"Up to 30cm of snow possible" in some parts of NI as cold snap hits

Heavy snow is expected in Northern Ireland later this week as a cold snap hits.

The Northern Ireland Weather and Flood Advisory Service says we could see as much as 30cm of snowfall in some parts of the country on Thursday going into Friday.

A statement from the independent weather service provider said, “There is a risk of a disruptive snowfall event for NI during Thursday 9th March and into Friday 10th March as a deep area of low pressure moves in bringing persistent and prolonged snowfall. Snowfall is likely throughout Thursday and overnight into Friday.”

“There is a risk of snowfall amounts that we haven't seen for some time! Accumulations may vary but it's likely some areas could see 20-30cm, strong winds will also be an additional hazard creating blizzard conditions and drifting.”

“We will issue further updates and likely high level warnings as it is likely this will be a high impact event with major disruption to travel and possibly utilities.”

Meanwhile, drivers have been warned to take extra care on the roads this week as the cold snap coincides with industrial action being undertaken by roads service workers.

A statement from the Department for Infrastructure said, “The DfI has urged road users to be extra careful on the roads this week as a period of cold weather arrives and industrial action by members of the GMB and Unite unions continues.”

“The Department’s delivery of Winter Service (gritting of the road network) will be disrupted this week as there are insufficient staff available to run both an am and pm gritting rota.”

The DBFO network, which includes most Motorways, the A1 and the A4, is not affected by industrial action.

The scheduled gritting network includes 107 routes comprising of 7,000km of road

The Department also said “In addition to Winter Service, other essential services which are routinely delivered by DfI staff on the road network may also be disrupted. This includes:

• Response and clear-up operation when there are incidents on the road such as oil spills or unexpected debris

• Repair of serious defects such as manhole collapse or potholes

• Gully clearing and cleansing

The Department for Infrastructure says it continues to work with the Department of Finance and the unions involved to try and resolve the issues around pay”.

Meanwhile, we’re being told to expect temperatures to plummet for a second night in a row.

The MET office has issued a yellow warning for snow showers and ice, from 7pm tonight (Tues) until 9am tomorrow.

The last cold snap was back on Jan, check out some of our listener pics 👇

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