Freezing fog and slippery surfaces - Met Éireann warns of dangerous roads this weekend

Met Éireann has warned of hazardous driving conditions over the weekend and into next week as the cold spell continues. 

A Status Yellow fog alert was issued yesterday evening (Friday December 1) warning of dense and freezing fog in many areas of the country. 

The alert is in place from 5pm today (Saturday December 2) until 12pm noon tomorrow. 

A Status Yellow Low Temperature/Ice alert was also issued on Thursday (November 30) warning of slippery conditions, bad roads and animal welfare issues due to very low temperatures. 

The warning will be in place until 12pm noon on Sunday (December 3). 

Motorists should be wary of poor visibility and slippery road surfaces while travelling during the weekend. 

According to meteorologist Aoife Kealy, daytime temperatures in the coming days will often range from 1 to 5 degrees, with night time temperatures often falling to 0 to -4 degrees or below. 

As a result, there will be widespread frost and icy stretches, combined with areas of dense fog and freezing fog. 

She said, "Because it’ll be so cold, the frost and ice will linger in places right through the day. Areas of fog and freezing fog will be slow to clear from places during the day too.

"That’ll all combine to make for hazardous travel conditions, poor visibility and slippery conditions underfoot." 

Monday and Tuesday will be cold but dry for many, however, there will be a few showers at times in the east and southeast which may turn to hail and sleet with a chance of snow on high ground. 

Aoife continued:; "At the moment it looks like this cold spell will stay with us through Monday and most of Tuesday. After that, current indications point towards a low pressure system spreading from the Atlantic later on Tuesday and on Wednesday, bringing widespread rain and milder conditions.

"However, there is a chance that as that rain meets the cold air over us, some of it may fall as sleet or snow. But that’ll be short-lived as the milder air will quickly follow." 

Met Éireann will monitor the warnings and review or extend them if necessary over the coming days.