LAST UPDATE | 9 Jan

THE COLD SNAP is set to continue today as people in some localities in the south and south east of the country woke up to a light dusting of snow this morning. 

Temperatures are expected to plummet to -3 degrees tonight, with a cold weather advisory extended until 9am on Saturday. 

Met Éireann has forecasted sharp and severe frost, icy patches and dense fog at times which could lead to dangerous travelling conditions. 

Temperatures will struggle to reach highs between 2 and 5 degrees throughout today. 

Yes! Cork is going from Red to White. I want a Baileys now and to put on the Christmas lights again🤩 #sneachta pic.twitter.com/njTTYaPCQr

— Jacq deBlaq (@Jackdeblack1) January 9, 2024

Parts of Cork, Waterford and other counties had a sprinkle of sneachta overnight, as Met Éireann had promised “wintry flurries” in places.

@rtenews @VirginMediaNews @SouthernStarIRL @westcorkfm @JP_Cork pic.twitter.com/HocsNxyddG

— Karlis Dzjamko 🇺🇦 (@dzjamkokarlis) January 9, 2024

Tonight will be mainly dry, with below freezing temperatures expected.

Tomorrow is to be very cold with frost and ice slowly clearing in the morning, and some good winter sunshine breaking through before afternoon. 

It will be mostly dry throughout the day with temperature highs of 3 to 7 degrees. 

Tomorrow night will see temperatures drop to below zero once again, with lows of 0 to -2 degrees in western counties, and milder temperatures of 1 to 3 degrees in the east.

It will continue to be very cold as the week goes on, with milder weather on Friday, and then a return to below freezing temperatures on both nights of the weekend. 

The Fr Peter McVerry Trust yesterday asked to public the report anyone who they see sleeping rough to the charity through their portal. 

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said that drivers must slow down and maintain a safe distance between themselves and other motorists when they are driving in fog.

In a video, posted to X, formerly Twitter, yesterday, the RSA said drivers must make sure their fog lights are on when driving in dense fog. The authority has reminded drivers that they must turn off their fog lights once the fog has cleared.

An RSA spokesperson also reminded drivers to use their defrost settings on their windshields or direct their heaters towards their windows to avoid freezing fog from blocking their views.

⚠️ Yellow Warning – Fog ⚠️
📍 Ireland
📆 Sun 7, 6pm – Mon 8, 10am
Areas of fog will become dense and widespread this evening and linger until Monday morning. The fog will clear eastern and southern counties early Monday morning. Impacts:
• Hazardous travel conditions#VisionZero pic.twitter.com/whHWKIguVv

— RSA Ireland (@RSAIreland) January 7, 2024

The agency added that, at junctions, drivers can turn down their radio and roll down their windows in order to listen for on-coming traffic at junctions when driving in fog.

People are being asked to keep updated locally on conditions in their area before setting out on journeys at night, and to take extra care when driving.

- Contains reporting by Hayley Halpin.