Severe Weather Snow / Ice Weds 28 FEB ( Onwards ) READ MOD NOTE POST#1

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 01:17AM

Look at how mank it is outside now. What a difference 24 hours make. Thawing is the worst. Wish that phase could be skipped.

wakka12 · 04-03-2018 01:17AM

Ugh just looked out my window..black/grey rooves back, black tarmac roads, concrete buildings, grey foot paths..snow makes everything so much brighter and prettier

Macy0161 · 04-03-2018 01:18AM

wakka12 wrote:

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

The gritters here in Wicklow have the plough attachment all winter. I don't think a lack of equipment was the issue this time - it was the constant snow, and constant drifting.

I've been living in the Wicklow mountains 15 years now - there's no comparison to disruption then compared to now. Regional roads are kept clear, or cleared quickly. Since 2010 we do cope fine with normal winter weather, including snow. This wasn't normal winter weather.

Loughc · 04-03-2018 01:19AM

wakka12 wrote: »

Ugh just looked out my window..black/grey rooves back, black tarmac roads, concrete buildings, grey foot paths..snow makes everything so much brighter and prettier

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

Mike Litoris · 04-03-2018 01:21AM

Looks like rain in D10.

stevenup7002 · 04-03-2018 01:22AM

wakka12 wrote: »

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

Honestly, I watched a JCB flying up and down the road this morning clearing snow. Road went from about 20cm to completely cleared in about 5 minutes.

ZX7R · 04-03-2018 01:27AM

Have to say, I am surprised and happy at such a quick response by the council, army, contractors and the farmers, at clearing the roads in my area, they have done a super job, not like in 2010 once a snow plow went over the roads no gritting, definitely changes have been made having the crisis group seems to have made a positive difference this time

04-03-2018 01:30AM

Loughc wrote: »

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

Its nuts, like cloud cover shies last 2 nights but could see clearer in the country then on a cleared sky full moon night its pretty amazing

josip · 04-03-2018 01:35AM

MrDerp wrote: »

I was in Stockholm for this:
https://www.thelocal.se/20161110/stockholm-just-set-a-new-snow-record

I got up in the morning and a Swedish colleague rang me advising me to take the metro instead of a taxi. Got to a client site and the most anyone was late for a workshop was 20 minutes. Took the Arlanda express on plowed lines and got to the airport on time.

There was constant snow and my plane needed a second deicing but got away just 55 minutes late and made my connecting flight home in Frankfurt.

It’s all relative to climate and infrastructure, and many people were caught out, but they’re well prepared to carry on within the city because of metro and the airport being equipped to manage without too many cancelled flights.

I was like a gom in work shoes sliding around in flat soles with wet socks but even I got there

And I was in Gothenburg for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Storm_of_1995
Because it happened early in the winter they were caught unprepared.
When I called reception for a taxi to Ericsson, they were shocked and said, 'but, but it's a blizzard outside, nobody is permitted to leave the hotel".
Nobody came into the office that day. Most roads were blocked with snow.
The following day, the airport was still closed, only a handful of taxis were operating.
The Swedes don't always triumph over Mother Nature.

The only difference between there then and here now, was coming back up the main street the Thursday night to the hotel. It was -14C and the wind speed was 20m/s. Impossible to face into it, we had to walk backwards for 15 minutes to get home.

Elmer Blooker · 04-03-2018 01:41AM

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The rain is coming down in D7 now, a lot of the remaining snow around me will be gone by morning if it keeps up.

The temperature is only 1.5c now so a very slow thaw overnight.
The rain is very light at the moment and it takes heavy rain to wash away snow.

nacho libre · 04-03-2018 01:43AM

Larbre34 wrote: »

Still hard to believe the last 5 days happened. How many near misses have been debated in this place over the years only for the whole Country to get nothing short of blasted.

Effects on my own house on the edge of Dublin and Meath were awesome enough, but i spoke to family in on the coast near Wexford town and it was simply historic, snow of a scale never seen in living memory.

This event was probably a good balance, a record breaker, a visual feast, a time of fun memories for the kids of this generation, but not a deep freeze like the 2010 events. If this was January 3rd and not March 3rd, I dread to think of the crippling effect it could have had on the whole island for weeks, we are fortunate to be looking at a fairly quick thaw. But, as it was, the Community came together and the arms of the state acted well and we didn't loose a single person, at the time of writing and hopefully farms and businesses and travel will recover quickly and move forward.

So, only -19.5C from 1982 lives to fight another day, and I suspect even the snow bunnies here might not want to see that day for another 36 years.

