DONEGAL County Council is preparing its snow ploughs amid warnings that temperatures will continue to plummet this week.
Officials from the local authority met with the National Emergency Co-Ordination Group yesterday to discuss measures being put in place to mitigate the impact on public services.
Since the big chill took hold over 1,400kms of Donegal’s public roads have been treated three times per day. That programme is likely to continue in the short term.
A spokesperson for Donegal County Council said, “With snow falls forecast, snow ploughs will be mounted on our gritting lorries and additional lorries will be called in to assist in treating our higher volume, higher elevation routes.
“Road temperatures around the county remain close to or below freezing. Therefore any snow or rain that falls is likely to freeze causing hazardous driving conditions, in particular on untreated surfaces.”
It was a testing weekend for pedestrians with footpaths in many parts coated in sheet ice. Motorists too found it tough going, particularly on the county’s secondary roads.
On Thursday night members of the Donegal Mountain Rescue Team were tasked to Lough Salt where four people had become stuck in their car.
Plunging temperatures coupled with snow caused the road between Kilmacrennan and the village of Glen to freeze over, making it impassable.
Rescue volunteers worked with Donegal County Council and Milford Fire Service to get the road gritted and the stricken driver and passengers were transported safely to Dunfanaghy.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has issued a fresh warning to drivers of the dangers posed by freezing fog which has been forecast for the coming days.
The authority said a particular concern was that in icy conditions a collision involving one vehicle can quickly develop into something more serious.
“The greatest risk is of a multiple-vehicle pile-up on roads with higher speeds such as motorways and dual carriageways,” said the RSA.
Matthew Martin is a meteorologist with Met Éireann. He told the Donegal News that anyone looking for respite from the biting cold was going to be disappointed, at least until the weekend.
According to Met Éireann daylight temperatures will struggle to get above zero while at night time the mercury could dip down to as low as -6.
Mr Martin said, “Overnight and through tomorrow morning where you have a bit of elevation you could see up to five centimetres of snow.
On lower ground you are likely to see a light covering.
“After that and for the rest of the week Donegal is looking very cold with night time temperatures getting down to -5 or -6. During the day things probably won’t get much above freezing, one or two degrees at best.
“There will be another severe frost on Thursday night with the cold weather continuing until Friday and perhaps on Friday itself.”
Looking to the weekend, Met Éireann said a change is on the way. As for a white Christmas, Matthew Martin said it was still too early to tell.
“At the moment it is looking rather cold on Saturday but there is a band of rain pushing up from the south which should see things turn milder on Sunday.
“It does look like it is going to be less cold for the start of Christmas week but it is virtually impossible to see beyond December 21.”
Meanwhile Met Éireann has issued an orange warning for fog which will remain in place from 12pm on Monday to 12am on Tuesday.
Freezing fog, dense in places, will persist through the afternoon and into tonight, leading to very hazardous driving conditions.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)