Cork Airport's snow and ice teams on call as they prepare for arrival of cold snap 

A status orange weather warning for snow and ice has been issued for Cork as well as Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford from midnight, with Met Éireann anticipating 'significant' snowfall. 

It follows the issuing of a yellow weather warning for snow and ice, which comes into effect from 4pm on Wednesday.

The national forecaster has warned it will be very cold with widespread frost and icy stretches and snowfall accumulations expected, due to cold Arctic air sinking over the country. 

Potential impacts include difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility in wintry showers.

Hazardous conditions

Met Éireann warned there is a risk of “hazardous conditions on roads and paths,” as well as some travel disruption.

Meanwhile, as Ireland braces itself for a colder spell of weather in the coming days, Cork Airport’s snow and ice team will remain on-call.

The airport’s preparation plans have been activated ahead of the cold spell with passenger safety and flight operations remaining the top priority for Cork Airport’s asset team, who will also make sure the surfaces across the airport are treated.

Cork Airport Fire Service will be undertaking frequent patrols to monitor the condition of the taxiways, the main airport runway 16/34 and landside road surfaces.

Managing director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy, said airport activities change with the seasons, and Cork Airport’s focus has shifted to prepare for icy conditions.

“We have a great maintenance team supported by a substantial fleet of specialist equipment and our maintenance colleagues, led by Eamon O’Donovan, [and] Jonathan Murphy, working alongside our airport engineer, Brian Culloty, will do their utmost to ensure that everyone gets away and home safely as we enter the busy Christmas season.”