Additional reporting by Kevin Galvin & Joleen Murphy
Emergency services around the South-East are on standby as a yellow snow, ice, and wind warning continues across the region.
Met Éireann is predicting a band of sleet and snow will spread northeastwards today, resulting in snow accumulations of up to five centimetres in some areas.
The warning will remain in place until 8 am on Friday, but the forecaster says the snow and sleet will transition to rain in the west and south on Thursday night.
Racing in Thurles has been called off as a blizzard has already hit the Premier County, as well as along the Shannon estuary and the west coast. While snow coverings have also been reported in Waterford.
⚠️ @thurlesraces is now unfit for racing and off
🗣 Latest from Lorcan Wyer pic.twitter.com/xLlBJqMLyT— IHRB (@ihrb_ie) February 11, 2021
In the East, the region is also bracing itself for not just snow, but also heavy rain and wind that's expected to batter the region across Thursday night and into Friday.
However, the high levels of precipitation into the weekend is now what the teams are worried about.
Ray Murphy, Acting Chief Fire Officer with the Wexford emergency management team says they have been in talks this morning regarding the warning.
"There is potential for flooding, possibly through Sunday and into Monday morning. So Wexford County Council has a flood plan in place and it's updated annually, mainly o do with the Enniscorthy area, and then the catchment of Bunclody and Wexford Town.
"So we have many thousands of sandbags ready to deploy within the county, located mainly in Enniscorthy and Wexford..." "said Murphy, speaking to Beat News - "...our signage checked and ready across the county, and our crews on standby, as well as the civil defence and the fire service on standby as well to respond to any flooding incident.
People are also being asked to check on elderly neighbours to ensure they are safe as temperatures plummet and snow begins to fall across the country.
As temperatures drop and snow and sleet falls in some places we are asking people to phone elderly or vulnerable neighbours to check that they are OK. Please heed Covid-19 guidelines, public warnings and do not put yourself at risk. For updates see @MetEireann https://t.co/i3Jutw09fw
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 11, 2021
The HSE has tweeted to warn people of the sudden drop in temperatures, asking them to check in on vulnerable people.
"As temperatures drop and snow and sleet falls in some places, we are asking people to phone elderly or vulnerable neighbours to check that they are OK.
"Please heed Covid-19 guidelines, public warnings and do not put yourself at risk," the HSE said.
https://t.co/83CVZXKLsD is a great resource for dealing with cold weather situations - for driving, for your home, for farming and lots of other circumstances. Take a look & familiarise yourself with the details relevant to you. #sneachta #snow #weather #keepwell #wexfordtogether pic.twitter.com/Nhw1uEDtHx
— Wexford County Council (@wexfordcoco) February 11, 2021
