Cork to freeze again tonight
Treacherous icy conditions are set to continue in Cork with orange ice and cold weather warnings to be reestablished in the region this evening.
With all of Ireland locked into a yellow low temperature/ice warning until Thursday, Met Éireann has seen fit to upgrade much of the country to a status orange warning from 8pm tonight (Tuesday) until 10am tomorrow morning.
The orange warning will be in place for all of Munster and Connacht, as well as counties Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Cavan, and Monaghan.
Met Éireann expects extremely cold conditions in Cork tonight with widespread severe frost, ice, and lying snow. These conditions will mean dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, as well as further travel disruption and delays, the meteorological service said.
Another orange warning is in place in Cork from 8pm tomorrow (Wednesday) until 11am on Thursday morning.
In light of these updates, Cork County Council is calling for continued care on the roads and is urging the public not to make any unnecessary journeys.
The council confirmed that the majority of priority 3 routes in the county remain untreated and are in very poor condition.
A number of particularly dangerous routes were highlighted by the council, including the R585 at Cousane where an artic lorry is currently stuck. The road is now closed.
There are also reports of ice on the N71 between Ballydehob and Bantry on elevated sections of road.
Other dangerous routes reported are the R576 from Newmarket to Rockchapel and Newmarket to Boherbue; the R579 from Banteer to Nadd (closed); the R576 from Newmarket to Rockchapel; the R619 from Bweeng to Donoughmore; the R515 Charleville to Milford via Newtownshandrum; the R578 Newtownshandrum to Newmarket via Dromina, Bog Cross, and Freemount; the R578 Newmarket to Ballydesmond and Newmarket to Boherbue; and the R577 between Ballydesmond and Boherbue.
Services
Approximately 17,000 homes, farms, and businesses remain without power, mainly in the Munster region, according to ESB’s latest report.
The company said progress is being made in restoring power to its customers but that it could still be a number of days before electricity returns to areas worst affected by the weather due to hazardous working conditions.
Meanwhile, the latest report from Uisce Éireann confirmed that works are continuing to restore normal operations at Freemount Water Treatment Plant in North Cork which was shut down due to a power outage.
Niall O’Riordan, Operations Manager with Uisce Éireann said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding while crews work in difficult weather conditions to restore supply.”