LAST UPDATE | 11 Feb 2020

A NUMBER OF sailings from Belfast, Dublin and Rosslare have been delayed or cancelled as an orange weather marine warning remains in place, along with a yellow weather snow/ice warning which is in place until midnight.  

Met Éireann issued a number of warnings over the past two days as a cold snap set in across the country in the aftermath of a nationwide orange weather warning at the weekend when Storm Ciara made landfall. 

The Met Office in the UK, meanwhile has issued a warning over the next named storm – Storm Dennis – which is on the way but predicted not to be as severe as Storm Ciara.

Here, the yellow weather snow and ice warning came into effect yesterday and will remain in place until midnight tonight, while a wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry is also in place until 8pm tonight. 

“Widespread wintry showers [are expected] on Monday and Tuesday with some snowfall accumulations, especially in the west and north. Some disruptions to travel is possible, particularly over higher routes,” the forecaster said. 

“Strong westerly winds continuing and high seas will result in a risk of coastal flooding, especially around high tide,” it added. 

Gale force

Meanwhile, an orange weather warning for coastal waters is in place as “westerly winds will reach gale force 8 or stronger gale 9 today on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea”.

It will “occasionally touch storm force 10,” Met Éireann said. 

The wind warning has prompted ferry operator Stena Line to cancel a number of crossings as a result. 

In a statement, it said “Stena Line is continuing to see disruptions to its ferry sailings on the Irish Sea caused by high winds and rough seas in the aftermath of Storm Ciara”. 

As a result, sailings from Belfast to Liverpool have been delayed and Belfast to Heysham sailings have been cancelled.

The Dublin to Holyhead route is experiencing delays of around an hour, while an early morning sailing was cancelled. 

All sailings from Rosslare were cancelled yesterday and will resume at 8am this morning. 

Overall, the weather forecast for the coming week looks “unsettled but turning less cold from Thursday”. 

Ahead of Storm Dennis’ landfall in the UK, the Met Office there has issued wind warnings for much of England and Wales for Saturday.

A statement said: “Storm Dennis is expected to bring a range of impacts, including delays and cancellations to transport services, damage to power supplies and large coastal waves.”

Steve Ramsdale, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, added: “Another spell of very wet and windy ​weather is expected for Saturday, although Storm Dennis is currently not expected to be as severe as Ciara disruption is still likely. Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue severe weather warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.”

With reporting from the Press Association