Dreams of a white Christmas may prove a reality for some
Graham Kelliher from Tralee, Co Kerry, takes time out to snowboard around Leith, Tralee, yesterday
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IT'S beginning to look a lot like a white Christmas for some parts of the country with more snow and below-freezing temperatures forecast right up until Christmas Day.
While the bookies' odds on a white Christmas in Dublin, Cork or Belfast lengthened to 9/4, Met Eireann said that parts of the north and north west would probably have a covering of snow on Christmas morning before the anticipated thaw sets in.
And with a "nasty" weather system skirting Wales, parts of the south, east and south east will be hit by snowfalls today and Christmas Eve.
Met Eireann's Gerald Fleming said that while the latest harsh conditions had bucked the trend of recent mild winters, they were not unprecedented.
Treacherous conditions again caused havoc on the roads yesterday as overnight temperatures fell to as low as -8C. Motorists were urged to avoid unnecessary journeys, some Bus Eireann services were cancelled in Limerick and Kerry and some schools remained closed.
Deliveries
Mail destined for the UK, including registered mail experienced delivery delays as Royal Mail struggles with bad weather conditions in many areas.
An Post said its staff had overcome icy conditions to keep Christmas mail deliveries on track. This was an ever-changing situation, however, and it said it would be working around the clock monitoring road conditions, particularly in areas with snowfall and icy surfaces.
In the mid-west, thousands of commuters to workplaces, schools and creches were late yesterday morning as a result of the driving conditions.
Most bus services in Limerick city were severely disrupted with only the Raheen and University of Limerick routes operational yesterday morning. Inter-city and expressway services from Colbert Station were cancelled, forcing hundreds of commuters to make alternative travel arrangements.
Meanwhile, Limerick racecourse general manager Russell Ferris was confident that this weekend's eagerly anticipated racing festival would not be affected by the inclement conditions.
On the day most schools were due to close for Christmas, many were already shut for a second day as school buses cancelled runs on untreated roads throughout the region.
Even national primary routes which had been treated by local authority gritters, were not ice-free.
Motorists were being warned to take particular care on the N15 Ballybofey to Donegal route through Barnesmore Gap, the N16 Sligo to Enniskillen road between Glenfarne and Blacklion and on the N59 Easkey to Enniscrone route.
In Donegal, gritters have been busy on the most traversed routes but roads that continued to cause problems for motorists included the Letterkenny to Glenties road and the Ballybofey to Glenties road which were dangerous with ice.
Aer Lingus said 80pc of its flights in and out of Dublin were operating with up to an hour delay.
Only one of its flights to Milan experienced a significant delay yesterday after severe weather temporarily closed the northern Italian airport.
The flight finally took off shortly before 2.30pm yesterday -- seven hours behind schedule.
Ryanair flights were also affected. The airline said that it was forced to cancel 70 flights due to snow and fog with affected passengers switched to the next available flight, re-routed or offered a full refund. The airline said more than 95pc of its 1,300 scheduled flights were completed yesterday, with some experiencing short delays.
As motorists were urged to take special care in the treacherous conditions, garda chiefs said they would continue to focus on changing driver behaviour as part of their Christmas road safety campaign which has targeted driving under the influence, speeding and non-wearing of seat belts.
"This year, 236 people have been killed on our roads. Many more have suffered life-changing injuries," said assistant commissioner Kevin Ludlow .
"While the number of lives lost is lower than last year, one death is one too many."
- Fergus Black, Barry Duggan and Anita Guidera
Irish Independent
