Motorists were today once again faced with treacherous conditions on roads throughout the country and parts of the south are now braced for further flooding with heavy rain forecast for the weekend.
Road users using approach roads into Galway city this morning were faced with delays of up to three-hours as a result of freezing fog and icy roads which led to a number of minor accidents.
The worst hit areas were in north Co Galway where a heavy overnight snowfall was compounded by a sharp frost which made driving conditions extremely difficult.
It took some motorists over two hours to travel to work along the N17 from Tuam to Galway city, a journey which would normally take about half an hour.
Freezing fog and black ice hampered drivers on the N18 Ennis road, the N6 Dublin road, N59 Clifden road, the M6 at Ballinasloe and the Headford road.
Other routes where ice is causing problems included the N67 Kinvara/Kilcolgan Rd, the N66 Gort/Loughrea Rd, the N65 from Gortymadden to Loughrea and the N59 Mayo/Galway Rd near Oughterard.
Galway County Council urged road users to restrict their travel to essential journeys.
Gardaí in north Galway advised motorists to drive with extreme caution and to only make journeys if they were absolutely necessary.
Elsewhere in Connaught, motorists faced difficult driving conditions in counties Roscommon and Mayo.
Roscommon County Council issued a warning to motorists and while most national and regional roads in the county were gritted, there was concern about other roads.
Local roads had heavy coverings of snow in all areas. The roads had not been gritted and driving conditions remained very hazardous, the council said.
Black ice was a major problem in south Mayo with sections of the N17 extremely dangerous.
The situation was replicated in many other areas of the country with road users warned of foggy conditions and urged to use fog lights and to drive slowly.
Local authorities in Cork city and county were, meanwhile, bracing themselves for possible flooding after Met Eireann forecast heavy rain for Friday and Saturday for the south and south west of the country.
Cork County Council northern division senior engineer Aidan Weir said council staff in Mallow and Fermoy were again preparing for the possibility of the Blackwater bursting its banks in the event of heavy rainfall in the area.
"We're bracing ourselves again for possible flooding - the forecast is for levels of rainfall similar to what we had on Tuesday but much will depend on the intensity of the rainfall and over what period it falls," said Mr Weir.
The fog remained in much of Cork city and was particularly at the airport and around Ballingcollig. Elsewhere in Co Cork, very dense fog was reported at Middleton while motorists in attempting to travel on the R627 between the town and Tallow faced icy conditions, with bad potholes adding to the problem.
Gerald Fleming of Met Éireann predicted heavy rainfall of between 40mm and 50mm on Friday and Saturday which would accelerate the melting of snow on higher ground and could result in localised flooding with the south and south west the most affected.
"Saturday morning and afternoon is probably the time of highest risk. I think it will mainly be spot flooding on some roads but it won't be extensive like we had back in November but it will be a problem along those southern coastal counties," he said
According to a spokeswoman for the ESB, which operates the Inniscarra Dam on the river Lee, the company is in regular contact with Met Éireann regarding rainfall but the current prediction for the Lee catchment isn't giving rise to any concern.
"The predicted rainfall for the Lee catchment is 25 mm tomorrow which wouldn't cause us any concern regarding water levels at Inniscarra but we are constantly monitoring the situation," said the ESB spokeswoman.
Meanwhile Cork City Council today urged householders who may have experienced burst pipes on their property to have them repaired as quickly as possible while they also appealing to people not to hoard water in a bid to reduce the demand for water.
According to the council, council staff have been continuing to detect and repair leaks on public mains but water is still being lost from the system as a result of leaks on private property, resulting in the council having to curtail supplies mainly in parts of the northside.
"In order to safeguard supplies and repair leaks, night-time restrictions have been in operation - mainly in the northern part of the city where significant losses have arisen. Supply restrictions will continue to be imposed after 8pm and restored in the early morning," said the council in a statement.
While driving conditions improved in Dublin as the day progressed, roads in Co Wicklow remain treacherous with approach roads to Bray slippery and lingering ice on the N81 from Blessington. The Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap are still impassable.
According to AA Roadwatch, freezing fog and black ice greeted drivers on all approaches to Ennis, particularly on the N85 from Inagh. In addition, the N18 Galway/Limerick Rd remained very slippery at Cratloe where there was severe ice.
Motorists were also advised to drive carefully in counties Limerick and Tipperary where black ice and fog made driving difficult.
Met Éireann said it would be cold this evening with clear periods and a few scattered showers. Temperatures will fall to between zero and 5 degrees, with frost in places for a time.
Winds will decrease for a while tomorrow morning and rain will ease, with some dry periods developing.
But rain will become persistent again later and will turn heavy in many areas during the evening. Winds will strengthen also and will reach gale force at times.
It will, however, be much milder than recently, with temperatures reaching 8 to 11 degrees.