Met Éireann has issued two new Status Yellow warnings, one for low temperature/ice and another for snow/ice, as a number of schools remain closed in parts of the country.
Around 150 primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland and all those in the Finn Valley area in Co Donegal will not reopen this morning after the Christmas break due to severe weather.
The forecaster has issued a new Status Yellow – Low Temperature/Ice warning for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Munster, Galway and Roscommon, which is valid from 11am until 9am tomorrow.
It follows an already in place Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice warning for Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow and Munster which is due to expire at 11am.
Icicles formed on a hillside at the Wicklow Gap yesterday as temperatures plummeted
The updated warning is expected to see temperatures fall between -1C and -3C with sharp frost, icy stretches and the possibility of black ice.
The second new Status Yellow warning issued by Met Éireann is for snow-ice for counties Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, which will come into effect rom 11am until 9am tomorrow.
It replaces a Status Yellow Snow-Ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht and Louth which came into effect yesterday morning and is due to expire at 11am.
The updated snow/ice warning is expected to bring wintry showers with sleet and some snow accumulations, with sharp frost and ice also expected.
Treacherous conditions
Met Éireann is warning of sharp or severe frost and icy stretches, black ice too and treacherous travel conditions.
Meteorologist Ailís Hankinson said widespread frost and ice will be very slow to thaw and that patches of freezing mist and fog are adding to the danger.
She said that road surface temperatures dropped below freezing across the country while air temperatures were below freezing at most weather stations.
Some road temperatures dropped as low as -6C, while in the midlands region air temperatures were as low as –4C and –4.5C.
Driving conditions remain challenging across Donegal according to Director of Roads and Transportation with Donegal County Council Bryan Cannon.
He advised the public to avoid unnecessary travel and said the main road network is passible with care, but warned that some roads such as those on higher ground are “more challenging”.
“These are Barnesmore gap, Glenties and Letterkenny,” he said, adding that rural roads are the issue.
“When driving, they should assume that no road is ice-free.”
He said that crews have been out since 5am gritting 1,100km of roads but there were fresh accumulations of snow yesterday evening and overnight.
Mr Cannon added that there is a continuous winter service to grit the network.
Countrywide, temperatures will not get back up above freezing until closer to midday and are expected to drop again early tonight, Ms Hankinson said.
In Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office issued a Yellow warning for snow and ice for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry with the potential for the weather to cause disruption to travel this morning.
The lowest temperature reported at midnight was -4.5C recorded at Gurteen weather station in Co Tipperary.
At 6am yesterday morning, the lowest temperature was -5.2C recorded at Athenry weather station in Co Galway.