WITH snowfall ranging from two to nine inches in some parts of Limerick, Gardai are warning motorists to avoid an unnecessary journeys as the cold front weather patterns continues to deliver adverse weather to the region.
The warning comes after a major snowfall overnight has left many roads impassable or with difficult driving conditions as a result #StormEmma and #beastfromtheeast passing over the country.
Limerick City and County Council are back clearing roads on major routes that carry up to 85 per cent of traffic in the region. Road gritting is also taking place on priority roads.
Crews from Limerick City and County Council have been out working since 7am dealing with the snow which fell overnight.
All of Limerick saw at least 2 inches of snow, with up to 8 inches in areas including Rathkeale, Newcastle West, Barnagh, Templeglantine, Abbeyfeale, Ballyhahill, Rooska, Carrigkerry and Glin.
Crews began snow ploughing the strategic routes across Limerick city and county will continue to plough and grit throughout the day, weather conditions dependent.
Further gritting will take place overnight as temperatures are expected to drop to minus 3 degrees.
Limerick City and County Council is urging motorists and all other road users to exercise extreme caution when going outside.
Untreated roads are likely to see an accumulation of snow and this could lead to extremely treacherous conditions.
With no reports of any major incidents overnight, emergency responders and agencies in the city and county remain on standby as the snow continues to fall.
A status red weather alert was extended to 6pm this Friday for Munster and Leinster with an orange status in place for other parts of the country.
Essential services remain in place at the regions hospitals as the HSE monitors and liaises with the local co-ordination groups.
Shannon Airport remains closed but a spokesperson said that runways are being cleared and will be ready for services from early on Saturday morning.
No Bus Éireann services will operate for the remainder of Friday to ongoing severe weather conditions and extremely challenging road conditions, the public transport carrier has confirmed.
A spokesperson said that this includes all city and town services, the Expressway intercity network, and Eurolines services to the UK.
“We anticipate that we may be able to resume a level of services in some parts of the country tomorrow morning, dependent on the local road conditions.
“It is our aim to operate some services on the Expressway inter-city network, and possibly a level of regional city and town services, in less affected areas.
“However, there will not be any kind of full service schedule tomorrow due to difficult and dangerous road conditions in many parts of the country.
“We apologise for the inconvenience but saftey of staff and customers is paramount.
“We will be providing updates from early morning tomorrow to local media and on www.buseireann.ie or @buseireann or @expresswayIRE on Twitter, the spokesperson said this Friday.
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