Mayo escapes worst of overnight arctic weather conditions

Mayo has escaped the worst of the overnight weather conditions which has left many parts of the country brought to a standstill by snow, icy road surfaces and power outages.

While many minor roads remain in a hazardous, main routes around the county are in generally good shape with motorists advised to drive slowly despite the thaw in recent hours.

All flights in and out of Ireland West Airport are operating as scheduled.

However, the cold conditions are to remain in place over the coming days.

It will be bitterly cold tomorrow with widespread frost and lying snow. There'll be sunshine and wintry showers with hail, sleet and snow showers likely.

Top temperatures generally ranging from zero to +5 degrees but staying below freezing over snow-fields. Light to moderate west to northwest increasing moderate to fresh or strong northerly later.

Another very cold day is forecast for Tuesday with sunshine and further scattered few wintry showers in the west and north of the country.

Frost and ice will linger in some areas all day with highest temperatures ranging from 0 to +5 degrees in moderate northwest winds.

Bitterly cold on Tuesday night with severe frost as minimum temperatures range from -8 to -3 degrees in light westerly or variable winds.

Areas of freezing fog will develop in some areas leading to hazardous travelling conditions. Still a few wintry showers along the north coast.

Very cold on Wednesday with areas of ice and freezing fog lingering in many areas throughout the day.

Where the fog does clear there will be spells of sunshine. Maximum afternoon temperatures will generally range from -3 to +3 degrees in mostly light westerly winds.

A little less cold in the northwest of the country. Further wintry showers in northern and northwestern coastal fringes later in the day.

Another bitterly cold night on Wednesday night with widespread frost and ice along with areas of freezing fog. Some sleet and snow showers along northern and northwestern coastal areas. Lowest temperatures of -7 to -2 degrees.

Any wintry showers in the north and northwest dying out on Thursday to give a mainly dry chilly day with some sunshine,

However frost and freezing dog lingering in southern parts. Max -2 to +5, coldest in the south.

Rain, sleet and snow spreading northeastwards on Thursday night and Friday, followed by a gradual improvement on temperatures over next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) is urging all road users to exercise extreme caution as hazardous weather conditions continue to impact road safety nationwide.

Even after weather warnings are lifted or lowered, roads in many areas will remain treacherous for days due to a dangerous combination of rain, sleet, snow, ice, and extremely low temperatures.

These conditions pose significant challenges to mitigation efforts such as sanding and gritting, requiring extra vigilance and care from all road users.

With treacherous conditions on many routes, the RSA strongly advises against unnecessary travel, including trips for snow tourism.

Staying off the road network unless absolutely essential and/or using safer modes of travel not only reduces your risk and the strain on emergency services but also helps keep roads clear for essential travel.