Fears for vulnerable and 'very difficult travelling conditions': Cork braces for orange snow and ice warning

A status orange rain and snow warning has been issued for Cork, which will be valid from 5pm On Saturday until 5pm Sunday while a status yellow rain and snow warning is in place from 1pm on Saturday.

Met Éireann has warned people to expect “very difficult travelling conditions”, poor visibility, difficult conditions underfoot, and added that travel disruption delays to public transport including rail, bus and air are “likely”.

Cork City Council has said that its severe weather assessment team will be closely monitoring the situation, and that they have activated their winter maintenance plan, which includes salting and gritting key roads in the city, and local authority emergency response teams will be in place, ready to respond if necessary.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has reported that adequate salt supplies are in place, and local authorities will continue to salt roads as well as footpaths in urban centres where possible. The National Transport Authority confirmed that public transport authorities are on alert in anticipation of potential disruption over the weekend.

Uisce Éireann advised that water expands by nearly 10% as it freezes and turns into ice, which stops the flow of water through pipes and can cause even new pipes to split.

They shared some easy preventative measures such as : Checking outside pipes and, if possible, turning off water supply to these areas or to any unoccupied premises.

They also suggested setting the heating to come on periodically at a lower temperature, allowing warm air to circulate to prevent pipes and tanks from freezing in the cold weather.

Uisce Éireann spokesperson Margaret Attridge suggested people should familiarise themselves with their own internal water system and how to turn off supply in the event of a burst pipe.

“We also recommend that people don’t run taps continually as this is not an effective way of preventing frozen pipes and can cause other problems such as frozen drains,” she added.

Cork advocate for the elderly, Paddy O’Brien, urged people to check in on their elderly neighbours and family members, saying: “During this exceptionally cold spell, the most vulnerable here are our elderly people, especially those who are living alone and many of who are house-bound.”

“The message I want to get out to the elderly is that heat is vital. Make sure you’re walking about to generate heat in your own body, and drink plenty of hot beverages.”

Sean Moynihan, chief executive officer of Alone, said that if anyone is concerned for an elderly person, members of the public can call the charity on 0818 222 024 from 8am to 8pm daily.