Heavy snow closes runways, roads and halts buses

Heavy snowfalls, ice and frosty conditions caused widespread disruption on the roads and the cancellation of flights and sporting fixtures yesterday.

Traffic was lighter than normal on most primary routes, with many motorists heeding Garda warnings to avoid travelling where possible. Nevertheless, a spate of minor accidents were reported throughout the country, and numerous cars were said to have been abandoned on minor roads.

The west, north-west and midlands bore the brunt of the cold snap with more than six inches of snow. Gardai declared numerous roads around Donegal, Sligo and Letterkenny impassable.

Among the public services worst hit was Bus Eireann's inter-city coach network.

Buses between Dublin and Cork, Galway, Sligo, Westport and Belfast were cancelled. Only one midday service ran between Ballina, Donegal and Letterkenny, while Cavan and Wicklow services were running subject to delays.

In Cork city only a limited bus service operated in the eastern and Waterford Road areas. Services were also dramatically curtailed in Limerick, although the frequency of buses increased as conditions improved during the day.

In Galway there were virtually no buses running. Eireann. Most private coach operators cancelled services.

Rail services were largely unaffected, with only one morning train out of Dundalk delayed by a frozen track.

Dublin Bus also escaped major disruption. Only the early morning 65 bus from Blessington and 44B from Glencullen could not run.

A spokesman for the company said it would be a case of wait-and-see regarding services today, but "unless things get very, very bad our lads will be out".

At Dublin Airport flights were delayed by up to three hours yesterday. Some airlines tried to cut waiting times by doubling up flights and using larger aircraft.

Irate passengers at Cork Airport criticised Aer Rianta for failing to clear the runway of snow and ice, leading to the cancellation of a number of early morning flights.

However, an Aer Rianta spokeswoman said staff had worked "around the clock" using snowploughs to reopen the airport, which they succeeded in doing in the afternoon. Cork was on much higher ground than other airports, making it more difficult to clear, she said.

All flights out of Galway, Sligo and Donegal Airports were also cancelled yesterday due to frozen runways. One morning flight was cancelled at Kerry Airport in Farranfore but afternoon flights went ahead.

The ESB reported isolated power cuts in Ballina, Castlebar, Sligo and Crossmolina caused by tripping power lines. A spokeswoman said no more than a couple of hundred homes were affected, and electricity was restored as quickly as possible. "If we have any difficulty it is getting to isolated locations to deal with faults," she said.

Met Eireann said there would be isolated snow showers today with more sunny spells. However, it will be staying cold with temperatures close to zero.

"There will be no let-up except maybe a few less showers," said forecaster Mr John Doyle. The icy conditions would persist, he said, with the possibility of freezing fog.

A marginal thawing is expected today. However, the thickest snow is not due to clear until late tomorrow or Sunday. Flooding could become a problem as the snow thawed, Mr Doyle warned.