worst-hit bus service was in Knocknaheeny on the northside of Cork city.

Gardaí said there were at least a dozen minor car crashes as a result of icy road conditions.

A small number of pedestrians were also injured following falls on icy pavements. Similar road conditions are expected this morning following Met Éireann's prediction that temperatures could dip as low as minus five degrees overnight.

There was heavy snow on the Glenshane Pass on the main Derry to Belfast road.

The A1 motorway in Co Down, which forms part of the main Dublin to Belfast road near Hillsborough and Dromore, saw heavy snowfalls.

Coastal roads and areas at altitude were also badly affected.Some £400,000 has been spent on keeping major routes open for two days. The Aldergrove Met Office forecast further but lighter showers. with icy conditions persisting throughout this morning.

Milder and wetter conditions are expected to extend westwards from the Atlantic this evening.

Met Éireann is predicting a dry bright day today, with highest temperatures of three to six degrees.

A "painless transition" back to milder weather is forecast, with temperatures of five to 10 degrees expected tomorrow morning.