UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A yellow snow and ice warning caused school closures, flight cancellations, and travel disruption across Northern Ireland, easing by Monday midday.
As reported by the BBC, Northern Ireland faced travel and school disruptions from a yellow snow and ice warning, with conditions expected to ease by Monday midday.
How did Northern Ireland manage disruption from snow and ice?
Several schools in Northern Ireland will be closed on Monday after a weekend of winter weather, while Translink warns of delays on all main roads.
Phillip McCullagh, the principal of St Patrick and St Brigid’s College in Claudy, announced the school would close on Sunday, 4 January, affecting around 500 pupils and staff.
After consulting other schools and assessing safety, McCullagh said the risks were too high to keep the school open.
He added,
“It is very, very bad in terms of it will take a long time for us to clear our site but also the footpaths as well. And again it’s as bad as I’ve seen it.”
The principal said the closure affects learning, as many students are eager to return at the start of the new term.
According to the Met Office, snow will persist into Monday, with new accumulation on the northern highlands, before showers become isolated and frost returns Monday evening.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has warned motorists to take extra care, particularly on untreated roads during snowy weather.
It said,
“Clear your windscreen of ice and snow before you set off on your journey, and remember to slow down and increase the distance between you and the vehicle ahead.”
Simon Wells of the Northern Ireland Road Service said roads have been “salted virtually round the clock” this weekend, adding that they are passable with care and motorists should allow extra time for journeys.
He stated,
“Some of the dual carriageways, you’ll find lane two still has some snow on it because it hasn’t really been trafficked – it has been salted, but it hasn’t been particularly trafficked, people have been sticking to the inside lane.”
Wells told BBC Radio Ulster that roads carrying over 1,500 vehicles per day are salted by the road service.
He added,
“That amounts to roughly 28% of our network which is over 4,000 miles or roughly 7,000 kms and that carries 80% of all traffic.”
Which services are cancelled or delayed amid snow and ice alerts?
At Belfast International Airport, all incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled on Monday because of bad weather, including planes from Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool.
Flights leaving for Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, and London Luton were cancelled. The airport warned of delays and asked passengers to check with their airlines. Belfast City Airport also reported cancellations.
Translink buses are affected by icy roads. Monday’s 6:45 AM X1 bus from Dublin to Belfast has been cancelled. Buses in Magherafelt and Cookstown are only running on treated main roads, and some routes in Ballymena are running irregularly.
The Republic of Ireland has yellow warnings for snow, ice, and cold weather. Met Éireann says the alerts will stay until 11:00 a.m. on Monday, affecting Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, and Connacht.
Full details of school closures in the UK, including Northern Ireland, Shropshire, and Aberdeen City, can be found here. The Education Authority added that buses and transport should operate as usual, but some delays are possible.
A new yellow warning for ice and very cold weather has been issued for Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow, and Munster. The weekend was very cold, following Northern Ireland’s coldest night this winter, which started with a frosty New Year’s Eve.