A combination of snow, ice and wind caused road accidents around the country and resulted in dozens of school closures in the north and north-west yesterday.
While the northern half of the country bore the brunt of the wintry conditions, Met Éireann said the midlands and south midlands also experienced significant falls of snow.
Met Éireann was forecasting dangerous road conditions for last night but said higher temperatures would have moved in overnight, so driving conditions should have improved by this morning.
Dublin Airport was forced to close for 30 minutes at 7 30 a.m. yesterday as ice and snow were blocking the main runway. This resulted in some delays to outgoing passengers. Aer Lingus and Aer Arann cancelled three flights because of the conditions.
About 2,000 householders were left without power in the Mayo area after lightning struck yesterday morning but they were reconnected by lunchtime, an ESB spokesman said.
Motorists were advised to avoid the N7 if possible yesterday morning after two accidents caused delays of more than an hour.
A truck jack-knifed on black ice near Citywest at 4.30 a.m. A second accident, near Rathcoole, added to delays as gardaí had to close one dual carriageway lane while they cleared the debris.
AA Roadwatch reported that the Wicklow Gap and Sally Gap were "pretty treacherous", while a car overturned on the N81 between Baltinglass and Blessington.
A damaged ESB pole at Enniscrone, Co Sligo, was also causing disruption.
Many schools were closed in Northern Ireland after between 10 and 15 cm of snow fell in some areas overnight.
Yesterday the PSNI named two people killed in an accident on the Magherafelt road In Co Derry on Monday night. Mr Wilbert Ross (54), and his 35-year-old son, also named Wilbert, from Tobermore, died when their vehicle collided with a van.
Conditions along the Glenshane Pass on the road between Belfast and Derry were still dangerous yesterday and snow was also causing difficult driving conditions on the M2 motorway between Templepatrick and Sandyknowes.
The road between Armagh and Keady was closed for a short time while the mountain road between Limavady and Coleraine was almost impassable.
Belfast City Airport also experienced a number of flight delays and two services to London Heathrow had to be cancelled.
