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IT’S GOING TO be a cold, wet, windy day, with a Status Yellow rainfall warning in effect for the northwest, and the risk of hail, thunder and sleet across the country.
That’s just for starters – tonight will see temperatures plummet to 0 degrees, while the forecast for the weekend has worsened considerably, with temperatures as low as -4 degrees forecast.
Met Éireann is forecasting “prolonged heavy rain” today, with showers turning into hail and sleet in places.
Northern and western hills could see snow, while thunderstorms are also forecast.
Afternoon temperatures will be as low as 5 degrees, with strong westerly gusts blowing in off the Atlantic.
The weather will continue to get colder and wetter tomorrow, although the showers will begin to ease up over the weekend, with some dry, cold weather expected over the weekend.
The worsening weather conditions are taking its toll on the roads – a breakdown on the M50 is causing delays, while a three-car crash on the N11 heading towards Dublin is also leading to traffic problems.
TII Traffic / TwitterBreakdown on M50 between J05 - FINGLAS and J04 - BALLYMUN (North) Lanes affected: Lane 2 (17-Nov 08:16) https://t.co/nYOqNCZue6
— TII Traffic (@TIITraffic) November 17, 2016
There is also surface water reporting along long stretches of the M7 south of Portlaoise, and along much of the M50 between the M1 and M4 junctions at Santry and Lucan respectively.
There are delays on the M6 in Galway and Roscommon, while commuters on Dart and commuter trains are experiencing delays of up to 20 minutes. A service between Malahide and Dún Laoghaire has terminated at Pearse Station in Dublin, according to Irish Rail.
TII say an incident on the N11/M11 in Wicklow has now been cleared.
AA Roadwatch are reporting two collisions in Dublin, two in Galway, and one in Kilkenny, meanwhile.
AA Roadwatch / TwitterWICKLOW: Gardai en route to a three-car crash on N11 northbound at J11 Greystones. Traffic is heavy on approach. https://t.co/xIOpAblVS1
— The AA Ireland (@aaroadwatch) November 17, 2016
In Dublin, a collision on Ratoath Road at the River Road junction in Dublin is blocking outbound traffic, while emergency services are at the scene of another incident on Sarsfield Road in Ballyfermot, the AA added.
There is also an incident on the freeflow slip road from the N3 inbound to the M50 northbound, although traffic can now get by, Transport Infrastructure Ireland said.
Commuters on rail lines around the capital, meanwhile, are experiencing delays.
Iarnród Éireann / TwitterDelays up to 20mins to some DART & Commuter services this morning due to low rail adhesion https://t.co/vFXS5IvOMy
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) November 17, 2016
Traffic is heavy on the approach to a three-car crash on the N11 northbound near Greystones in Co Wicklow, meanwhile.
In Galway, traffic on the M6 eastbound between Ballinasloe and Athlone was down to one lane earlier due to a crash, although that has just now been cleared, TII added.
AA Roadwatch added that emergency services are dealing with a collision on Sarsfield Road at the Landen Road Junction in Ballyfermot, meanwhile.
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Cycled to school with the kids this morning. There were three puddles in the park, which the kids made sure not to miss. Terrible stuff.
Beautiful blue skies and sunshine in Waterford
@Lorna Long: Not a cloud in the sky in my part of Cork either, are these people bonkers or only referring to Dublin, (or Leitrim)
Now that’s a Stark warning…..
2hrs 20 mins to get to work today
It’s a good thing we don’t live in a country that rains often, the way the entire transport infrastructure breaks down in bad weather. Oh wait…
Ooh it’s going to reach -4! For God sake it’s winter wrap up well if driving take it easy allow for idiots who lose the ability to drive or function rationally at the first sign of inclement weather! My thoughts are with the people who are homeless and sleeping rough in this weather!
Met Éireann have issued a turquoise weather warning, with a chance this could be upgraded to aquamarine.
Surprised there wasn’t a ” baton down the hatches ” thrown in there too…
@Sean Kelly: It’s probably because the people at Met Éireann know how to spell the verb “batten”.
“The worsening weather conditions are taking its toll on the roads – a breakdown on the M50 is causing delays”
????
Strange though, that only Irish trains seem to have a problem with leaves on track, or rain
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: No, I think you’ll find the UK have the same problems. And probably more countries, but don’t let that stand in the way of your moan.
@John S: You are correct. In fact, leaves are one of the biggest challenges that railways in northern Europe (SR in Sweden and VR in Finland) have to cope with. Every bit as big a problem as heavy snow.
And here in Sweden a couple of weeks ago. But yeah, of course only Ireland messes up.
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