Wintry weather to linger for weekend

THE CHAOS caused by wintry weather in the last few days could be repeated tonight and tomorrow, according to forecasters.

Rain moving in from the Atlantic tonight could cause further snow showers in central and eastern areas when it meets the cold air sitting over the country, Met Éireann has warned.

The forecast is not good for those worst affected by snow in the last few days, including those using Dublin airport and residents in the Wicklow valley of Glencree, who have been snowed in for most of the week.

Dublin airport was closed for eight hours on Thursday because of blizzard conditions and more than 170 flights were cancelled. And there were further delays yesterday due to impacted frost and slush on the aircraft parking area.

Aer Lingus cancelled four of its services and rerouted one. And Ryanair cancelled 35 flights in and out of the airport and diverted others to Shannon and Cork. Both airlines were critical of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said the DAA were “the Keystone Cops of airport management” and had badly mismanaged the situation.

A spokeswoman for the DAA said they had used all available resources and had contracted extra workers to shift the five-inch thick impacted slush.

The area involved was the size of 80 football pitches, she said, and on Thursday night the ground temperature had dropped to minus 5.3 degrees, not rising above freezing before 10am.

She said the airport expected services to operate as normal today, but advised intending passengers to check their departure times.

Residents in Glencree, Co Wicklow, seven miles from Enniskerry village, were unable to leave their homes for most of the week. The road running round the valley was blocked, leaving half a dozen houses cut off.

One resident, Paul Johnston, said residents had contacted Wicklow County Council for help but were told the council was not legally obliged to clear the roads.

“They sent up a JCB, but all it did was scrape off the top portion of the snow leaving a layer behind that was even worse,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the council said scarcity of resources and manpower meant its policy was to concentrate its resources on national and regional roads.

She said they had attempted to assist those in Glencree by sending up two gritters and a JCB, but the gritter got stuck en route. “For obvious health and safety reasons, the machine and men were recalled from this area,” she said.

Motorists in Donegal, Wicklow, Wexford, Monaghan, Meath, Tipperary and Dublin experienced very difficult driving conditions yesterday, with traffic delays and a number of crashes, particularly on secondary roads.

Bus services in Dublin were also badly disrupted. Routes affected included 201, 50, 65, 65B and 44B.

Dart services, already affected by rockslides between Greystones and Bray, were further disrupted when a machine carrying out routine maintenance on the roof of Pearse Station broke down and could not be removed from the line in time for the morning rush.

AA Roadwatch has warned motorists that conditions are still extremely icy on roads. It has advised drivers to take extreme care and avoid travelling over high ground.

Racing fixtures for the weekend at Naas and Leopardstown were cancelled due to snow. The IRFU has said it is almost certain the Ireland versus France match will go ahead at Croke Park, but it will examine the situation today.

Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, Environment Minister Sammy Wilson said some schools were using the cold weather as an excuse to close for the day. He said “health and safety nuts” were encouraging people to use the snow as an excuse.

More than 30 schools in the North closed on Thursday and around 20 yesterday due to dangerous travelling conditions and heating problems in the schools.

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