I hope we don't have to wait another 36 years:(. I'd be happy if we saw major snow events at least once every two years. I think the positives from this week outweight the negatives. Our often maligned state institutions, such as the army, did a great job. People were kinder to each other and helped each other out. We had some muppets, but they were a minority.

Children- both young and old(- have memories they can cherish for many years to come. I know there was hardship too, but i think many of these people will have a twinkle in their eye when they recollect the events of March 2018 in years to come. Plus we will have a baby boom in nine months time, that must be another plus with an ageing population...

Jeff2 · 04-03-2018 01:43AM

It's raining a little now in north Dublin city but the snow is going away fast.

Donegal Storm · 04-03-2018 01:46AM

Same story here in Kildare, I live on an L road so far from priority yet its been passable since yesterday morning with a JCB up and down every few hours. The lane to the house hasn't been cleared but I don't expect it to be and have no issue that it isn't. A lot of lessons learnt in 2010 I think and its definitely shown this week, no chaos on the roads and no repeat of scenes in the UK where thousands had to spend the night in their cars all across the country.

I find the blanket 'stay indoors' warnings and total shut downs a bit over the top and too nanny state-like but considering the severity of the event and the lack of experience and equipment in dealing with it I think an excellent job has been done all round

wakka12 · 04-03-2018 01:48AM

nacho libre wrote: »

I hope we don't have to wait another 36 years:(. I'd be happy if we saw major snow events at least once every two years. I think the positives from this week outweight the negatives. Our often maligned state institutions, such as the army, did a great job. People were kinder to each other and helped each other out. We had some muppets, but they were a minority.

Children- both young and old(- have memories they can cherish for many years to come. I know there was hardship too, but i think many of these people will have a twinkle in their eye when they recollect the events of March 2018 in years to come. Plus we will have a baby boom in nine months time, that must be another plus with an ageing population...

Yeh 8 years was way too long a wait for our second cold spell after 2010

Heres hoping the next isn't nearly as long away
It doesnt even have to be storms or streamers for me..Id love even just a cover of 3 or so inches for a couple weeks during winter to make everything pretty and white..cold temps hovering around 0- minus 2 so it doesnt melt ..an inch top ups every few days
I guess Im just hoping for a different climate really:pac:

200motels · 04-03-2018 01:50AM

TBH I’m glad it’s nearly over, it was a joy to behold, I’ve waited 36 years for this one and it was as bad if not worse than 82.

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 01:50AM

Loughc wrote: »

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

What was so magical about 2010 was how bright the countryside was on moonlight nights. I was living with my parents at the time in the rural west of Ireland. We actually got very little snow but what did fall stayed frozen on the ground for weeks. It was amazing to see the usually dark nighttime countryside illuminated on moonlit nights, to be able to see faraway hills. Even when there was no moon, it was quite bright. Irish snow is so often accompanied by overcast conditions so this was very special.

sdanseo · 04-03-2018 01:51AM

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Same story here in Kildare, I live on an L road so far from priority yet its been passable since yesterday morning with a JCB up and down every few hours. The lane to the house hasn't been cleared but I don't expect it to be and have no issue that it isn't. A lot of lessons learnt in 2010 I think and its definitely shown this week, no chaos on the roads and no repeat of scenes in the UK where thousands had to spend the night in their cars all across the country.

I find the blanket 'stay indoors' warnings and total shut downs a bit over the top and too nanny state-like but considering the severity of the event and the lack of experience and equipment in dealing with it I think an excellent job has been done all round

Have to agree about the lessons learned, the only county that hasn't appeared to deal with things well is Longford who stood down their Civil Defence because they weren't trained yet. It's bull**** like that which would make your blood boil.

As for the warnings.. posted some pics of the M1 five hours after it was live on the news and it was totally buried, meanwhile driving heavy snow in 50kt winds. It wasn't safe for the vast majority to be on the roads for the last few days and the shelter indoors warning only lasted 12 hours of the whole thing which was not excessive, and that's coming from the perspective of a coastal dweller who got one of the lowest accumulations in Leinster.

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 01:51AM

Jeff2 wrote: »

It's raining a little now in north Dublin city but the snow is going away fast.

Yup, the rain is really cutting right through it.

q85dw7osi4lebg · 04-03-2018 01:54AM

I know this is all nearly over but I've just been driving on the N2 from Collon to Slane (Meath) and it is down to 1 lane still in a lot of sections with 6 foot drifts on the southbound lane. No street lighting, no warnings, and blind going down the single lane in parts. I'd argue a red warning was more than required, for this county at least, given that is a national route.

