Heavy snow and winds caused overnight chaos in many parts of Ireland, with up to 300 people having to be rescued from a Co Derry mountain road after conditions overwhelmed vehicles.
The blizzard cut electricity to about 75,000 homes throughout Ireland while snowdrifts and fallen trees closed a large number of roads across the country.
In the Republic, about 7,000 homes were left without supply this evening, an improvement from the 25,000 without power this morning, with the worst affected areas in the north and northwest of the country.
A spokeswoman for the ESB said the loss of supply affected about 3,000 customers in Donegal, 3,000 across Cavan and Monaghan and 1,000 home in Longford.
The Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team today advised motorists to stay away from high passes in the Wicklow area, after snow stranded two motorists in the Sally Gap.
"Rescue teams have attempted to assess the danger, but failed to reach the Sally Gap despite driving specially adapted vehicles. Because of this and the worsening conditions, we urge motorists to plan their journeys through Wicklow carefully," the team said in a statement
Motorists have been advised to take extra care in Co Donegal, Co Laois, and on higher ground in Co Wicklow.
In Cavan, the Bailiborough to Cavan Road (R165) is impassable due to snow. Drivers are urged to take extreme care on all secondary routes around Cavan Town and Bailieborough.
Gardaí say the Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap are both impassable due to snow. In Co Longford, the local road between Aughadowry Cross and Fostra is closed due to snow drifts.
AA Roadwatch are advising motorists in Co Laois to avoid the road between Mountrath and Camross because of heavy snow. “In general most of the snow has thawed out and the sun is out now but roads will be quite wet so there will be a bit of extra surface water,” an AA spokeswoman added.
Meanwhile, the PSNI, the coastguard and mountain rescue services mounted a joint rescue operation last night after 120 vehicles, carrying some 300 people, became stranded when deep snowdrifts swept across the Glenshane Pass - a mountainous route between Belfast and Derry - cutting off access at both ends of the road.
Two evacuation centres were set up in Maghera and Dungiven in Co Derry to house the stranded, including schoolchildren whose bus had to be abandoned. There were no reports of injuries, but a power cut to one of the rescue centres forced the authorities to move people to a leisure centre in nearby Limavady.
North West Mountain Rescue Ream leader, John Binns, who assisted in the evacuation said: “The conditions were truly Arctic, with drifting snow and high winds making driving conditions extremely hazardous for the teams.”
PSNI chief inspector Steve Cargin said he had never experienced such conditions. “Really frightening conditions, not only for my officers and our support people, but for those people who were stranded in cars for such a long period of time, especially a busload of schoolchildren.”
Northern Ireland roads service manager Colin Brown said the weather last night was unprecedented. "Heavy snow, blizzard conditions, heavy rain and winds, a whole combination of problems on the roads," he said.
Flights were disrupted as the worst of the storm raged overnight, but as weather conditions improved today, officials reported that blocked roads were being cleared and Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said work was under way to restore power. The areas worst affected by power cuts were in Co Derry and in the Omagh, Dungannon, Coleraine and Ballymena areas.
Showers will cross the country from the west tonight, turning to snow in a few places. It will be cold and fairly windy, with lowest temperatures of -3 degrees according to Met Éireann.
Additional reporting PA