Officials from Donegal County Council attended a meeting of the National Emergency Co-Ordination group this morning which was convened in order to co-ordinate the measures being put in place to mitigate the impact of the ongoing spell of wintry weather on public services. Met Eireann advised the group that the current spell of wintry weather is likely to continue up to and including Friday 16th December at least. In the short term snow falls are expected in many areas of the county later this evening and overnight with the potential for further snow fall later in the week also.
In Donegal over 1,400kms of our public roads are gritted with 21 designated gritting routes which have been treated 3 times each day for the last number of days and this is likely to continue in the short term. With snow falls forecast snow ploughs will be mounted on our gritting lorries and additional lorries will be called in to assist in treating our higher volume, higher elevation routes. Road temperatures around the county remain close to or below freezing, therefore, any snow or rain that falls is likely to freeze causing hazardous driving conditions in particular on untreated surfaces.
Full details of Donegal County Council’s extensive gritting programme can be found on our website here, and updates on gritting are posted on our various social media channels. The public can also sign up to www.maplerter.ie to receive free text updates on when routes are to be gritted in their area.
Donegal County Council asks the public to plan ahead for any journeys that they intend to take during this spell of wintry weather, in particular please consider if your journey is absolutely necessary. If you must use the car, before you begin your journey consider the following:
If planning an unavoidable journey on foot pedestrians should be extremely careful as snow and ice can make walking on roads or footpaths very dangerous. Wear sturdy footwear with good gripping soles. Take an extra look before you cross the road and do not attempt to cross the road if there are vehicles around as snow and ice increase the distance that they need to stop. Visibility is reduced in snowy condition so wear high visibility clothing or carry a torch.
Motorcyclists and cyclists should consider their safety before using their motorcycles / bicycles in icy and snowy conditions. Controlling two wheeled vehicles in snowy or icy conditions is extremely difficult and there is an increased danger of a collision with a vehicle that is out of control. Consider taking alternative transport or walking.