THE Irish public have been urged to abide by a snow curfew as the ‘Beast from the East’ and Storm Emma collide tomorrow.
Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Committee has asked everyone who lived in Munster and Leinster to remain indoors from 4pm on Thursday until midday on Friday.
Sean Hogan, chairman of the committee, said: "If you are out there you may become disorientated and got lost very quickly.
“Unfortunately we had cases of people dying in the cold spells in 2010 who were out of doors. So there is a very real public safety issue.
"There is an obvious issue about driving. It would be suicidal to go driving in blizzard like conditions.
"That is why we are saying do not be out there from 4pm tomorrow evening in these conditions.”
The warning comes after Met Éireann issued a new red weather alert for both of the provinces with “blizzard-like conditions” on the way.
Latest chart update #BeastFromTheEast This snow event will hit pretty hard. Get prepared today. #snow #sneachta @TV3Ireland @IrelandAMTV3 pic.twitter.com/EwmM2ihXk8
— Deric Ó hArtagáinTV3 (@deric_hartigan) February 27, 2018
The forecaster said tomorrow’s snow storm “will develop in strong easterly winds on Thursday evening and will continue Thursday night and Friday morning."
Schools and third-level educational institutions will close throughout Munster and Leinster while Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann train services and Dublin Bus services have also been suspended.
Luas and DART services will run on a limited schedule.
Around 6.2 inches of snow fell in the east and south of Ireland over Tuesday night, while up to 10 inches is predicted by midday on Thursday.
The weather will worsen when Storm Emma, from the south, meets with the Siberian front, nicknamed ‘Beast from the East’ – turning much of the storm’s precipitation to snow, hail and sleet.
Earlier today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed the Irish Army is "on standby" to ensure the safety of the public through the coming blizzards.
