Cavan prepares for hazardous condition

 

As the country braces itself for the onslaught of a 'weather event' that is set to sweep icy arctic conditions across the island Cavan's local authority are putting plans in place to deal with the hazardous conditions.

Met Eireann say the combination of winds from the North Pole and precipitation from the Bay of Biscay will result in convective snow hitting Ireland from around Wednesday through to the weekend.

Convective snow usually occurs when arctic air moves over large expanses of warmer open waters and can cause heavy snow showers due to the large amount of moisture available. Earlier today Minister Eoghan Murphy convened the National Emergency Co-ordination Group for Severe Weather.

Met Eireann have issued a status yellow and status orange weather warning valid from tonight [Monday] until Saturday evening. This weather event is likely to have a significant and disruptive impact.

Senior Engineer over Roads & Infrastructure with Cavan County Council, Brendan Jennings, says that the local authority have been making preparations for the conditions: “Aside from the snow there is severe frost forecast. We have our trucks ready and the salting routes will be salted at all times. All our vehicles are ready to go. If the snow does appear, which is very likely, we have our snow ploughs ready.”

Mr Jennings said that Cavan County Council are prepared to stockpiling salt and grit at locations across the county: “We will be making information available to the public over the next 24 hours. It is a mechanism for people on local roads to assist themselves.”

The Senior Engineer says the potential heavy snow will pose many challenges: “There are 3,000 km of roads in Cavan and we are only in a position to salt and treat 520 km. There will be quite a lot left untreated, and this is the same for every county. Motorists have to take due care drive extremely slow and before they drive ask themselves if they need to make that journey at all?”

Mr Jennings said the local authority will do everything possible to keep the public apprised of what is happening: “This is a changing situation. People should keep an eye on our website, Facebook page and our twitter feed for more information on the conditions and how to deal with them.”