Gonzo · 04-03-2018 01:57AM

thaw is really getting aggressive here now, can hear the water drops from the gutters everywhere now.

wakka12 · 04-03-2018 01:59AM

Heavy rain D14. Wouldn't be surprised if snow is mostly gone by morning

beauf · 04-03-2018 02:05AM

Probably the warnings kept people off the roads, and allowed the now well equipped local authorities to get on with clearing roads.

Though I couldn't use the cleared main roads as I couldn't get to them.

bosco12345 · 04-03-2018 02:06AM

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh 8 years was way too long a wait for our second cold spell after 2010 Heres hoping the next isn't nearly as long away
It doesnt even have to be storms or streamers for me..Id love even just a cover of 3 or so inches for a couple weeks during winter to make everything pretty and white..cold temps hovering around 0- minus 2 so it doesnt melt ..an inch top ups every few days
I guess Im just hoping for a different climate really:pac:

I would consider myself lucky that I live in Cavan especially during winter. Every winter we get 4-5 decent snowfalls, the last really big one was in March 24 th 2014 where there was a good 9-10 inches of wet snow in the Cavan/ Monaghan area and northern Ireland and down the road from meath on it was just heavy rain. It always amazes me the difference in temperatures as you go from Dublin further inland.

Donegal Storm · 04-03-2018 02:16AM

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh 8 years was way too long a wait for our second cold spell after 2010 Heres hoping the next isn't nearly as long away
It doesnt even have to be storms or streamers for me..Id love even just a cover of 3 or so inches for a couple weeks during winter to make everything pretty and white..cold temps hovering around 0- minus 2 so it doesnt melt ..an inch top ups every few days
I guess Im just hoping for a different climate really:pac:

I'd argue the opposite, having two historic cold/snow events in the space of 8 years is excellent by our standards, add Winter 2009/10 and March 2013 in the north and thats four major events in a decade. Before 2009 the only decent snowy spells I'd experienced in the 20 years previous were in December 2000 and 1995 and neither of those were really historically notable and were over within a week.

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 02:28AM

Gonzo wrote: »

thaw is really getting aggressive here now, can hear the water drops from the gutters everywhere now.

wakka12 wrote: »

Heavy rain D14. Wouldn't be surprised if snow is mostly gone by morning

Yeah, things have really accelerated here in the last few hours. There is a lot of water on the ground.

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 02:31AM

Donegal Storm wrote: »

I'd argue the opposite, having two historic cold/snow events in the space of 8 years is excellent by our standards, add Winter 2009/10 and March 2013 in the north and thats four major events in a decade. Before 2009 the only decent snowy spells I'd experienced in the 20 years previous were in December 2000 and 1995 and neither of those were really historically notable and were over within a week.

EDIT: Wait! You mentioned 2009.

And don't forget, we actually had very decent spell of cold weather around Christmas 2009 stretching into January. That tends to get forgotten about with the 2010 extravaganza. I saw the lake near my parent's frozen for days on end for the first time in my life.

I can show y'all photos of the inch-thick ice on the road in front of my parent's house on Stephen's Day 2009 (if I can find them). I've never seen anything like it before or since.

So that's 2009, 2010 and 2018. Not bad at all.

SleetAndSnow · 04-03-2018 02:36AM

Estate road totally cleared of snow here in cork city suburb now, was totally white yesterday and this afternoon. Had heavy rain for most of the evening which washed it away. Still thick enough snow in my garden and on top of my walls, however the big Field across from me is starting to show some green

looking out my window the snow is still on my extension roof but it doesn't have that bright yellow effect making everything seem brighter then it had. Back to the drab dark rainy Irish days we are used too!

EMPotatohands · 04-03-2018 02:41AM

So so sad all my snow is being washed away but looking forward to a bit of normality. So much snow is hard with an almost 2 year old but we’ve spent so many hours out enjoying it all. Went sledding and built an igloo today before the rain started. Memories me and her daddy will have forever!! There was so much snow in Ballyfermot. Loved it.

raiders11 · 04-03-2018 03:05AM

In central Donegal and to be honest, it's probably the best week we have had weather wise since Xmas, yes, cold, but dry and no snow for a snowball, never mind snowman:(

_Dara_ · 04-03-2018 03:08AM

My parents live in a part of the west that was bypassed by Ophelia, The Beast AND Emma. Very anticlimatic for them.

Severe Weather Snow / Ice Weds 28 FEB ( Onwards ) ** READ MOD NOTE POST#1**

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Severe Weather Snow / Ice Weds 28 FEB ( Onwards ) READ MOD NOTE POST#1