Status orange weather warnings remain in place for 11 counties in Ireland
Thousands of homes and businesses have been left without power overnight.
A status orange weather warning remains in place for 11 counties in the south of Ireland as up to 10cm of snow is expected to fall in some places.
Snow, ice, heavy rain and sleet swept over the island of Ireland with Met Eireann warning of further falls of snow later on Sunday.
Thousands of homes and businesses have been left without power overnight.
ESB Networks said that around 28,000 premises are without power as a result of the weather conditions.
A status orange rain and snow warning remain in place for Cork, Kerry and Waterford. It will remain in place until Sunday at 5pm.
A status orange snow and ice warning remains in place for Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wicklow, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary until 5pm on Sunday.
Met Eireann said that significant snowfall accumulations are expected.
A status yellow snow and ice warning remains in place for Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Wexford and Connacht.
A status yellow low temperature and ice warning for Ireland has been extended to 12pm on Thursday afternoon. The warning will come into effect at 5pm on Sunday.
Met Eireann has warned of very cold nights in the days ahead, saying that temperatures are unlikely to go above freezing during the day.
A National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) virtual meeting is to taking place on Sunday to assess the impact of the overnight snow.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said he spoke to the team early on Sunday morning.
Mr Harris said it is “really important” people be vigilant on roads and while travelling.
“This morning I spoke to the team that coordinate efforts for the cold snap and challenges arising from snow and sleet in Ireland,” the Fine Gael leader added.
“I expressed my thanks and that of the people of the country to all those who have been working to keep people safe and well, including many local authority staff who were out gritting roads either very late or very early in the morning. The coordination group will meet again today.
“The situation varies across the country with some parts having received a significant amount of snow and sleet.
“The weather warning continues for the day in many places. I am conscious around 28,000 properties are without electricity and ESB crews are working to restore supply.
“It is really important people continue to be very vigilant when it comes to road and travel conditions and also that we all look out for people in our community who may be vulnerable or isolated during this period.
“The very cold weather will continue for much of this week and our teams at national and local level will continue to work hard.
“The impact of snow and sleet and rain freezing in the coming hours and remaining frozen will need to be monitored very closely.”
A number of bus services around Cork and Limerick have been cancelled or delayed.
The track at Naas Racecourse was inspected on Sunday morning and found to be fit for racing today.
Flights at Dublin Airport appear to be operating as usual.
In a statement, Dublin Airport posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Operations at Dublin Airport are moving well this morning following periods of rain and sleet overnight.
“Temperatures of three degrees mean de-icing of aircraft has not been required so far today.
“The threat of snow later this afternoon remains and the airport’s snow and ice teams are on site to carry out pre-emptive spraying on the airfield as required.
“Heavy snow in the UK is causing some disruption to airline schedules and several UK airports are closed for snow clearing, while others have flow controls in place.
“This is having an impact on operations at Dublin.
“As of 09.30am, seven inbound and seven outbound flights have been cancelled to/from Dublin Airport and we have welcomed four diverted flights from UK airports.
“As always, passengers seeking updates regarding specific flights should contact their airline directly.
“Those travelling to Dublin Airport today should allow plenty of time for their journey.”
