Orange warning for Cork and Kerry as Storm Bert on the way

Storm Bert will make landfall tomorrow with Met Éireann issuing a status yellow wind and rain warning for the whole of Ireland. The warning will come into effect at 10pm on Friday and remain in place until midday on Saturday. 

Met Éireann is warning of hazardous travelling conditions, poor visibility and travel disruption during this time.

It will become "very wet and windy on Friday night, with further spells of strong winds and heavy rain over the weekend", the forecaster said.

Possible impacts include localised flooding, travel disruption and fallen trees. Issuing an advisory, Met Éireann said Bert "will move close to Ireland" this weekend, "displacing the recent cold Artic airmass".

"Storm Bert will continue to dominate our weather through the weekend and into early next week and further warnings will be issued for this event."

Meanwhile, after much of Munster and the west of Ireland was covered in snow on Thursday, Met Éireann has indicated that there will not be a thaw from the cold snap today.

Snow fell overnight and this morning, with treacherous conditions reported in many places. Earlier status orange warnings have now elapsed but a status yellow warning remains in place. 

The status yellow low temperature and ice warning has been extended until 12pm on Friday with "widespread frost, icy stretches and lying snow" persisting today, tonight and tomorrow.

Met Éireann Deputy Head of Forecasting Liz Coleman told RTÉ Radio that a band of rain has “shifted southwards” and snowfall is now being reported in parts of Limerick and Cork.

“So not much in the way of thaw today. A lot of icy stretches and dangerous conditions on the road particularly when the sun sets. 

We ask people not to go out if it is not necessary. There are a lot of untreated roads out there.

Earlier, snow was seen falling in parts of Cork, Kerry, Clare and Mayo, and Galway. An estimated 20mm of rain has fallen over Cork since midnight with snow being reported in North Cork and in city suburbs. There are also reports of some ice and sleet in the north of the county.

Due to the snowy weather on Thursday, two collisions were reported on the M6 in Westbound in Galway early this morning, while the N59 in Galway remains impassable due a separate incident.

Kerry County Council also said two trucks had broken down on the Abbeyfeale side of the county border, causing a blockage on the main Limerick to Kerry route.

A council spokesperson said the situation was "deteriorating" in north and east of the county and advised those travelling to exercise "extreme caution".

The Conor Pass R560 is also impassable, and conditions are also treacherous along the N69 between Tralee and Listowel. The council said a snowplough attended to improve the situation.

Kerry County Council said heavy snowfall has been reported between Abbeyfeale and Castleisland and between Brennans Glen and Farranfore. Snow has also been reported in Kilfinane and Newcastle West, and on the N71 between Kenmare and Glengarriff.

In Cork, heavy overnight rain transitioned to sleet and snow leading to dangerous driving conditions in several areas including Newmarket, Rockchapel, Charleville, Mitchelstown, Macroom, Millstreet and Coachford.

Conditions are also reportedly still difficult on the R579 around Nadd, the L1119 Nadd to Lyre, the R619 Drommahane to Bweeng, the L1222 by Rahan, and on the road between Bog Cross and Freemount.

Cork County Council also says that there are fallen trees on the R579 Banteer to Nadd road, and that the road from at Fr Murphy’s Bridge at Shronebeha to Nadd village is closed to facilitate the removal of trees.

Cork County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team convened this afternoon in advance of Storm Bert. 

Their crews will be deployed to inspect key high-risk areas and will continue to monitor the situation throughout the period. Pumping arrangements will be in place in known problem locations. 

Sandbags will be available at priority locations. Flood barriers will be installed in Mallow and Fermoy as a precaution.

Members of the public are advised to exercise caution as driving conditions may be dangerous overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning, with spot flooding possible. 

Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and to exercise caution during heavy rain. Motorists are also asked to be conscious of cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

Train services operating out of Cork's Kent Station, and flights in and out of Cork Airport were running on time. However, Cork Airport has said that travelling conditions on N27 and R600 are difficult, and motorists heading to the airport should allow for extra time to get there safely.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has urged advised motorists in impacted areas to "avoid unnecessary trips."

RSA spokesperson David Martin told Newstalk that drivers should remove ice from windows and mirrors with a screen scraper instead of hot water.

"If you do have to go out and use your car, first of all remove all snow and ice from your vehicle before you start off.

"You don't want any snow on the roof becoming loose and dropping onto your windscreen," he said. 

"If you do need to go out exercise extreme caution. It is going to be icy for the next 24 hours at least.” 

Cyclists are being advised to wear high-visibility clothing and to make sure their bike lights are working.

Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather says weather conditions will be “much milder” from tomorrow night into Saturday. However wet and windy conditions could see a “potential storm moving across Ireland throughout the weekend.” 

"We need to keep a close eye on that as well as the cold spell because it will change very quickly," he said.

Outlook over the next few days

Met Éireann says that while the wintry outbreaks will clear by midday, icy stretches will linger throughout the day in places.

While sunshine will develop, a few scattered wintry showers will follow into Atlantic counties. Highest temperatures on Thursday will range from 1C to 4C.

Thursday night will be very cold with widespread frost and further icy stretches. Temperatures tonight will drop back to around -4 to 1C in moderate westerly winds.

Friday is expected to be a mostly dry day with spells of sunshine, though tomorrow morning will be quite frosty and icy starting out, with a "dusting of snow" in some places. Highest temperatures Friday will range from 3C to 7C.

Friday night will be quite wet and windy with heavy rain extending from the southwest, accompanied by very strong and gusty southeasterly winds. Spot flooding is likely with some falls of sleet in places too, mainly across north and northwest counties. Lowest temperatures will range from around 0C to 5C, coldest across Ulster.