TEMPERATURES ARE expected to drop to as low as minus 12 degrees tonight as the big freeze continues across the country with traffic and public transport severely disrupted.
Transport services were curtailed yesterday, particularly in the east and southeast, which experienced the heaviest snowfalls.
More sleet and snow are forecast in eastern counties and in parts of the northwest today with dry, bright weather in other parts. Top temperatures of between minus 2 to plus 3 degrees are forecast during the day, Met Éireann says, but night-time temperatures are expected to drop rapidly to lows of between minus 5 and minus 12 degrees. At a severe weather briefing yesterday, Met Éireann warned the snowy conditions would last until at least next Wednesday.
Some Bus Éireann services were cancelled yesterday, including from Limerick, Dundalk and Waterford to Dublin and from Cork to Skibbereen. Other routes were curtailed or delayed. Dublin Bus stopped services at 8pm due to the forecast, safety concerns and difficult driving conditions. Earlier it had provided a limited service due to icy roads and traffic congestion.
Intercity, Dart and commuter train services and the Luas operated in and out of Dublin, but with some delays. Flights at Dublin airport resumed shortly before 7pm after being suspended in the afternoon following heavy snow showers, but it closed again later in the evening.
All classes at University College Dublin, Trinity College and NUI Maynooth today have been cancelled, as have all civil cases at the High Court. The criminal courts will operate as normal.