Ireland

Flights cancelled as 'beast from the east' brings freezing weather

 A frozen waterfall in Co Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
 A frozen waterfall in Co Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin  A frozen waterfall in Co Derry. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
  • Weather warning for snow across north in place until midnight on Saturday
  • Ryanair cancels all flights from Dublin Airport
  • Temperatures to stay around 0C with wind chill -10C

A WEATHER warning is in force across the north this morning after the 'beast from the east' polar system dumped several inches of snow on parts of Ireland.

A freezing easterly wind has also caused disruption as temperatures struggle to stay above 0C, with wind chill making it feel more like -10C outside.

Temerpartures tonight are expected to fall to at least -5C in many parts of the north.

In the Republic, a red alert weather warning has been issued with Met Eireann cautioning that up to 10in (25cm) of snow could fall by Thursday.

Up to 4in (10cm) has already been recorded in counties in the east.

The red alert covers Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Wicklow and Meath and is active until midday on Thursday.

The public are being advised to expect widespread disruption.

Ryanair has announced that it has cancelled all flights to and from Dublin Airport for the rest of Wednesday as a result of the snow which swept into Ireland overnight.

"All affected customers have been notified of their options by email and SMS text message," the airline said.

Ryanair apologised and urged customers using other airports to check the status of flights online before setting off.

Shannon Airport confirmed that it handled 14 flight diversions from Dublin Airport.

Met Eireann has recorded up to 16cms of snow falling in some eastern counties in Ireland.

Huge queues at the @Ryanair desks in departures at @DublinAirport pic.twitter.com/68UIiKuLt8 — Philip Bromwell (@philipbromwell) February 28, 2018

Luas services are operating in the capital but on a limited basis.

Dublin Bus has kept services running on main roads.

And Irish Rail said all its services are running, including commuter trains but with delays on some lines and that it will try to give as much notice as possible of disruption.

School buses are automatically stopped during a status red weather warning, effectively closing schools in the east.

Several inches (centimetres) of snow was reported in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and further north, with lower levels reported in the Midlands.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group met in Dublin on Tuesday and warned the public to prepare for an exceptional weather event.

Further planning and response meetings will take place on Wednesday.

The snowfall is expected to be compounded by the arrival of Storm Emma as it moves over Ireland on Thursday afternoon, causing further heavy snow across large parts of Ireland, with the cold weather set to last until the weekend at least.

Met Eireann has also issued a mid-level orange alert for snow-ice in Cork, Waterford and Wexford until Thursday lunchtime.