MORE ARCTIC DAYS AHEAD FOR MONAGHAN

A Status Orange low temperature and ice warning was in effect for Co Monaghan today (Thursday) as the cold snap which has gripped the county and country for the past week was forecast to continue into the weekend. temperatures could dip as low as -11 Celsius in some parts of the country, Met Éireann forecasters cautioned, warning of the danger of severe frost and ice. lows of -5 C have been forecast for Monaghan in the Status orange alert, which continues until noon on friday.

Met Éireann said that there would be some break in the current conditions at the weekend, with southerly winds bringing windy and rainy conditions, but the cold spell would then return although not as intensely as was currently being experienced. the national forecaster did not rule out the possibility of a white Christmas in Ireland this year, although noting that traditionally the Irish climate’s predominant airflow at this time of the year didn’t favour such a possibility. relatively little disruption to Co Monaghan life has been experienced this week, with the lack of precipitation keeping transport problems to a minimum.

Some difficulties have been experienced on the county’s minor and rural roadwork and a number of minor traffic accidents have been reported, arising in the main from motorists encountering icy patches and having their vehicles go off the roadway. Monaghan Co Council has been praised for the implementation of its winter maintenance programme which has kept the main roads in the county clear. Social media criticism of the local authority policy in relation to salt bin provision and the salting of rural…