Snow hits parts of Ireland on first day of spring as Met Éireann issues ice warnings
Snow on the first day of spring has led to difficult travel conditions and disruption in some parts of Ireland.
Met Éireann admitted it was taken by surprise when many woke to heavy snowfall on Friday morning.
The national forecaster issued a yellow weather warning at 5pm on Thursday night for heavy rain with some sleet and snow, but only on higher ground.
“It wasn’t clear until this morning that the snow would be as heavy as it is and as widespread as it is,” Met Éireann forecaster Brandon Creagh told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne.
Met Éireann then issued weather warnings for more than a dozen counties on Friday morning, with further alerts set to come into effect overnight and into Saturday.
It said temporary accumulations of snow and falls of sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions amid icy stretches on untreated roads.
A status yellow warning for snow and ice is in place until 12pm on Friday for Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Wicklow, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo.
A snow warning for Donegal expired earlier.
A separate yellow rain warning with the risk of localised flooding is in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow to expire at 3am on Saturday.
The forecaster said there will be persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.
A further snow-ice warning will be in place from 12pm to 6pm on Friday in Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow and Munster.
A nationwide warning for ice will come into effect at 9pm on Friday and last until 9am on Saturday. Ice on untreated surfaces will lead to hazardous travelling conditions, Met Éireann said.
Iarnrod Éireann said some Dart services for commuters around Dublin had been delayed by 20 minutes as the weather conditions impacted signalling.
Some Bus Éireann Services to and from Dublin and Donegal and Cavan were also cancelled because of bad weather, as well as services between Cavan and Dundalk.
Check out all the latest warnings ⤵️https://t.co/lvQFgW8DsS pic.twitter.com/tHX981vGvn
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 1, 2024
Dublin Bus said its 44B route from Glencullen was curtailed due to the weather.
In the North, police said they received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in and around Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.
They urged motorists to consider whether their journey is necessary, and to travel with “extra caution”.
The UK Met Office had initiated a snow warning for Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry overnight, expiring at 10am on Friday.
