A winter weather advisory for Ireland has been put in place until Monday, with temperatures set to reach as low as minus seven degrees overnight.
The advisory was issued by Met Eireann on Tuesday – which takes effect on Thursday – with an extra yellow warning for ice set to be in place from 10pm on Thursday night until 10am on Friday.
“The most severe impacts will be on driving conditions which could be treacherous in places on Thursday morning, particularly during commute times,” said Meteorologist Andrew Doran Sherlock.
“An Arctic air mass will bring sharp to severe frosts with ice on footpaths and roads. Showers of hail, sleet, snow and freezing rain are likely with fog and possibly freezing fog towards the weekend,” said Andrew.
Ice in Ireland during December 2010, the country’s coldest recorded month
“A cold front will hit Ireland on Wednesday, that’s going to introduce Arctic air, the air mass will be coming directly down from the Arctic,” said Met Éireann’s head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack.
“That’s coming down into all of northern Europe, Ireland and the UK. That’s going to introduce very cold weather for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and next Monday, possibly longer.
We will have daytime temperatures really close enough to zero, just low single figures at best. The nighttime temperatures will be gradually dropping down,” said Evelyn.
A statement from Met Eireann reads: ‘Fog is essentially thick, low-lying cloud composed of tiny water droplets where visibility is reduced below 1km. The reduced visibility is a major hazard for those travelling on or near roads.
‘Freezing fog is where the water droplets are supercooled, and while suspended in the air, can be converted to ice upon contact with a surface such as a car windscreen. This leads to further hazardous driving conditions.
‘Black ice is especially dangerous as it is invisible and can be mistaken for wet surfaces – leading to treacherous conditions on roads and paths. Freezing rain can also lead to ice build-up on car windscreens impairing visibility,’ the statement read.
A statement has not yet been issued by the department of education on the closing of schools due to the cold weather. If various factors are at play, such as the conditions of the school, its facilities and population will determine whether they will be advised to close.
Cold weather can have quite a few negative effects, as noted by the HSE:
‘The negative health effects of cold weather start at temperatures of 4-8°C (39 – 46°F) or below’.
‘It can affect your body’s ability to fight off viruses and infections. The body is not as effective at fighting a virus when cold air enters the nose and upper airways, so viruses such as the common cold, the flu and COVID-19 often spread more easily in the winter.
It can worsen underlying health conditions such as heart and lung disease and can increase the risk of a heart attack, stroke, falls, injuries and hypothermia. It is also associated with an increased risk of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety.’