Road users and pedestrians have been cautioned that despite the thaw, many roads and footpaths will remain hazardous throughout today. AA Roadwatch has said that compacted snow and ice were still dangerous on less used routes.
Temperatures which have been rising in recent days are set to drop towards the end of next week with a further risk of sleet and snow, Met Éireann has said.
Temperatures today will be their highest in two weeks in many parts of the country, reaching 8 to 9 degrees in the west.
They will drop back by about a degree tomorrow and another degree or two on Monday and Tuesday.
Night-time temperatures will remain below freezing and could drop to minus 5 or minus 6 degrees in places, but at the start of the week conditions will be mostly dry. However, early indications suggest more unsettled weather bringing cold and wintry conditions, especially to northern areas, towards the end of the week.
“Daytime temperatures look like dropping down near zero towards the end of the week with a further risk of sleet and snow,” Met Éireann forecaster Jim O’Brien said. “By Friday next temperatures look like they will drop back to minus 1 to 3.”
While a thaw has been progressing for several days, local authorities are still struggling to cope with the effects of the ice and snow, particularly on minor roads and in housing estates.
Dublin City Council will this weekend concentrate resources on clearing paths and suburban roads of compacted ice.The council is deploying 14 additional maintenance crews in the city centre and suburbs. The crews, which have been drafted in from the council’s roads, parks, housing and drainage divisions, will concentrate on removing ice from bus routes, access routes to schools, senior citizens’ complexes, churches and other community facilities.
The council is asking homeowners to continue to clear snow and ice from outside their homes. There was no liability attaching to this work, it said.
All local authorities using reservoirs in the greater Dublin area are now implementing restrictions, including Wicklow and Kildare. Night-time water supply cuts in Dublin will continue until Monday morning. Any requirement for further restrictions will be determined on Monday afternoon, the council has said.
Brian Smyth, a senior engineer with the city council, said the water restrictions and appeals to the public to conserve supplies were having a positive effect.
It was vital to increase storage levels over the coming weeks to be prepared for any further bad weather in January and February, Mr Smyth said. He hoped any further restrictions from next week on would be every second or third night instead of nightly.
The Road Safety Authority has advised motorists to drive at reduced speeds as road surfaces may be damaged following the bad weather. Pedestrians have been asked to wear high-visibility clothing and to avoid walking on roads where there are footpaths.
Mountaineering Ireland called on hillwalkers to be extremely cautious if out at the weekend.
* A man found dead outside his home in Co Mayo is the latest victim of the arctic weather.
The body of John McCann, a single man in his late 40s, was discovered lying in snow and ice at Barnacogue, Swinford, a short distance from Knock airport.
A postmortem on Mr McCann, who lived alone, is to be carried out today at Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar.
Supt Ronan Galligan confirmed Mr McCann’s death was believed to be weather related. “The body was found outside Mr McCann’s house at about 2pm on Thursday by a person who went to check on him,” Supt Galligan said.
“There was snow and ice on the ground. The body could have possibly been out in the open throughout Wednesday night when temperatures were subzero.”
Supt Galligan warned that with further cold weather expected next week people needed to continue checking on elderly people, especially those living alone.
It is believed that Mr McCann got a lift home on Wednesday evening and may have fallen before he reached the safety of his house, which is located at the end of a laneway.